Eat First

Bittersweet Wine and Dessert Bar: Compliments to the pastry chef

    Bittersweet's popular Death By Chocolate Cake. Photo courtesy of Bittersweet Wine and Dessert Bar.

What a nice surprise to arrive at Bittersweet on a Tuesday night and find a line snaking out the door.

Was everyone, like us, taking advantage of their soon-to-expire dollars-off-dessert deal (from LivingSocial)? Was everyone suddenly in a mindset of “Life is short… Eat dessert first?’’

A full house on a Tuesday night – a slower night in the restaurant business -- speaks volumes about the place. Bittersweet, with its menu of mainly desserts, wine and coffees, plus a short list of savory fare, clearly fills a void in downtown Syracuse.

THE VIBE: Warm, compact and inviting, with cream- and chocolate-colored walls and pink accents. The place is small – maybe six tables for two and four along one wall, and a couple tables for larger parties near the door and toward the back. The bar has tall, comfortable padded stools and room for about a dozen more people looking to satisfy their sweet tooth.

The place was full of women, including a couple tables with groups that looked to be celebrating a birthday and upcoming wedding with sparkling wine, shared platters of cheese and fruit and plenty of chocolate, including fondue and slabs of Death by Chocolate Cake that looked big enough for three people to sink forks into.

LIQUID ASSETS: A few beers by the bottle plus a list of about 40 wines, available by the bottle or glass (two pour sizes, 2 ounce and 4 ounce). Coffee is also available, and the espresso machine was getting a good workout.

THE MENU: More than a dozen desserts, all made by pastry chef Lucia Barbieri, sister of owner Patrizia Barbieri, are available. The temptations include cakes, cream puffs, tiramisu, Belgian waffles dressed with ice cream and chocolate sauce, and classics like sundaes and strawberry shortcake.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: After much mulling of the wine and dessert menus, we settled on a glass of Montevina white Zinfandel (California) for me (my first choice, a French rose, was not available) and a glass of Acrobat by King Estate Pinot Noir (Oregon) for Robert. I ordered the Whipped and Cream Puffs (something I’m not likely to bake at home) but soon learned they were not available that evening.

Back to the drawing board: Make that Carrot Cake and Creme Brulee.

Bittersweet's Carrot Cake (top) and Creme Brulee.

The carrot cake ($6.50), an over-sized, multi-layer slice topped with cream cheese icing, was moist with a wonderful texture, hinting of cinnamon and nutmeg and flecked with a few nuts. The crème brulee ($7.75) had a nicely browned and crackly sugar top, hiding smooth, rich custard underneath. In case you’ve never had crème brulee, this is a good place to try it. The combination of crackly burnt sugar and creamy custard is one of life’s pleasures.

WHAT’S SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T WANT DESSERT GOING TO FIND? Soups, salads, and sandwiches, plus cheese platters for sharing – not just desserts.

THE DAMAGES: $35 plus change, for two desserts, one beer, three glasses of wine, tax and tip.

WOULD WE GO BACK: Absolutely. We’ll return for the Whipped and Creamed Puffs that weren’t available, or maybe for a shared slice of Strawberry Love, Bittersweet’s version of strawberry shortcake. Fresh local berries will be in season in a few short weeks, after all (hint, hint!).

VITALS: Bittersweet is at 121 W. Fayette St., in downtown Syracuse.  The restaurant is open 11:30 a.m. to midnight Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday (closed Sunday). Information: 315-474-9463.

 

Speedy Greens: A REALLY healthy CNY restaurant

Imagine a restaurant 100 percent committed to your health and wellness, with a chef who uses fresh, organic produce and organic ingredients as much as possible, stays away from the salt shaker and keeps fat and calorie content in check.

Imagine a restaurant where vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free items get top billing and center-of-the-plate treatment.

You’re not dreaming. This is reality at Speedy Greens, a restaurant, store and healing arts/education center in Cicero. It's owned and operated by Cathleen Kelly, a certified holistic health nurse.

The restaurant and store occupy the first floor of an old house on Route 11. Upstairs, Kelly offers Reiki, reflexology, stress management and nutritional-wellness consultations. The restaurant, open since 2007, is an outgrowth of Kelly’s primary work. If you’re trying to eat more healthily, Speedy Greens is your Rx.

THE VIBE: Warm and bright, friendly and intimate, with about five tables, total. Kelly cooks in a small kitchen, assisted by her daughter, who also waits tables.

LIQUID ASSETS: Kelly’s fresh carrot juice made a splash as last year’s Taste of Syracuse. You’ll find that juice on the menu, along with vegetable juice, organic lemonade, tea (regular, herbal, ginger), coffee and hot cocoa.

THE MENU: Offerings include greens and feta quiche, vegetable lasagna, veggie pad Thai, a black bean burger, butternut squash ravioli tossed with olive oil and parsley and vegetables and brown rice with ginger-garlic sauce. You’ll also find soups, salads and wraps.

