Freshly Brewed Babble: Navigating The Underrated Café Scene
- Chelsea Stern
- Feb 23, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 21, 2020
While I do enjoy sitting at my cluttered desk sipping a mediocre Keurig-brewed coffee out of a chipped ceramic mug to the tunes of a coffeehouse jazz Spotify playlist, I’d much rather head over to an actual café. The convenience of having three Starbucks on every block is appealing, but I’m here to tell you why the experience may be more worthwhile elsewhere.
Chains are undoubtedly reliable. I must admit, when I pay $6 and change for my grande blond roast iced latte with almond milk and one pump of vanilla (and light ice, of course), I feel like I have my life together a bit more. Five coffees later, I might feel well-caffeinated, but my wallet will be the one needing a pick-me-up. To support my bank account, I conducted some informal research of the cafés most accessible to me in hope of finding the biggest bang for your buck.
Journeying around Syracuse, I’ve compiled a comparative list of what I find to be the best places to boost productivity with java and jabber on the grounds of café atmosphere, food and beverage quality and cost performance.
Atmosphere: Connected to an apartment complex, Peaks Coffee Company is a small well-lit space adorned with light wooden accents and employed with a staff team that quickly welcomes you to the Peaks family with their friendly small talk and more intimate we-bring-your-coffee-to-you system. Positive energy and pop music swarm around this café, making it a great spot for some much needed “me” time.
Coffee and grub: The coffee has an upscale hint of bitterness and its palatability enhances the glamorous feeling. To reap all the benefits of the Peaks experience, I find it’s best to take time to sit down for a pastry or the soup of the day.
Price: With the baseline of a small hot coffee costing $3 and the avocado toast being slightly overpriced, Peaks is the priciest place on my list. Definitely not an everyday expense worth making, but a stop every so often for a change of pace could be worth the slight dip in the debit card balance.
Photos by Chelsea Stern
Atmosphere: Not too far from the Syracuse hospitals and a quick walk from Marshall Street is Heritage Cafe. A mix of tableside and lounge chair seating, Heritage Cafe has a more lowkey delicatessen or diner feel, free of any over-the-top decorations. This café environment is suitable for a simple-minded email replying spree or a sit-down lunch date.
Coffee and grub: The all-American style sandwiches and beverages couples with the homemade pastries fulfill that need for a homey meal.
Price: The recent reminders to “know your worth” from Khalid's new hit song really come alive with Heritage Cafe’s discount program. Students, veterans, hospital practitioners and anyone else who remotely contributes to the community get a discounted coffee of—pause for dramatic effect—$1.61. Talk about a bang for your buck! So, for all of my thrifty coffee addicts, if you need to have an informal intervention between you and the caffeine, Heritage Cafe might be a good place to start.
Atmosphere: On the corner of the quaint and historic Westcott Street sits Recess Coffee. The white wooden balcony gives a welcoming beach house-like warmth while the interior contrasts its exterior with a hipster-esque, unpolished layout filled with nooks and crannies of hidden seating. The space has a versatile feel that can suit either a productive workday or a quick pit stop for brunch with friends.
Coffee and grub: Both the wide variety of seasonal and regular breakfast sandwich combinations and the coffee beverages are quite craveable, to say the least. Even the gluten-free options are tasty.
Price: With a small hot coffee coming in at $2, it’s safe to say that the versatility and variety of the coffee shop make the money well spent and the time worthwhile.
Photo courtesy of Westcott Neighborhood
Atmosphere: With two locations, Café Kubal provides a homey, laid back environment filled with tables, chairs, booths and couches both on- and off-campus. The location on the Syracuse University campus neighbors a thrift shop, and they share the same dimly lit, raw hipster vibe. For people who are conscious of background noise for their work productivity, Kubal has a balance of chatter and music, which you might often find the fun-spirited baristas singing along to.
Coffee and grub: The coffee is smooth and has a distinctively nutty bitterness that I could easily distinguish among others. Known for the “Kuballer” sandwich with turkey, mozzarella, pesto and pico de gallo, Kubal features a selection of menu items that are satisfactory for breakfast or lunch. Important note: the to-go coffee cups, both for hot and cold drinks, are environmentally-sounds and strawless.
Price: With a small hot coffee totaling $2.43, Café Kubal definitely weighs in as a more expensive choice. I often find that with the addition of any nondairy milk, flavoring or other special request, the charges are tacked on to make my order much more expensive than its original price. With a coupon code or a reason to meet someone for a quick bite, Café Kubal can make a decent site to kick back once in a while.
Photo by Chelsea Stern
Atmosphere: In the heart of downtown Syracuse, Armory Square, Freedom of Espresso sits on a street corner with brick walls and green detailing, tiny and unrefined with a simple wood-furnished interior. A true coffee guru would appreciate Freedom of Espresso not for its design but for the expertise of the employees. Look no further if you have a burning desire to expand your knowledge on the flavor profiles of the various coffee blends because one conversation with a friendly Freedom of Espresso barista can make that happen.
Coffee and grub: The coffee connoisseur will find the smooth blends to be of high quality. With the classic pastries aside, your inner coffee snob will thrive amongst the menu of unconventional caffeinated drinks.
Price: Again, using a small hot coffee for judgment, $2.40 makes Freedom of Espresso rank on the pricier side. Granted it is a downtown location, one might expect this trendier pinpoint to inherently come with higher prices. Let’s face it, being trendy is quite the investment.
My ultimate winner? Recess Coffee takes the crown for its decently priced breakfast sandwiches and lattes and its alternatively cozy and productive work environment. My advice to those who are in search of a new go-to place to hit between work, errands and appointments: forgo the classic coffee shops that overload your social media feeds with promoted posts. Instead, find the corner cafés with passionate employees and homemade pastries. Pro tip: a chalkboard menu is normally a good sign.
As a coffee snob with a bad caffeine addiction, I really enjoyed this blog post. I am also sick and tired of wasting so much money on Starbucks coffee, so this advice was super helpful. Your photography from inside a lot of the cafes was very effective in showing the vibe and aesthetic of each cafe. I especially noticed it with the photos from Peaks Coffee Company. The structure of your blog post is also very effective. You describe the atmosphere, coffee and food quality, and price of each cafe, offering your audience the full rundown of information they need to know. I also appreciated how many of these places are within walking distance of campus. Both Heritage and Kubal…
This post is such an informative blog about cute coffee spots around Syracuse that I feel will really resonate with college students. The reason why I think this blog post will attract college students in the area is because one of the main criteria components that are focused on within the post is the price range at all the coffee shops. I also love the fact that photos the author took directly at some of the coffee shops are incorporated. Each aspect of the coffee shop that was discussed also incorporated the interests of many groups of people. Items were suggested off the menu that could appeal to many different types of consumers. For example at one of the coffee…