I must admit, I walked into this place with some pretty high expectations.
A place called Extraordinary Desserts needs to be, well, extraordinary. Especially when you are taking the time to go out of your way to not have dessert where you possibly had your lunch or dinner, and to come to this restaurant solely for dessert.
Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief – Extraordinary Desserts delivers. My favorite part about this location was its atmosphere (read on, grasshopper!). We went to the Little Italy location on a Monday morning of a three-day holiday weekend to have brunch, and gosh, it was great! Walking into the place, I expected the staff to have a certain air about them, considering the name of the eatery (think: walking into Bloomingdale’s or Saks Fifth Avenue). They proved me wrong; our server came up, got us, sat us down at our table, and basically filled us in on how the whole thing works. That’s right, there’s an art to eating dessert here!
My Best Shot At Trying To Paint You A Picture
So there’s the pretty displays that have the pretty desserts. Then there’s the menu, with different cafe entrees and items other than desserts (drinks, appetizers, etc.) listed on there. Our server helps us figure out exactly what I want. What did that part mean to me? I get to ask my server every annoying question I could ever have about every annoying thing that comes across my mind as I go on this quest for the perfect brunch and breakfast.
While the menu can be ordered from staying table-side, the desserts are the fun part. The displays are in the front of the place, which has a half bakery/half restaurant feel. For lack of a better example at this ungodly hour, I’ll just say it – think of the way Corner Bakery’s or Panera Bread’s setup looks. But, well, SO much better.
Valrhona Mocha, Iced Coffee
Anyway, so you get out of your seats after ordering coffee or whatever you’d like to pair with your meal, and then go up and make direct eye contact with all the desserts they have to offer. I loved this! You get to see what your dessert will look like, so you know exactly what you’re getting before it has come out to your table. In a world filled with vague dessert menus and disappointing confections, this is the place to go if you have a certain picture in your head of what dessert should look like when it comes out to your table.
After making your selections, you sit back down at your table and inform your server what you’ve decided on. Your server will then bring your choices out, plated to perfection – drizzled mocha sauce, rose petals, the works! While waiting for your dessert to come out, take a moment to just let the atmosphere sink in – there’s a bar, for evening guests, high ceilings give a sense of openness to the inside seating area, and patio furniture adorns the outside patio seating area for summer days. The place has a laid-back feel to it, one of those rare spaces in busy cities that lets you forget that time even exists for a few precious moments. At the same time, we saw people run in to grab take-out before rushing off to work, and having their power-lunches on a workday with coworkers inside. The decor make a fluid transformation between quick-café style dining and relaxed social gatherings, depending on what your agenda calls for. My vacation mode with Amit was happening at the very same moment as our neighbor’s lunch hour alone to catch up with the morning paper.
In-House Menu Items
Goddess Granola, paired with almond milk
Since we went in for breakfast, I figured I could rid myself of a guilty conscience if I had at least some type of breakfast food before diving into dessert heaven. Under their “Not To Be Missed” part of the menu, the “Goddess Granola” sounded amazing. Organic dried strawberries, cranberries, apricots, and pineapples were served with granola, topped off with organic almonds and organic pumpkin seeds. I ordered mine with the organic almond milk – that’s just the way I prefer granola, either with soy or almond milk. Besides the different milk options that are usually available to you, you also have the option of ordering the granola with fresh berries and bananas on top, a scoop of ice cream, or even nonfat vanilla yogurt.
Paninis, omelettes, and other European breakfast and lunch items fill up the menu. They also hold a European brunch every Sunday, which costs about $22 per person, and includes different European breakfast classics. For that, Amit’s friend Ben (we’d never have discovered this place, had Ben not raved about it beforehand!), told us they strongly recommend reservations.
