What a great name for a bakery with a flair for art. It’s always fun to stumble on to these little culinary gems in the City.
Sweet Art: the name says it all. This quaint, little bakery/cafe tucked away in the Shaw neighborhood, is also a mini art studio. Cyndy and I headed there for lunch recently after reading a piece about it in one of the local food magazines.
Vegan and Virtuous
I like it when a place makes you smile as you walk in the door. Sweet Art does that. The décor is pleasant and amusing without being kitschy. Upon arriving, my inclination was to view the whimsical art work, that lined the walls.
But first we stopped to scan the floor-to-ceiling menu, hanging like ancient scrolls on the entry wall. The oversized lettering meant I didn’t have to search for my readers to order lunch.
Menu at the door
The bakery comes with bits of wisdom as well as lunch. When I inquired about the ownership, I learned that Sweet Art is a black-owned, woman-owned business, that’s been around since 2008.
The Funky Burger
At the walkup counter, we settled on the vegan burger. My version was called the Funky Burger. Both orders came with a side of kale salad. We felt so virtuous. I always do when I eat kale.
The bakery-cafe makes everything from scratch, including the bread for the vegan burgers we had. While the flavors were just right, I regret the homemade bread didn’t have enough structure to hold all the contents, so things got pretty messy.
I should have used a knife and fork. Instead, I used my hands like a giant clamp to keep the bulging contents from falling out. For some reason, Cyndy didn’t have that problem. Maybe the sauces made the difference. Hmm. . . or perhaps it was just the manual dexterity of a younger person.
“You are what you eat, so eat something sweet.”
Blueberry pie and oatmeal, raisin, walnut cookies
Needing something to counter all the healthiness of that vegan burger and kale salad, we happily settled on the blueberry pie. (I later read that the cinnamon rolls, brownies, and cup cakes are usually the first thing to sell out. A return trip is definitely in order.)
Worth noting. If you’re ever in need of a vegan wedding cake, this is your go-to place.
Provisions for the Road
Cyndy checks out Wild Olive Provisions next door, where you can find a fascinating choice of wines, baguette sandwiches, and charcuterie.
As we left, Cyndy noticed a store next door called Wild Olive Provisions. Anything with the name Provisions attached to it is always an adventure. The word “provisions” makes me think of a sign in a general store, where you’d go before loading the covered wagon for a trip across the plains.
But if you’re more of a “stay at home” type, Wild Olive is nicely stocked with wine, cheese, and charcuterie, that work well for an evening on the patio.
Cyndy goes for a couple of cans of Two Stack Irish Whiskey for her husband and father. They’re smaller than a tomato juice can! Never seen that size before.
Our clerk said he was soon opening a flower shop a few doors down. How wonderful: posies, bread, wine, homemade sweets, and vegan fare all on the same corner. ‘Tis heaven on earth! Omar Khayyam reminisced about such a time:
“A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and, thou, beside me singing in the wilderness. O, wilderness were paradise enow.”
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