CoMO gets its just desserts
Victory will be sweet for one Columbia dessert spot.
Published April 7, 2009
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A dessert plate sits at Encore Wine and Dessert Bar on Saturday night. The Upper Crust, located on Elm Street, turns into Encore from Thursday through Saturday, with ambient lighting and soft jazz music.
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A stout brownie sundae, a Flat Branch favorite, sits on a table at the pub and brewery Sunday. Flat Branch, located on Fifth Street, uses its own beer in the delectable concoction.
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A plethora of baked goods and desserts sits on display on the countertop of Uprise Bakery, part of the Ragtag Cinema.
Let's be honest. Dessert is pretty hard to mess up. While I love a true delicacy, it won't stop me from wolfing down stale Ranger cookies at Mark Twain Market or eating a half box of sugar cubes if I am struck by a dessert craving (examples A and B of my complete indiscretion in regards to sweet substances).
There is no clear champion in the Columbia dessert scene. Like they say in grade-school soccer, everyone is a winner.
Each of the following restaurants has its own particular charm -- which restaurant you choose for your chocolate (or strawberry or caramel, or in one strange divergence, beer) fantasy is up to you.
But I will award honorary titles. Example: your 8-year-old niece brings me rock-hard chocolate chip cookies that she spent five hours baking and served with a smile. I'd slap a "Best Effort" ribbon on her and send her back to her ill-fated culinary future.
Encore Wine & Dessert Bar (904 Elm St.)
Classy. It's all about atmosphere at Encore Wine & Dessert Bar (alias: Upper Crust Bakery & Café during the day). Encore has an upscale, ambient setting --dimmed lights, candles on mirrored plates under cloth tablecloths and dressed-up waitstaff.
Presentation is key. Each dessert had its own special attraction, whether it is a brandy-snap basket for the raspberry sorbet or a swirled strawberry puree underneath Encore's unique Strawberry Passion concoction. Strawberry Passion, which consists of layers of red velvet cake and strawberry ice cream in a graham-cracker pie crust, enveloped strawberry icing, brings me to another point about Encore: innovation.
You're bound to find something new to try, from White Passion (a creation containing white chocolate and passion fruit mousse) to the Raspberry Miroir (raspberry mousse with pink and white striped cake, raspberry glaze and puff pastry). Encore also offers some more classic desserts, such as the Ultimate Sundae or the "Tira-Mizzou".
You'll pay for the fancy extras; expect your bill to be about $10 per person for dessert alone (including tax and tip). Most desserts run from $7-$9. Sharable desserts -- chocolate fondue or the Encore Fantasy -- are $13 and $16 respectively. The Encore Fantasy, which includes a sampling of five different desserts, is more than enough for two to share.
The Verdict: Best Presentation
Flat Branch Pub & Brewing (115 South Fifth St.)
Think of your grandma's house on a late Sunday afternoon. Flat Branch Pub & Brewing offers home-style favorites with a twist, like their créme brûlée bread pudding or Wild Tiger Float (Arbuckle's ice cream in Flat Branch stout beer).
Flat Branch's dessert menu, while somewhat limited, offers comfort food favorites that everyone can enjoy. The portion size is quite hefty, so come hungry or be prepared to share. You'll be sure to get your money's worth with a moderate price range of $2.99-$6.99.
The menu is not for the faint of stomach, either. The desserts are heavy and intense, but that in no way stops them from being delicious. The chocolate espresso torte (chocolate and espresso flourless cake topped with chocolate ganache) packs quite a punch. Its texture is near that of fudge, albeit a piece of fudge the size of a slice of cake, and it tastes a lot like crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Flat Branch also offers a stout brownie sundae. Made with Flat Branch stout beer and topped with Arbuckle's ice cream, this creation could easily become a favorite among college students. The thick brownie tastes something like extremely moist beer bread with a heavy dose of rich chocolate.
The Verdict: Best Home-style Treats
Uprise Bakery (10 Hitt St.)
Uprise Bakery, located inside Ragtag Cinema, offers a quirky array of baked goods that is sure to satisfy anyone's dessert craving. Uprise has a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere and free WiFi for its patrons.
Uprise Bakery offers a wide array of baked goods, from cookies to Danishes. The opulent turtle brownie, $2.75, offers enough food to satisfy as an afternoon snack or to accompany your coffee. The carrot-cake cupcake -- a large, moist carrot cupcake topped with a mountain of cream cheese frosting and crystallized ginger -- is the perfect break from the monotony of chocolate chunk cookies.
Although the supply of Uprise Bakery's desserts is more limited and less consistent than a traditional restaurant, the speed of service makes up for this. Take-out is also an option, making this bakery the perfect place for a dessert craving on the run. What Uprise lacks in plate presentation it makes up for in price: all baked goods are less than $5.
Most importantly, Uprise offers crave-worthy desserts. With its convenient downtown location and speedy service, Uprise is sure to become a routine stop.
The Verdict: Best Bang for Your Buck
Overall winner:
Uprise doesn't have the bells and whistles of Encore Wine & Dessert Bar, but it certainly offers high quality (at an unbeatable price).