She just started working at the coffee shop a few months ago. “It’s a love-hate relationship so far,” she tells me, “I love the coffee. I hate the rush. Well, maybe hate is a strong word.” She’s patient, though. I find out I’m not the only amateur. Clark says other Yale students get lost with ordering, too.
“New England is just so fast paced,” says Clark. She’s used to it, having grown up in Connecticut. She likes Maison Mathis because it tries to slow things down. It’s a Belgian-style restaurant, and Clark tells me most people don’t understand the European vibe. That means grabbing your coffee at the counter but waiting at your seat for the food. The busboys will bring it out.
I didn’t order any food so things didn’t get too complicated. And I ordered an Americano because that sounded safe.
Right now, things are pretty slow. Clark has time to sit down and tell me about her job while I regret not adding more sugar. Her favorite drink is the soy mocha, and baristas get coffee for free. Soy mocha isn’t the same as coffee, I gather, but she also likes coffee, so that’s good. When she’s not working at Maison Mathis, she’s enrolled in the Paier College of Art in Hamden, studying illustration.
Clark fits in well here. It’s hard to miss her pink and blonde hair. She looks at me through small, black-framed glasses and she doesn’t talk in a rush. “This place is so adorable,” she says before describing the sauces – vanilla, caramel, chocolate – that she makes in house for both the drinks and their popular Belgian-style waffles. “It’s different than Starbucks, where they just get them from a factory somewhere,” she explains. And she mentions another benefit of the European style: “Where else can you get coffee and beer in the same place?”
Maybe I’ll get a café latte next time instead of my Americano, which I did enjoy. Or some sangria if I’m feeling really adventurous.
Clark is great, and she enjoys helping students take a few minutes to relax with a coffee. So stop worrying about how to pronounce it and just go to Maison Mathis.
–Graphic by Kai Takahashi