The Cake Studio and other downtown news

On a rare solo expedition, I went downtown in Anchorage this past Saturday to roam around a bit, and in due course, eat!  Downtown was surprisingly empty - not too many citizens roaming around, and a surprising number of small stores and restaurants were closed.  Happily, The Cake Studio, a new bakery on 4th street, was open.  The bakery and boutique is a warm and inviting space filled with tantalizing smells and intriguing sights.  The first thing you will have to do is make some decisions - the long display case is full of gourmet candies, then there is a variety of baked goods and other sweets on display.  The variety makes it very hard to choose.  After quite a few minutes of dithering, I decided on a peppermint dome and a cup of plain coffee.  A note on the coffee - they serve Raven's Brew!  The peppermint dome was amazingly delicious - a tender cookie base with a mound of peppermint mousse and a coating of chocolate with a garnish of peppermint hard candy bits.  It was so delicious I think I briefly went into a trance.  It was not heavy or cloying - just perfectly balanced.  The mellow Raven's Brew was a wonderful complement to this mildly sweet treat. 
       After enjoying my treat, I wandered around a bit to check out the items on sale in the boutique.  There are a few cute tea towels and tablecloths, lots of fancy candles, some specialty baking supplies and some specialty candies.  I wouldn't count on  stocking up your kitchen with their supplies, but if you want specialty items (flavored extracts, fancy sugars, that sort of thing), I would definitely check them out!
  
On another note, Cafe Savannah (of earlier post fame) is gone - in it's place is a Wings and Things.  A sad thing for tapas fans. 

Cafe Savannah

During our downtown adventures last week, we stopped in Cafe Savannah, a tapas bar on 6th avenue. The first thing you will notice from the street is the elaborate fused glass hanging in the front window. Inside, the walls are adorned with various works of art. The tables themselves are funky creations with altered silverware and glass embedded in them. Although the menu includes sandwiches and soup as well as some entrees, we chose to graze from the tapas menu. We had chorizo fondue - which was a rich cheese sauce thick with savory sausage bits. Though this was certainly not diet food, but it was not heavy or oily at all. This came with bread slices for dipping. We both enjoyed this, especially Mr. EA. Our second dish was garlic bread with cheese. The garlic flavor was just right - definitely there but not overwhelming. Next was Beef Kabobs, which were served with a spicy sauce that I think might have been harissa sauce. These were perfectly done and had a rich flavor we very much enjoyed. The standout from my perspective was the patatas bravas, which were baked potato wedges with a spicy tomato pepper sauce. After my first bite I ceded the majority of the chorizo fondue to Mr EA in exchange for the majority of the potatoes. Carnivore that he is, he agreed immediately. These four appetizer plates filled us up to the point that dessert, or even coffee were completely out of the question. And our entire bill was around 25$ - a definite bargain. We are already planning our next trip back!