Spruce Confections sounds like any number of taffy and fudge “shoppes” in Tourist Town, U.S.A., but don’t let the name fool you. Nowhere in this Pearl Street gem will you find bright green mint chip fudge by the pound.
An upscale bakery and café, Spruce Confections sets a worldly tone with reproductions of French posters, signs announcing fair-trade coffee and salsa music.
Lines are usually five or six deep, allowing ample time to go off, on, and ultimately back off your diet as you wait to order your coffee and gaze at cases of whole cakes, brownies, bars, cookies, croissants and six kinds of scones.
Hard to pass up are the espresso sour cream brownies, akin to flourless chocolate cake, and the cakier, walnut-laden Spruce brownies. Golden macaroons are said to be excellent, but at the last minute I always change my mind in favor of the chewy Old B cookie, loaded with oats, chocolate chips, pecans, almonds and walnuts.
Spruce Confections considers itself a dessert bakery, so don’t stop here looking for a crusty olive boule to go with dinner. That doesn’t mean savory items are unfamiliar terrain: No matter how strong the dessert case’s pull, it is the natural roast turkey sandwich that draws me.
Most traditional turkey sandwiches are sweet, as if honey mustard and cranberry sauce are synonyms for “gourmet.” Not this one. Served on seeded artisanal bread, the sandwich is deliciously piquant thanks to aged cheddar, oven-dried tomatoes, lettuce, balsamic vinaigrette and Dijon mustard.
The chicken-salad sandwich shuns the overdone walnut-grape duo and opts for accents of fresh basil.
Salads range from tasty accompaniments to main courses. On a recent trip, I happily paired the homemade roasted fennel tomato soup (one of the day’s specials) with a Spruce house salad composed of organic arugula, goat cheese and sliced apples.
More substantive options include the seared ahi tuna salad with carrots, red bell peppers, jicama and organic field greens; and the Mediterranean, with olives, artichokes, red bell peppers and Parmesan.
The bad news: Seating is minimal, and some tables place you nearly knee-to-knee with patrons waiting in line.
If you’re lucky enough to hit the shop on one of Colorado’s touted 300 days of sun, pull up a chair at the small brick plaza next door, sip your latte and enjoy the weather.
Then, after window-shopping at the wine and vintage gardening stores next door, run and feed the meter. Nothing ruins a trip to Spruce Confections like a parking ticket.
Gretchen Kurtz is a Denver freelance writer.
Spruce Confections, Bakery and Cafe
BAKERY-CAFE|767 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-449-6773 (also 4684 N. Broadway, Boulder) |
$1.29-$31.38|6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday to Friday; 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Street parking only..
Front burner: If Boulder is too far to drive, look for Spruce Confections’ fare at a cafe near you. With a large wholesale business, it supplies restaurants from Longmont to south Denver.
Back burner: Indoor seating is scarce.
