Saturday, January 31, 2009

CC: Darling's Cafe & Famous Cheesecakes

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What's does "CC" mean?

Subject:
Darling's Cafe & Famous Cheesecakes
Location visited: Philadelphia, PA
(20th St location)
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 3+ [see key]


Enigmatic as it is, I love cheescake but don't care for cream cheese. It could be that I prefer a spread of peanut butter on my bagel to a smear of cream cheese, and guacamole or salsa instead of a high-calorie taco dip (sorry mom). But for an odd reason, when the combination of ingredients that produce a good slice of cheesecake is laid at my fingers, I'm all over it.

And what else would go well with a good slice of cheesecake besides a good cup of coffee? I surrender that I can think of little else. Especially when it's good, local cheesecake.

Apparently the folks at Darling's Cafe & Famous Cheesecakes agree, as to my surprise amidst my first visit I found they had a full coffee menu. Sadly, they serve La Colombe, a moderate-to-fair Philadelphia roaster. The coffee followed suit as it was smoothly bland and had a bit of an off-taste (not to mention a wee bit stale, but that's on the barista). The espresso fared a little better, as it had hints of cocoa and lemon, but overall the shot was quite charred. The cheesecake most fortuitously twas delicious; I felt morose that I hadn't a better coffee to ingest it with.

Walking out of the cute little cafe, I made a note to stop by Darling's the next time I'm in need of a cheesecake. But unless things change with the coffee operation, I'll probably be pairing it with coffee of better pedigree.

If you're nearby Philly, give Darling's Cheesecakes a try.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I live around the block from Darling's -- I agree on the stale coffee (at times) and the cheesecake is amazing. But their hidden specialty are their breakfast sandwiches, which somehow magically cure hangovers.

Anonymous said...

wow, it looks cold! good weather for hot cocoa