How Sweet It Is

Start Andrea Lever talking about the food she loves – sun-kissed Southern comforts like cobblers and pecan pie – and you can see the memories sparkling into focus in her eyes. Chalk it up to a childhood in Clover, SC (the town with “love” in the middle) and years of intense training in the art of the sweet stuff under the tutelage of pastry chef superstars Katie Gulla and M. Kelly Wilson (whose coconut tapioca brûlée, on the menu at Cypress, is an absolute feast for the senses).

As the newly christened pastry chef at Blossom, Andrea is already orchestrating a dazzling array of delicacies to debut this fall. Classics, such as the red velvet bread pudding crafted by Katie, her predecessor and mentor, will remain in place alongside a whole new batch of reasons to save room for dessert.

Take care, though: talking sweets with this talented lady could make even the strongest willed among us skip the main course altogether and go directly for the decadence.

Ah, that’s the thing about Charleston: this entire city is like a siren song for foodies.

For those among us who love a bit of sugar, there is so much to love here, from perennial favorites like the coconut cake at Peninsula Grill and the Coca-Cola cake at Jestine’s Kitchen to recent temptations like the chocolate cake with cranberry glaze or chocolate covered bacon sundae at Shine.

We’re already dreaming of what pastry chef extraordinaire Lauren Mitterer, formerly of Red Drum in Mt. Pleasant, will unveil when her new Spring Street pastry shop, Wild Flour, opens this month.

Sometimes it’s simple convenience that charms us. Being able to slip into Fast & French, for cinnamon croissants, chocolate mousse cake, or warm bourbon butterscotch cake with coffee ice cream makes an afternoon on Broad Street oh so much better.

Or decadence to go. Taking home one of the many multi-layered cakes from Baked, with inventive flavors like Sweet & Salty, Oreo, Green Tea, Caramel Apple and Pistachio Surprise, should be a weekly ritual.

Whenever we hear Mike Lata talking about a dish at FIG that he is particularly excited about, be it a main course or a dessert, we’re ready with fork in hand. In this case, it’s a lemon tart with local blueberry compote that has us rolling in bliss.

“When a local grower comes to you with top quality berries still warm from the picking, it’s inspiring,” says Lata, whose farm to table philosophy has foodies all around the country talking. “And it’s been a great year for blueberries.”

Speaking of berries, Circa 1886 pastry chef Scott Lovorn has a house made wild strawberry soda that is driving us, well, wild. Paired 1950s style with an assortment of fresh baked cookies, as well as an orange brown butter financier, it is a sheer delight.

The warm autumn berry cobbler at Oak Steakhouse rounds out the list. Seriously: cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries with vanilla bean ice cream, oh, my, my, my. And there’s just something about six layers of Devil’s Food, as in Oak’s “Chocolate Indulgence,” served with a fine glass of port after a steak dinner that makes you remember you’re alive and living in one of the most beautiful cities in the nation, you know?

And, really, that’s what saying, “yes,” when the server asks if you’ve saved room for dessert is all about: remembering that you – yes, you – are a good boy or girl and you’ve earned a bit of sinfully delicious reward.

Life can’t be all salads, after all.

So slip that fork in, breathe in all this beauty that surrounds us, and let yourself feel good about being (just a little) bad every now and then.

Story and Photos by: Jason A. Zwiker