Sun In Bloom (The Sweets)

Lemon-strawberry cupcakes. You want one.

Some days, you just need a cupcake. Meeting that need when you're gf? Not so easy. I will admit to baking up a tray of cupcakes from a mix when I'm desperate - and then eating way too much, of course. (Even if I just want ONE, I over-indulge; my sweet tooth doesn't have an off switch.) Or schlepping to an out-of-the way (verrrrry out-of-the-way) gf bakery, only to overindulge yet again because, I trekked ALL the way there, dag nabbit. And (whimper) doesn't little 'ol gluten-free me deserve treats?

Pathetic, I know.

But those days, they are over - thanks to Sun In Bloom (yes, the "I" is capitalized here), a Park Slope eatery that has gf cupcakes every single day, so I can get just one - and get my fix. My favorite is relatively new, the lemon-strawberry pictured above: lemony cake with lemon frosting and fresh sliced strawberries. (I like it best after it's been refrigerated, as it hardens the frosting.)

Want a sweet, but (strangely) not in the mood for a cupcake? They also offer muffins, chocolate chip cookies, whoopie pies, and banana bread (with or w/o chocolate chips) - all gluten-free! 

Carrot cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

For all my goings on about their sweets, should mention: Sun In Bloom is a full menu organic vegan and macrobiotic eatery, with the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus available all day. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday, and the menu changes weekly, with a gluten-free pancake item offered every week. (A recent brunch menu included pancakes with caramelized bananas and fresh strawberries. Nice.) Oh, and: All items are vegan, most can be made gluten-free, and some are raw. (Gluten-free, vegan, raw cheesecake, anyone?) I can't offer savory recommendations, as I haven't sampled them yet (will post an update when I do) - but sweets? They all rock.

Cookie sandwich? Yes, please.

The restaurant space itself is gorgeous and comfortable: farm tables, loads of natural light, and high ceilings. The staff is delightful to a fault, even when presented with surly pre-caffeine, low blood sugar me some mornings. You should go there. You will like it. Open 8am-8pm every day, Sun In Bloom is located at 460 Bergen St. between 5th and 6th Avenues and can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/suninbloom