Fri-YAY Favorites: Borealis Coffee In Riverside
I was collaborating with someone last year who, at one point, announced to me that she was moving to Providence because that's where everything exciting in the state was happening. OK, there are plenty of fantabulous things going on in PVD (art, music, and of course, food & beverage wise), not gonna argue that, but 'they' don't have the market cornered on cool. #nope
Take coffee for example. Used to be you pretty much had to go into the capital city to enjoy anything remotely resembling small batch, artisanal type coffee. And the stylish interior to go along with. (That's) So not the case anymore! Yesterday, I drove over to Riverside (Yea, I crossed the Point St Bridge. No biggie.) to check out the brand new Borealis Coffee Company and even if I hadn't Google'd it beforehand, I could tell immediately that the space used to be a railroad station. (Something to talk about, right?) Next, I spied a guy having coffee outside on the cement patio, that overlooks the bike path, with his dog. (Anywhere that has a patio where you can bring your dog scores points with me. It also struck me as the perfect spot to spend an afternoon before the chilly weather starts setting in, which at rate we're going, might take a while.) The inside has been completely refurbished in such a way that feels completely organic to the space and it's history. White tile. Hardwoods. Retro-ish light fixtures. It's all very bright, thanks also to the abundance of windows, and uncluttered. (Clutter gives me beaucoup anxiety lately and I'm not even a Marie Kondo groupie or anything.)
Right about now, you're probably wondering about the coffee and I'm here to tell you (that) it was A1, top shelf in terms of the care that went into making it (The beans are actually roasted on site.) as well as the taste, including a much appreciated lack of any bitter aftertaste! I also had a superlative corn muffin. I mean, you know those times you go into a coffeehouse and splurge on a muffin or other pastry and it ends up tasting like it's been sitting in plastic on shelf somewhere for 'like' years. Saw dust city. This wasn't like that. Super fresh, moist (Hate the word, but it does apply here.) and delish. #youshouldgo
*In all fairness, my friend Giana G. tagged me in a comment on the Borealis Instagram a while back, that's how I first found out about them.