Restaurant Review: Sinfully Delicious Gourmet Pastries

Restaurant:
Address: 107 S. Monroe St. Media, PA 19063
Rating: ★★ out of 5 stars
Style: Take-Out / Cafe
Food: Bakery
Atmosphere: Pick-Up Window
Service: Friendly & Helpful
Price Range: Under $5
Parking: Metered Street Parking
Unique Feature: Call ahead for holiday baked goods and pastries.

Sometimes its the simplest things in life that leave the most lasting impression. On a recent trip to Media, I stopped in the Sinfully Delicious Bakery. Just a step off of State Street, the black awning and cluttered glass window leave much to the imagination. Is it a deli? A luncheonette? No, it’s a satellite location to Brookhaven, PA’s popular pastry shop.

Inside, a pair of chatty coffee drinkers took one of the two small tables against the wall. The black leather loveseat, with its back against the window remained empty.

At the counter, a friendly face was ready, willing and able to help me through my rigorous, baked-goods selection process. I peered into the glass cases with the eagerness of a six year old. It was a battle to not ask for one of everything, as each individual cake looked…sinfully delicious.

In the end, I was able to keep it to a moderate selection of goodies: a red velvet cupcake, a whoopie pie, a banana nut roll, a brownie soufflé and an apple danish. The woman at the counter humored me as I debated a cherry-filled scone, but ultimately decided against. I ordered a cup of coffee, and as it brewed, the counterwoman carefully wrapped my assortment. I paid my $17 bill, and was on my way.

Once at home, I carefully un-taped the sides to the white pastry box, to reveal my pickings. First up was the red velvet cupcake. I sliced it in half, knowing I had a tall order ahead. It wasn’t overly sweet or rich, but almost a vanilla version of itself; the cream cheese frosting had an almost sour flavor, and I didn’t really mind.

Relatively pleased, I made my way to the whoopie pie. While it looked inciting, it was actually hard as a rock and tasted like a stale hydrox cookie, drizzled with hardened chocolate and filled with sugary icing. It’s a far cry from the whoopies I’ve enjoyed in the past, with cake-like cookie and marshmallow filling. A definite miss.

I moved onto the banana nut roll, a tasty looking swirl of cream, cake and chopped nuts. While the banana flavor was nice and subtle, and the cake was moist, the heavy oily qualities of the cream made this pick as nauseatingly addictive as it was overly sweet.

By this point I’d had my fill of overindulgence. But the brownie soufflé awaited. It was dense and dark, filled with that familiar sugary icing and sealed up with a layer of crisp chocolate: a wonderful pick for the chocolate nuts out there.

It was all a dizzying swirl of confection. I felt as if I was stumbling through a dark tunnel in a sugar coma.

But then there was a light: a flaky, cinnamon coated light. It came in the form of an apple danish. Twisted pastry cocooned the diced and seasoned apples. It was baked to perfection and drizzled with a white glazed frosting.

Washed down with a classic cup of coffee, this combination was the highlight of my day. Like I said. It’s the little things that leave the most lasting impressions. And while I’ll question the freshness of the next whoopie pie I order, my faith and love in coffee and danish has never been stronger.

Sinfully Delicious has a variety of danish and other flaky baked pastries, which are decidedly their strongest attribute. It’s worth stopping in for one, next time you’re in the area.