I can't resist a place with the word "cafe" or "bakery" as part of its name. If it has both of those words, all the better.
So, where do three sisters -- two from Syracuse and vicinity and one from near Albany -- meet mid-way for a leisurely lunch on a summer Friday? At the Black Cat Cafe and Bakery, in Sharon Springs, of course.
Sharon Springs, in Schoharie County, about 25 miles from Cooperstown, takes its name from the sulfur, magnesium and chalybeate mineral springs found throughout it.
One of several former bath houses in Sharon Springs.
The village, south of the Thruway and just north of Route 20, was a crowd-pleasing spa community during the 19th century. Its grand hotels and healing waters attracted the Vanderbilts and other wealthy Americans, before they moved on to another famous springs, Saratoga.
When it fell out of favor, Sharon Springs fell into a long, gradual decline. But drive through the village today and you'll see signs of a rebirth.
Exterior of the American Hotel.
The most shining example is the American Hotel, on Main Street, plus a handful of shops, art galleries and restaurants.
The Black Cat is across the street from the American Hotel, in a building that, according to restaurant co-owner Tony Daou, was a residence and later a sanitarium before eventually becoming "a wreck.''
Daou and his wife, who makes the restaurant's breads, donuts, cookies, cakes and other baked goods, opened for business several years ago, and are in the process of expanding to the second floor, according to their Web site.
The menu offers soups, salads, sandwiches and all the requisite coffee and espresso drinks that go well with fresh baked goods, like cinnamon sugar donuts.
Our table of three each enjoyed variations of the half-sandwich and house salad lunch special, choosing curried chicken salad on cinnamon raisin bread, housemade corned beef on rye bread and Tuscan chicken on ciabatta bread.
The waiter-owner knew we were sisters, he told us, because we managed to order the same house salad three different ways: One with balsamic dressing on the side, one dressed but with no tomatoes and one tumbled with dressing, no special requests.
The restaurant is simple and homey, with mismatched tables, chairs and china, plenty of reading material scattered about to enjoy over coffee, cases holding cookies and other sweet treats and an assortment of whimsical black cat decor.
For dessert, two Raspberry Jam Bars (with a shortbread bottom and crumble topping) and an Angel's Wing (layers of light, crispy puff pastry, with a light, sweet glaze) plus mugs of coffee, fueled us for a walk around town and the return trip home, via scenic Route 20.
Raspberry Jam Bars (above) and Angel's Wings (below).
In an era when spa vacations are once again in vogue, smelling Sharon Springs' sulfur-y waters and seeing the shells of those once-grand hotels that housed so many visitors, drawn to the waters on holiday, drawn to the waters, is haunting today.
But not so haunting that we wouldn't come back for a nice lunch, followed by a walk and some local history on the side.
The Black Cat Cafe is at 195 Main St., Sharon Springs. The restaurant is open daily, except Wednesdays, for breakfast and lunch.
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