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Since the doors to Elizabeth Falkner’s new Citizen Cake finally opened on November 13, a constant stream of people pours in from the street — each one welcomed with the same cheery query: “Are you just browsing the desserts?”
Some indeed are looky loos — to be forgiven for ogling the butterscotch miso verrine, macaroons and cupcakes in artful arrangements.
“I love this location,” says Falkner. “Wow, we’re really in a neighborhood. People are always looking in and coming in. It’s been amazing.”
She first opened Citizen Cake South of Market in 1997 as a pastry shop, later moving to Hayes Valley with lunch and dinner menus for the Civic Center crowd. “I think of this as Citizen Cake 3.0,” she says. “I’m having fun here.”
Falkner made her fame wearing a pile of hats: owner of Citizen Cake and Orson restaurants, author of Demolition Desserts, consulting pastry chef at Epic Roasthouse, teacher and mentor to budding chefs.
The red brick wall remains at 2125 Fillmore, long the home of Vivande and its beloved chef Carlo Middione. But the rest of the interior has a sleeker vibe.
Amy Glaze, whose resume boasts kitchen time alongside Guy Savoy in Paris and Eric Ripert at New York’s Le Bernardin, is chef de cuisine. “We’re taking some of the heavier winter dishes like stroganoff and making them lighter, more feminine.” says Glaze. “We just decided on a new dish — duck a la tangerine. It’s a pretty sexy dish.”
There’s attention to the liquid fare, too, with still and sparkling water from Citizen Cake’s own filtration system. It can be mixed with Falkner’s handmade syrups to produce a variety of sodas in such unusual concoctions as patchouli cola, wood and rosebud. And the liquid nitrogen ice cream is still to come, in chocolate, vanilla and grilled sourdough flavors.
“I’m not a mad scientist,” Falkner insists. “I’m really well grounded in fine dining. But why can’t it be fun?”
Citizen Cake is open daily from 10 to 10, serving morning pastries, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner.
Filed under: Food, Drink & Lodging