WHAT’S A CARNIVORE GOING TO FIND? The closest thing to meat on the menu is Kelly’s “famous” Tongol tuna burger, baked with celery, cheddar and green olives.

LUNCH: I started with a bowl of carrot and parsnip bisque, which was thin, light and refreshing, and to my taste buds, in need of a little salt and pepper.

A tortilla pizza ($8.49) was thin, crispy and delicious: a tomato-basil "wrap" topped with fresh tomato sauce, spinach leaves and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.

DESSERT: Sweet treats include Kelly’s signature Un-Cheesecake, made with tofu. Healthy cookies and muffins are also available. I opted for a cup of organic coffee ($1.89) for the road and look forward to stopping back for a carrot muffin.

THE DAMAGES: Just under $20, including tax and tip.

THE DETAILS: Speedy Greens is at 8169 Brewerton Road (Route 11), Cicero. The restaurant is open six days a week (closed Mondays) and serves brunch on Sundays. Information: 315-752-0333.

 

From the recipe file of: Mom

Like Mom used to make: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Mom has a double-wide, roll-top recipe file parked on her kitchen counter. It has been there for years, perfectly organized by category: cake, cookies, candy, pies, puddings, etc.

Remember that blueberry or cherry dessert, sort of like a crisp (but made with canned pie filling) you loved as a kid? It’s in there, under cakes: Blueberry Cake Mix Dessert.

Remember the crumble-topped coffee cake you devoured on so many Sundays, after church? It’s in there, in Anne’s handwriting: Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

Mom’s recipe file is a treasure trove. I could spend an entire day looking through it – which, come to think of it, would be an excellent rainy day activity.

Here are a couple recipes.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

½ cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Cream butter with sugar. Add eggs and sour cream. Mix well. Add sifted dry ingredients, then vanilla extract. Spoon half of batter (batter will be thick) into a greased and floured tube pan, spreading with knife or spatula. Top with HALF of topping. Add remaining batter, then remaining topping. Cut through batter and topping several times, as you would for marble cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely on rack. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

 Blueberry Cake Mix Dessert

1 can blueberry pie filling (or any flavor pie filling)

1 box yellow cake mix (any brand; or any flavor)

1/3 cup butter, melted

Whipped cream or whipped topping (optional)

Pour pie filling into a greased cake dish or pan. Cover pie filling with cake mix. Pour melted butter over cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Serve warm with whipped cream or whipped topping.

Hail to the chef: Chef Mom!

When I think of food “like Mom used to make,’’ I don’t think of any one food in particular. I think of the sheer VOLUME of food Mom used to make for seven children and a husband whose palate was, well, limited.

I think of Mom in the kitchen, always in an apron, and the dinners she made us as kids growing up in the ‘60’s: Macaroni and beef with tomatoes (it wasn’t called pasta back then, and some people called that dish “goulash”), pork steak and potatoes, roasted together in a green enamelware casserole, ham and au gratin potatoes, vegetable beef soup with barley (and noodles), waffles for dinner, with sausage and real maple syrup (!), when Dad was away.

I think of birthday cakes with “boiled’’ white icing, Apple Jack (moist apple cake with warm cinnamon sauce), homemade chocolate pudding and fruit pies with the flakiest golden-brown crusts (yup, made with lard).

I think of Crock-Pot stews made in an early, harvest gold-colored model. And I think of how Mom went to France in 1976 and came home excited to make things she’d enjoyed at my sister’s: Cheese souffle. Coquilles St. Jacques.

A few years ago, when I had made a pot of Anthony Bourdain’s ridiculously easy and elegant Mushroom Soup and shared it with my mother, she said something like: “I never made anything like this when I was cooking all the time.’’

That got me to thinking about how differently we cook and eat today, how we cruise websites and download recipes to our “devices” instead of raiding our mothers’ recipe files.

It also got me thinking that if it weren’t for my mother, I wouldn’t even LIKE mushrooms.

Even though my cooking doesn’t exactly mirror hers, Mom’s cooking has played a huge role in my food life and sense of food adventure.

I stash fruit in the freezer by the bag-full and can pickles and jams each year because that’s what Mom did – make use of the summer harvest and enjoy it in the middle of winter.

I make cutout cookies wafer-thin and because that’s how Mom made them.

I make Lemon Extract Cake at Christmastime and give it as gifts to carry on Mom’s tradition (and lessen fruitcake’s bad rap).

I keep trying my hand at pies, a skill I haven’t fully mastered, in the hopes of making one as good as Mom’s.

Some nights, when I’m making a late supper for two and trying to get it on the table before 8 p.m., I think of the woman who cooked nightly for a party of nine and had it on the table by 6 – on the dot.

Hail to the chef. Chef Mom!