The fix is on at Sugar Cafe.
Those who know me know that I have a serious sweet tooth. A night without dessert? Unthinkable. So I’m cheered by the opening of two new bakeries—Sugar Cafe, on Sutter at Taylor (679 Sutter St. 441-5678), and Patisserie Philippe, a French-style spot down on Townsend (655 Townsend St. 558-8016). I walked up to Sugar Cafe yesterday and had a completely forgettable sandwich and an absolutely outstanding cream cheese brownie. Given its name, I’m not surprised that the quality of the desserts outstrips the quality of the savory options, but that’s just fine by me. In addition to baked goods like brownies and cookies they have a full menu of plated desserts that’s served everyday from 11am to 11pm. I also saw they have some “cocktail as dessert” choices, like the blueberry pie, which comes in a glass with a graham-cracker crumb dusted rim. I’m afraid, but also intrigued. The modern turquoise and chocolate brown space looks like a cozy outpost for a post-theatre coffee and dessert nightcap.
This weekend I plan to head over to Patisserie Philippe to try one or two of their offerings—anyone care to join me for an éclair, sablé or croissant? Given their location in the design gulch I’m sure they’ll do a brisk business with pastries and lunch items; I’m particularly excited to see celeri rémoulade on a menu, and the chicken salad with tarragon on brioche doesn’t sound half-bad, either, if for some reason (???) you don’t want a sweet treat.
In other SF restaurant news: Congratulations to Sean O’Brien, executive chef of Myth. He’s just been named one of Food and Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs. Make a reservation now before all the tourists do.
