Sugar & Spice

Aug 18th, 2016

Sep 16th, 2015

I almost want to give Sugar and Spice a negative review so I can keep it all to myself, but that would be rude and selfish. I'm hard pressed to find any place in the Bronx that offers a laid back cafe style brunch place where you can leisurely read your book or paper while scarfing down a delectable brunch. You'd have to go to Manhattan to find a place like this, but all I have to do is go in my car and drive ten minutes to City Island. It's a low key place with only 9 tables. The atmosphere is cozy and casual: low ceilings, soft green and cream checkered flooring, walls painted brick red and a small counter with half a dozen cake stands displaying the fresh baked offerings of the day. I sat down, got a cup of coffee and checked out the brunch menu. Everything sounded tantalizing, but I finally decided to get the poached eggs on a bacon cheddar biscuit. It was a play on Eggs Benedict with the chef's own creative twist. The eggs were done perfectly, the hollandaise sauce was tart and creamy and it soaked through a really dense but flavorful bacon cheddar biscuit. Along with the Canadian Bacon and bed of spinach, the dish was accented with a pickled artichoke spear. It's not as frou frou or pretentious as you might think. The dish was actually very hearty and the chef proves his culinary talents by pairing all these flavors superbly. It felt like Christmas in my mouth. Sugar and Spice Cafe offers Brunch on the weekends from 9am - 3pm and Dinner, Wednesday - Sunday 5p - 10p. In addition, they also cater and offer a variety of custom cakes, which I can't wait to try one day. Towards the end when the place was starting to get crowded, I felt a little rushed out of there. I'll probably have to try it a little earlier when it's less crowded. The staff knew some of the patron's names, so I'm thinking S&S is still a best kept secret. Unfortunately, I think it's just going to be a matter of time. Maybe it's too much to ask for a quiet place to idle away an hour or two that doesn't involve a barista screaming out coffee orders, but if this is the closest I can get, I'll take it.
Feb 26th, 2013

Sep 23rd, 2012