For months, trying to eat at Cake was like the search for the Holy Grail. I saw it on a Friday evening when strolling Chestnut Hill and was beckoned by its title, only to find it was closed. I came back right after work one night at an earlier hour, unfortunately discovering it is only open for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays. Another time, I arrived around 5:45p on a Friday, only to find that it closes between 5 and 6 to set up for dinner service! Whew...they don't make it easy to be a customer.
Once you're in, however, it is worth the trouble. I have visited twice merely to sample pastries, and was delighted with their fresh hand-crafted tarts. Rich lemon custard, tangy key lime, decadent chocolate ganache over peanut butter (Note to chef: put this one in a chocolate shell!), homey apple blueberry crumb, and my perennial favorite - the marzipan and fruit concoctions known as frangipan, tiled with glazed plums, apples, nectarines and more. Delish! Make sure you let them sit out for 15 minutes or so to reach room temperature so you can appreciate the pastry's buttery goodness and the true depth of the fillings' flavors.
This weekend, I finally had a chance to try the restaurant menu when I arrived with my aunt for a late Sunday brunch. The airy space is a converted greenhouse with the feel of an outdoor courtyard (brick floor, fountain, greenery, and all) and colorful banners strung up above, providing what we both agreed was a "good vibe." It is casual but attractive and feels special.
My aunt wisely ordered the Crab Cake Benedict. She raved about the large, delicate crab cake, chock full of large lumps of crab and studded with freshly diced herbs. It easily surpassed the greasy canned crustacean blobs so often served under this name. The cake sat next to a perfectly poached egg (doused in rich hollandaise) atop a rash of grilled baby asparagus and toasted brioche, dazzling her tastebuds. To close the deal, it came with a set of excellent home fries; moist and delicious chunks of potato rather than the burned, dry hulls frequently offered by brunch establishments. The saffron advertised as an ingredient of the hollandaise was not easily detectable, but the dish as a whole was tremendously successful.
I had a frittata consisting of a fluffy round of egg studded with asparagus, mushrooms, gouda cheese and Italian sausage. It was well-cooked, but lacked interesting flavors. The filling chunks were large in size but diffusely distributed, leaving many bites of mere under-seasoned egg. The gouda seemed only to be grated and sprinkled on top, rather than incorporated in the egg mixture. However, I thoroughly enjoyed my ration of the uncommonly good home fries, and - most of all - the large hunk of cornbread I requested in place of toast.
Oh. my. lord. That cornbread deserves its own paragraph. I am a cornbread devotee, and this one checked every box on my list. Crusty outside, cakey inside, sweetened with honey in the batter, and toasty warm. Not to mention the generous portion. I swooned! I ignored the latter third of my frittata and noshed on this golden treat until every crumb was gone.
My aunt bought a few beautiful tarts for the road, and I carted off a tasty lemon curd-filled white sponge cupcake for later. All in all, this was a delightful place for brunch with good service, delicious food, and a friendly atmosphere. Don't miss Cake...if you can get there when it's open! read more