Borca Lorca

Two weeks ago as the Crawlers made our way to the Home Expo to watch the 2014 Regional Barista Championship we passed a brand new coffee shop located within the Moffett on Main Lifestyle Centre.  Borca Lorca was literally opening its doors for the first time as we passed by, so we stopped in for a quick chat with co-owner Tania Plakonouris.  Tania was excited to hear about the Coffee Crawl..... we made a booking to come visit her and her husband/co-owner, Ryan, at their new shop on Aug 8.  Time just flew by and before we knew it we were entering Borca Lorca yet again, though this time to enjoy the fresh, fun atmosphere and the delicious Sumatran French Romano coffee.

First off on Thursday our curiosity got the best of us and we just had to get the background of the name Borca Lorca.  Tania filled us in with the story of how her Portuguese father, Bruno, used to call her the Portuguese translation of "Crazy Mouth" when she was young.  Over the years the nickname stuck and now, Anglisized in the spelling, has become the name of her new coffee shop (where a subtle tribute to Tania's dad hangs).

Tribute to Tania's father

So with that out of the way, the Crawlers had a choice to make....sit at one of the awesome distressed style tables or in the colorful and invitingly comfortable looking lounge area.  The decision was easy as the weather on Thursday was cold and blustery, and everyone needed the cozy comfort of the couches and cushioned chairs in the lounge.

The lounge area

Meet the Co-Owner
Ryan Plakonouris

Once we were seated, co-owner Ryan came over to welcome us and to take our beverage orders.  We perused the menu while Umzi Wethu trained barista, Masixole, whipped up the cappuccinos and Americanos.  The menu consists of popular breakfast items as well as salads, sandwiches, wraps and noodle dishes prepared by another Umzi Wethu grad/chef, Melikhaya.  Also featured on the menu are pastries and artisan breads delivered fresh daily from PastryWorks (6th Ave and Villiers, Walmer).  Such a damp and gloomy day provided me with reason enough to order comfort food found in the form of a nice warm cinnamon bun.  Now, what could be better?...... comfortable, cheery surroundings, quick, pleasant service, excellent, excellent, yes, excellent coffee, tasty pastries.....and all shared with an amazing group of friends.

Meet the Barista
Masixole

Ryan and Tania Plakonouris have numerous years worth of experience in the hospitality industry, and it shows.  Though their shop, Borca Lorca, is brand spanking new, it operates smoothly and efficiently while making the comfort and satisfaction of the patrons their top priority.  Kudos to both of you!  All of Thursday's Crawlers, Margaret and Arthur Marshall, Beth Vieira, Gail Darne, June and Cayle Nash, Fran and Keith de Beer, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Nicolette Hijmans, Lee Rodwell, loved your shop!  Borca Lorca is relatively close to where I live....I can see me becoming a regular!
Borca Lorca's hours coincide with the Moffett on Main hours: Mon-Sat, 9-5, Sun, 9-2.

This Week's Crawlers
Margaret, June, Stella, Beryl, Keith, Fran,
Gail, Beth, Lee, Nicolette, Arthur

These cinnamon buns were outstanding!

My all-time favorite pastry is "Cinnabon's" cinnamon bun.  In Borca Lorca's menu I noticed a cinnamon bun option in the pastry column, and ordered it.  Four other Crawlers followed suit.  While we feasted on the scrumptious pastry, Beth informed  us about new studies that show cinnamon's potential contribution to a healthy heart!  COOL!  The possibility of that being true coupled with a few extra hours at the gym might just counter the other effects of that extra large pastry I had just eaten.  In any case, when I got home from the Crawl on Thursday I checked the cinnamon/heart study online....yes, there's lots of info there!.....then went on to "like" the Atlanta-based company, "Cinnabon" (and Borca Lorca), on Facebook!

The pastry display

Crazy Mouth decor

While we ate and had our second and third rounds in the warmth and comfort of Borca Lorca, the storm raged outside.  We frittered away the morning discussing current events... Bill Clinton' trip to Africa (Pretoria on Crawl Day) and the destructive fire at the Nairobi airport (hope it's open for business at the end of the month when I plan to travel to Kenya!).....all the while the Borca Lorca staff was kept busy with a constant flow of customers.  Coffee shop news travels quickly!  Once the storm abated we wrapped up Crawl #109 with a conversation of how we all planned to spend the long holiday (Women's Day) weekend.

To PE Coffee Lovers- Borca Lorca is a new coffee shop in town well worth checking out!  See you there!

~Thank You and Best Wishes to Ryan and Tania!

Until next week,

Ellen

More Crazy Mouth Art....................