I know it’s unusual for me to post another Crawl so quickly after another one, but since it’s so beautiful out today and I was craving a coffee, I decided to take off for another coffee crawl! Today’s stop brought me to a cute little neighborhood bakery/coffee shop called Sweet Heart Bakery. Located on 8th Avenue between 14th and 13th streets, it’s very easy to reach using the subway system: A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 and L trains are all within a one block radius. Even better, it’s so close to my apartment that I stop there literally every morning, without fail, for my morning cup of coffee.
Sweet Heart Bakery is a family owned and operated business and all of the employees let you experience that sense of family. What I mean by this, is that each morning when I go in I am greeted very warmly even if the coffee line is out the door. Once at the register and placing my order, the person working offers food in a non-pushy way to compliment my coffee. When suggesting these food items they use great descriptors such as “delicious,” “just baked,” “home-made,” “best you’ve ever had.” I just love how they take such pride in each and every product that comes out of their bakery. I would too, considering everything there really is delicious and sometimes the best I’ve ever had.
You will notice from the pictures which I took today that it is all food. I wanted you to really get a feel for how scrumptious all of the desserts and treats look. I will briefly describe and name each of the desserts in the order in which they are shown (from top to bottom) on my blog. The first picture is of the Red Velvet Cupcake (and in the background you can see the Oreo Cookie – yum!). If you’ve ever been to Crumbs for one of their giant cupcakes, picture that with a much more moist and delicious cake and you get Sweet Heart’s version. Amazing. the next picture is something new for them today: Banana Cream Meringue! I was thrilled when I saw it and almost swan dived right into the topping. The meringue’s peaks are expertly browned and give a great presentation for any customer craving something sweet 
(I wish I had tried this today….) The last picture of tasty treats is one of their hand-dipped chocolate shortbread cookies. I’ve had these before, and while the cookie is just a tad dry, the melted dark chocolate that coats one half of the cookie more than makes up for it. Also, if you simply dunk the cookie in a cup of coffee or a glass of milk the problem is easily solved! I recommend any of these three desserts if you’re craving something a little sweet. Also on their menu are muffins, cakes, scones, muffin tops and other cookies. For such a small bakery and storefront, Sweet Heart Bakery really pumps out a lot of great product.
For my midday snack today I had a small cup of coffee with milk and Splenda and a sugar-free blueberry muffin. Yes, sugar-free. Being that Sweet Heart is on the edges of the health-conscious neighborhoods of Chelsea and the West Village they must cater to us health nuts in order to secure business.
They have successfully secured mine with this muffin. It’s about as large as the Red Velvet Cupcake pictured above and just as delicious. Plump and juicy blueberries pack this muffin and provide amazing flavor. Complemented by their delicious, smooth, very strong and HOT coffee, Sweet Heart Bakery provided me with an excellent snack on this gorgeous day. I actually wasn’t able to contain my hunger long enough to take a picture of the muffin and coffee before I enjoyed every last bite. Therefore, my last picture was taken after I finished everything. I know it’s not much help because you can’t see the muffin, but believe me when I tell you, everything at this little bakery is absolutely delicious.
Also…as a little side note, if you’re on foursquare on your iPhone or Blackberry, I’m currently the mayor here…so stop by and say hi!
