If you’ve been called into jury duty lately or you work near the courts downtown, you know that the food options in the area are severely lacking. That changed recently with the opening of Sueños de Azúcar Bakery.
Open from the morning until early evening, the cafe covers all the essential bases. Need a breakfast burrito or an omelette? Sueños de Azúcar has got you. Looking for a great Tripleta or Cuban sandwich? Sueños de Azúcar has got you. Got that sweet tooth craving that won’t go away? Sueños de Azúcar has got you.
On my recent trip down in the late afternoon, finding parking wasn’t easy. But once I got inside, my eyes were lit up by the brilliant dessert case with its full spectrum of color. The dessert case might get people in the door, but don’t sleep on the savory options at Sueños de Azúcar. In addition to the Caribbean-style sandwiches, there’s also pastelitos ($4) and Puerto Rican-style hot dogs (two for $10), which are dressed with cheese, potato sticks, onion, cabbage, ketchup, and mustard. You can also get classic deli sandwiches, a cheeseburger and fries ($12.50), or chicken fingers and fries ($16). In addition, there’s a small breakfast section of the menu.
Because I had just eaten lunch, I decided to go for a few different pastries. If the handful of pastries that I tried is any indication, there are some serious culinary chops at Sueños de Azúcar. Raisins, earthy spices, and the restrained use of sugar in the Arroz con Dulce ($3) gave this rice pudding an unexpected complexity. The sweet dairy of the Tres Leches Almond cake ($5.20) was cut by warm baking spices to create the type of cake you look forward to at the next holiday party.
But the Quesito con Guayaba took the cake with a combination of caramelized baked cream cheese and rich guava paste to score a direct hit right in the pleasure center of my lizard brain. It’s the kind of pastry you keep thinking about and will drive across town to get. It’s that good…