Review: Sun Street Breads

Red Hen (Credit: Angharad Guy)

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Sun Street Breads

Breads, pastries, cookies, breakfast, lunch and more in SW...

Photos: Sun Street Breads

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Since opening earlier this year, Sun Street Breads has quickly made a name for itself as a purveyor of mighty fine bread and other baked goods. If you've tried their "Apple of My Eye Rye" or their classic baguette, you know why. Rave reviews have been echoing all over Twitter regarding their biscuit sandwiches and imaginative lunchtime offerings.

Now, with little fanfare, Sun Street Breads has started serving dinner and we have two words for you: go now. Service was warm, accommodating and hugely welcoming. On their second night of later opening hours, there was barely a handful of diners in sight but that's all soon to change, mark my words. Annette Colon, who learned to cook in Puerto Rico and most recently worked at Lucia's in Uptown, is Sun Street's new chef. Her menu is full of inventive surprises and deliciously interesting takes on some classics.

The menu is split up into the following categories: noshies, greens and soups, plates and sammies plus a smattering of dessert options from owner and baker, Solveig Tofte. "Noshies" include an eclectic mix of smaller bites such as Tostones & Mojos ($6), salted plantain chips with just the right sprinkling of coarse salt and a complementary pineapple pepper mojo, a marinade containing garlic, olive oil and sour oranges that has the air of sweet chili sauce. A great choice if you just want to complement your Surly Cynic or Fulton Sweet Child O' Vine with a seriously good salty bar snack.

Cleverly named, "Challabacitas" ($6)—loosely translating to "little challah pumpkin things"—comprise pumpkin filled pockets of deep-fried challah served with green onion sour cream. The sour cream seems an odd choice at first but it cools and balances the creaminess of the sweet pumpkin quite well.

The Chop Chop Sidecar ($7) salad is a knock out—picture the freshest micro greens and romaine, paired with grated jicama, radishes and cucumbers with a zingy, refreshing citrus vinaigrette and breadcrumbs.

The old dictum holds that the real test of a restaurant or chef is in its roast chicken. If that's the case, Sun Street Breads passes with flying colors. The Red Hen ($16) offers up salt roasted chicken, bread pudding, black eyed peas and a bourbon sauce. It's a spell binding dish. The gravy-like bourbon sauce is a stand out. It coats the chicken without drowning it and allows the crispy skin to shine.

All of the sandwiches or "sammies" are created with house-made breads, which immediately give Sun Street a leg up on many of their competitors. The Shorewich ($11) is cornmeal crusted cod, coleslaw and tartar sauce on a fluffy white bun, served with fries or salad. By looks you could find this sandwich at any summertime river or lake-side taco stand in Minneapolis but the quality of the ingredients in this sandwich really speak for themselves and the flavor is outstanding. A moreish mix of tender cod (which could have seen more of its supposed cornmeal crust on our visit), tangy coleslaw and the soft, pliable bun allows this classic to stand apart.

One of the winning factors of Sun Street is its widely appealing menu. There were a handful of dishes on this not-very-big menu that we were itching to try if only we'd had room. Without doubt we'll return to try the Latin Cowboy sandwich ($11) with its steak, arugula, peppers and chimichurri sauce on Sun Street's baguette and the Cornwall ($12), a beef pastie with gravy, greens and carrot-onion marmalade. We'd be crazy not to.

Sun Street Breads' dinner menu is a truly imaginative collection of dishes that delight and satisfy the senses. The influence of Annette Colon's worldly experience is apparent with nods to Puerto Rico, England, Key West and Cape Cod, and her re-imaginings of familiar dishes will keep patrons coming back for more. You'll be hard-pressed to find food as well executed and interesting for these prices anywhere else in town. Snag your table now, before the line is out the door.