I knew this would happen. Somehow I knew that no matter how much I avoided the cookie aisle at SuperFresh, stocked the Homewood pad with fruits and veggies and religiously woke up for my morning run -- all in vain attempt to continue the progress I had made on my "Lose the Freshmen 15 in One Summer"' diet back home, I would be in trouble once I left health-nut heaven L.A. and landed back in dirty, greasy Baltimore.
Lo and behold, what is my first review assignment of the year? Sweet Retreat Caf, a sugar addict's Mecca. Well, I figured since I couldn't avoid this little caloric bump in the road (after all, it is my job), I decided to indulge myself with some of the best pastries this little neighborhood bakery has to offer.
The recently-opened Sweet Retreat is located in the ground floor of the Blackstone Apartment building, on the corner of Charles Street and 33rd (right across the street from the Mattin Center). It's in the same location as the old Silk Road Caf, before it moved on campus.
The caf includes the actual bakery portion on the left of the building and a Parisian inspired sitting area directly across the hallway that was just opened.
My roommates and I stood awed as we entered the bakery: display cabinets full of mouthwatering goodies were beckoning me away from the land of Lean Cuisine. The bakery has a wide assortment of fine European style pastries, including French fruit tarts, clairs, Italian cannolis and tiramisu. What's better is that they're all baked on site. Sweet Retreat also offers a wide range of good ole' American eats, such as cookies, brownies, carrot cake and muffins. The bakery also offers fresh baked European style breads by the loaf, often with flavorful little twists, such as Mocha bread.
The bakery selection at Sweet Retreat caters well to the breakfast nosher: fresh, homemade quiche, muffins, cinnamon rolls, croissants and bagels all make this little bakery an excellent stop on your way to that early morning class in Bloomberg.
Along with your poppy seed bagel and lox, Sweet Retreat is quite the little Starbuck's in disguise. A good selection of the classics - a plain and simple black coffee, a nice Chai latte, or maybe some hot cocoa will be just the thing to hit the spot as the temperature continues to drop.
While it's still warm and sunny outside though, (and while I am still not too bitter about leaving Los Angeles weather), Sweet Retreat also has some good treats to cool you down. Their Italian gelato is already growing in popularity among Hopkins students, and is some of the best I have tasted outside of Little Italy. Don't let the little serving cups fool you - the portions are plentiful and the flavors multiple.
Along with your caramel gelato, you could pair one of Sweet Retreat's blended frozen coffees, fruit smoothies or Italian sodas for that extra Arctic blast of refreshment.
My roommates and I were generally impressed with the quality of this little neighborhood bakery's offerings.
Taking into account the not-so-freshness of some of our most-likely-intended-for-breakfast fare at 9:00 PM, the food was far more delicacy than dorm fare. Most of Sweet Retreat's prices are very reasonable - I dare you to find a large Chai latte at Starbuck's for under $3 - although some of the larger cake and tart selections can be a little pricy.
The Sweet Retreat Caf is a charming new addition to the Charles Village neighborhood. It is great place to pop in for your morning latte and bagel, cool off with some better-than-ice cream gelato, have a sugar-supported Statistics study session, or merely just to stop in and celebrate that A on your CIP midterm with a slice of vanilla cheesecake.
I would definitely recommend Sweet Retreat Caf to any sugar junkie, which is why I will be avoiding it like the plague!
