Koma Cafe’s Soft Serve Steals the Show in Takoma Park | Eater DC

"At Koma Cafe in Takoma Park I found a sleek Italian cafe whose soft-serve machine (8006 Flower Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland) dispenses inventive, weekly-rotated flavors instead of just plain vanilla and chocolate: blueberry caramel with gochujang swirled with churro; black pepper–blasted black cherry; pistachio tahini swirled with apricot labneh; strawberry sumac; blueberry garam masala; Biscoff cheesecake; cardamom coffee; and vegan brown sugar fig, among others. The machine — purchased years earlier by chef Brad Feickert for his Soko Butcher but only installed when Koma opened in October 2023 and the counter was designed to house it — became a star after new manager Pete Niederer (who has a long background in soft serve) got it running. Niederer develops flavors by building and reducing syrups in-house using all-natural dyes and flavors, stays late Monday to prep so new flavors are ready on Tuesday, and deliberately composes two-flavor swirls so they balance (for example, pistachio tahini’s heaviness is cut by bright apricot labneh). Vegan options appear the first and third week of the month and are meant to be as decadent as dairy; sampling is encouraged, the twist is not an afterthought, and Koma operates 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily." - Claudia Rosenbaum