This morning as I type this, snow flakes are gently swirling from the dark and foggy sky. It’s our second official snow fall this year, and a sure sign that winter will show up eventually. But that’s okay with me, you know why? Because on Thursday it was 21 degrees out (70F), sunny, and I enjoyed a patio lunch. This even is so unlikely in late October that it felt not unlike the pleasure I felt when skipping school as a kid.
There is a park a couple of blocks away from my building, which has recently been renovated. This project cost eleven million dollars, and as far as I can tell accomplished some tree removal and some new garden beds. Allegedly there was a fountain and some new paths too, but to me it didn’t look too different. I think a college full of summer students could have done it all for less than a million, but what do I know?
In this newly renovated park though, there is now a cafe, called the Boxwood Cafe. Owned by the same folks who brought us the River Cafe, it’s meant to be a more casual, fun take on locally farmed food. I personally am not a big fan of the River Cafe, but thought that a more casual take on the food may work very well.
The building is one story, and a lovely sand color. The lineup was building as we arrived, and it was lack of room as well as the weather that led us to sit outside. Indoors was a lovely long room, done up in natural wood and neutral colors. The counter’s where you order and watch the assembly line make your sandwiches, efficiently and accurately, calling out the order with any modifications.
The porchetta sandwich is a masterpiece. Cut from a juicy pork roast covered with crisp, crackling, deeply burnished skin, and served on a bed of caramelized onions it was a most satisfying eat. The flavor of the pork was the dominant flavor, and the skin, oh that skin.
