FOOD

King Cake

When a bakery opens up a full-service kitchen, it's a win-win for everyone.


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Published: Nov 7, 2007

When a bakery opens up a full-service kitchen, it's a win-win for everyone.Chestnut Hill's Cake, once housed by the Top of the Hill Market behind Germantown Avenue, has relocated to Robertson's Florist's glassed-in conservatory — a coup of a venue for expanded space and memorable ambience.

Tables are arrayed on the natural stone floor around tropical plants. From the ceiling hang orange banners that mimic the koi fish depicted in paintings on the back wall. Small potted succulents and herbs line the windows. All in all, it's a sunny place in which you can't help feeling a bit like a plant yourself, nourished and well-tended.

On the left side of the entrance are glass cases displaying the array of baked goods for which Cake was famous; behind that is the kitchen for which it will be. Open all day for sweets, Cake also offers lunch and breakfast hours on weekdays and brunch on weekends. The mealtime offerings are, for the most part, simple: fruit and granola, grilled cheese, chicken salad. So, too, is the presentation, which is typically garnish-free.

But dismissing the ordinary-seeming menu would mean missing out on savory treats like a fluffy frittata of smoked cheddar and caramelized onion with pepper-dusted home fries or an autumnal salad of wheat berries, roasted beets, butternut squash, goat cheese and dried cranberries. The "croque monsieur" proves to be something of a misnomer, though layered ham and gruyere on a warm croissant slathered with whole grain apricot mustard is delicious in its own right. A tangy coleslaw (a side option, along with chips or salad) is too good to be confined to the little cup it's served in.

The monsieur's brunch counterpart is the Eggs Madame, the same ham-cheese-and-croissant configuration topped with two poached eggs and a luxuriant saffron hollandaise. A golden, dill-laced latke, crisp yet moist, is beautifully paired with Maine Ducktrap smoked salmon, horseradish crème fraîche and a sprinkling of black caviar.

A meal here is not complete without at least one treat from the case. The chocolate pecan tartlet has the gooey underpinnings of a pecan pie, but contains its stickiness in a prim chocolate crust. A frangipane tart's buttery pate sable encircles soft almond paste studded with sour cherry. Especially ooh- and ahh-eliciting is the pumpkin brownie, with its decadent, cream-cheese-swirled top. Clearly, Cake has not forgotten its original mission — and neither should you.

(e_ludwig@citypaper.net)

Cake8501 Germantown Ave.215-247-6887

Hours: Tue.-Fri., 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sat., 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; closed Monday.Breakfast, $6-$10; Lunch, $5-$12; Brunch, $6-$15.