Cream & Sugar Cafe

*** THIS RESTAURANT IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED ***

A charming coffee house and café in an old house in Mobile’s Oakleigh Garden District, Cream & Sugar has become known in the city and to mail-order customers far and wide for its cake balls. These are two-bite spheres of cake in every flavor imaginable, from Almond Joy and red velvet to coconut snowball and peanut butter. Yummy as they are – and they ARE! – I was smitten by breakfast.

A sausage biscuit is no wan patty on a blah bun. Conecuh sausage (an Alabama brand) comes as a grilled, split link – vividly spiced and packing powerful hickory smoke flavor. The biscuit is a plush cushion, absorbing drippin’s from the sausage and thus becoming even more luxurious. I ordered sausage gravy on the side and received a full cupful – enough for four biscuits. It is rich and porky withy a sneaky, slow-rolling pepper heat.

House-made granola also is extraordinary. It is tremendously nutty with a minimal fruit allotment. Unlike so many candy-bar granolas, it seems to be virtually sugarless, its sweetness coming from a handful of craisins and the fresh pecans and almonds that are its essence.

On the side, I drank a large cup of Cream & Sugar’s special cold-brew coffee, infused with milk and almond flavor. Normally, I prefer coffee straight, but this smooth creation, so dairy fresh and nutty, was impossible to resist.

I am looking forward to return visits for a breakfast burrito made with that good sausage and for muffins and scones that look so good in the bakery case. Lunch also is served, and based on breakfast’s deliciousness, that promises to be worthwhile, too, the menu including an alluring spinach and artichoke grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough.