Local Escape: Enjoying Coffee at Boro Cafe in Cross River
The Ride
Sometimes, in an effort to seek out new experiences and places, you can miss out on something right in front of you. While many of our coffee rides have focused on locations far from our start in Cross River, NY, today’s spot is very local. It’s so local that the Beeline Moto 2 indicated just 450 feet to our destination. It’s just on the other side of Route 35, with the navigation out of the parking lot where we start and into the lot at Boro Cafe, giving a recorded distance of just 0.1 miles. See our article on discovering new roads with Beeline.
The Coffee Shop
The Boro Cafe in Cross River, NY, sits right on Route 35 across from the intersection with Route 121. Cross River is a hamlet in the town of Lewisboro. Back in the revolutionary times, the town was called Salem, but several parcels were split off to become other towns, and it was renamed to Lower Salem and then South Salem by 1806. In 1840, a financier named John Lewis donated $10,000 to support public education for the town on the condition that the town be named after him. Just north of Lewisboro is North Salem, which made sense when the town was called South Salem. Today, only a small hamlet in South Salem retains a connection to the original 19th-century name.
As you pull into the lot of the Boro Cafe, you are greeted by a modern construction in the style of an older farmhouse. A wrap-around deck and lots of windows give it a more contemporary feeling. Entering the space, one sees a large fireplace with a couch and cushioned chair surrounding a small coffee table. Several other tables are located around the space. The walls facing away from the parking lot are all windows, creating a vast amount of natural light.
The staff was busy putting together several orders, both for the cafe and some of the breakfast options on the menu. There is a large takeout business, so people will call ahead and come to pick up their orders. While the space didn’t look busy, the staff certainly was, and I’d arrived just about 15 minutes after opening.
Of course, all the standard espresso coffee-based options were available. Plenty of baked goods were displayed in the display cases. Lots of sandwich options, all made to order, ranging from Egg & Cheese to Frittata Ciabatta, along with soups and salads, were also available. And if you fancy something other than coffee, local draft beer is also available.
Plenty of signs indicated they used Counter Culture beans, which I’ve always found to be rich in flavor. I ordered an Americano and a cinnamon roll. I grabbed a seat on the couch near the fireplace, which had a great view out the windows.
Within a few minutes, they called to say my order was ready. My Americano was served in a paper cup and was very hot, so I took the to-go lid off and allowed it to cool a bit.
Counter culture beans were evident in the flavor. While an Americano can dampen some of the coffee’s natural flavor with the added water, it still maintains the flavor notes with hints of sweetness. The cinnamon roll was also warmed up, and the sweetness notes in the coffee were accentuated.
While the ride was our shortest yet, the coffee and ambiance made even a short trip enjoyable. Be sure to visit!