To drink, I had the “Valrhona Mocha,” which my server suggested after I told him my coffee preferences. It came out looking really pretty (see picture), and is apparently their most popular drink! It was a rich chocolatey-espresso drink, only to be enjoyed with something like dessert; if you’re getting a sandwich here, you might want to stick to an iced tea. They also have a “Valrhona Hot Cocoa,” if you want all the yum, but none of the caffeine. Amit got the iced coffee, which he said was the perfect strength when you’re trying to wake up on a lazy Monday (holiday) morning. The “Pink Hot Chocolate” seemed like a pretty fun drink too – it’s a hot chocolate with whipped cream and strawberry white chocolate sprinkles on top! The menu also has a couple of dessert drinks, items like the “Butterscotch Rootbeer Float,” and “Coconut Porter Beer Float,” as well as classics like the sundae.
Now for the good stuff – what you probably came to read about – DESSERT!
Dulce de Leche
The dessert area is really easy to get lost in, unless you’re planning on getting one of everything! I had to narrow down my choices so that I could truly enjoy the desserts. My father always says, “it’s not an indulgence anymore if you’re over-indulging.”
The desserts that caught my eye were “La Bête Noir,” a series of dark chocolate cake layers stacked between crème brûlée, ganache, and mousse, the “Viking,” a chocoholic’s dream, composed of chocolate cake layers adorned with creamy (chocolate) crème brûlée and milk chocolate cremeuse layers, topped with crushed chocolate and almonds. The “Torta Misu” is a house favorite, with a slight twist on the Italian classic. The “Shangri-La” is appealing to the eye, made up of moist vanilla cake layers sitting between white chocolate mousse, guava mousse, and topped with fresh strawberries and house-made whipped cream. If I talked about every dessert that looked good here I could fill several paragraphs quite easily!
Gianduia
After sensing our indecisiveness, our server came up to cater to us at the front. After letting him know what we were deciding between and what kind of tastes we prefer to have that morning, I narrowed my choice down to the “Gianduia,” Amit to a slice of the “Dulce de Leche,” and we both figured we’d get a third since we wouldn’t be back for a while, so we settled upon the “Cream Cheese Brownie.” The Gianduia was not only our server’s favorite, but their top-seller! Chocolate cake layers moistened with rum were placed between layers of hazelnut buttercream, chocolate mousse, and boysenberry marmalade. The whole thing was topped with crushed almond pralines. The Dulce de Leche has been featured on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” and is another favorite of their regulars. Crunchy milk chocolate pieces are hiding among alternating layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. After it was plated and served to us at our table, we couldn’t help but admire the homemade dulce de leche that essentially made this dessert so sinfully good!
We didn’t even touch our Cream Cheese Brownie – after the first two pieces, we were way too full! Amit suggested I have brownie boxed (they were careful not to crush the beautiful decor on top!) to take home for my sister. Later that day when she had it, she said it was really good but really rich, so she had half then and half the next morning. Before leaving, we also got a “Pecan Triangle” for my father, who prefers his desserts not-so-desserty, so if you’re looking for a pastry to enjoy with your morning coffee, something simple, I’d suggest you go with this shortbread menu item. Petite cakes, cupcakes, scones, and bars are always fresh for their regulars who drop in for a cup of coffee and a pastry treat. Below, there are pictures of all the great things we didn’t get a chance to try!
Bread pudding, topped with lemon meringue
Brownies, turnovers, and bars are apart of the daily pastry assortments made available
More of the regular dessert menu items on the to-go side of the restaurant, such as petite cakes and cookies
So…Get Over There Already!
Extraordinary Desserts is located at 1430 Union Street, in Little Italy of San Diego. Their hours, at the time of this post, are as follows: 8:30-11am on weekdays, Fridays 8:30am-midnight, Saturdays 10am-midgnight, and on Sundays from 10am-11pm.
My suggestion is to make a reservation ahead of time if you’re going on a weekend or for dinner, especially if you’re only visiting SD for a day or two – I’ve heard it gets disappointingly busy during peak dining hours, especially on weekends!
-annumzie
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