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505 B St. Mary Avenue |
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Dessert Sinsations Cafe
Neighbourhood: Downtown |
The real sin is being forced to order just one.
Since opening 5 years ago, Dessert Sinsations Cafe has broken countless wills and destroyed diets a plenty.
Blame Chef Barbara and the three, magnificent rows of her sugar-spun artistry on display inside the dessert case. Her creative whimsy and unsurpassed technical ability, not to mention oodles of chocolate, cream, sugar and butter, have earned her the unofficial title 'Queen of Confections.'
Meet the maker inside the sunlit, 50-seat eatery in the heart of downtown. Simple and elegant blond-wood furnishings, nature prints, topiaries and bowls of fresh citrus fruit bring the outdoors inside.
Truth be told, Dessert Sinsations serves more savoury than sweet, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Here, familiar, scratch-made dishes achieve new heights with a playful twist or delightful dose of Manitoba ingredients.
Like the decadent desserts, the chef's savoury menu does not shy from the rich side.
Lobster poutine gives Canadian comfort food new life in this diet-be-damned dish. A nest of shoestring potato and yam fries is home to buttery morsels of lobster and mozzarella melting together beneath a ladleful of herbaceous dill hollandaise sauce. Each bite oozes over-indulgence.
Fresh-from-the-garden dill appears again, blended with honey in the sticky and addictive dipping sauce, a companion to Rich's chicken fingers. Tender poultry strips receive the classic British pub treatment—coated in curry-laced batter and fried to crisp perfection. A tarty pickle and corn on the cob are colouful sides that pack crunch.
Remarkably tender and juicy, a lamb burger patty glistens with smoky barbeque sauce. (The house sauce, made from a family recipe, is a closely guarded secret.) The brawny, two-fisted burger is topped with feta, caramelized red onions, fresh basil and tomato and cradled between lush romaine lettuce. Mint and basil aïoli-slathered buns complete this satisfying, multiple napkin affair.
The pure flavour and melt-in-your-mouth texture of Arctic char is enhanced by a multidimensional sauce. Notes of citrusy yuzu extract and warm brown butter tango on the tongue. A medley of roasted turnip, beet and carrot provides an earthy counterpoint to this delicate fish.
A cup of locally roasted Black Pearl Coffee cures the fine-food coma in time to make the crucial 'what-should-we-have-for-dessert?' decision.
The Chef herself has lost count of the epic sweets in her repertoire. She keeps things fresh—in the pastry case and her recipe box—by switching up the sweets menu and always creating new desserts, including ones using fresh rhubarb cut from her own garden.
The compact tiger bar is a delectable treat. Let sweet white, and dark Bernard Callebaut chocolate and peanut buttery goodness melt on your tongue. When the last bite is devoured, wipe the chocolate from your lips, go home and atone for your sins.
Dessert Sinsations Cafe is open Mon-Wed 7:30 am-10 pm, Thu & Fri 7:30 am-midnight, Sat 8 am-midnight.
One of my very favourite get-together-with-the-girls places in the city is Dessert Sinsations. From creative and innovative menu items to a sparkling dessert case that kind of makes me want to cry with joy, it offers the most delectable combination of sweet and savoury.
The menu is packed with so many things to choose from. If you’re a regular reader at Downtown Peggy, you’ll know I’ve got a thing for poutine and Dessert Sinsations’ is one of my favourites. It’s made with a combination of regular and sweet potato fries and topped with a beautiful velvety gravy. You can even make it vegetarian and then it comes with an equally delectable mushroom gravy.
The moist and juicy portabella mushroom white cheddar burger is a can’t-miss menu item (currently featuring as a top contender in the Downtown Magazine best burger in downtown search). I also love the pulled roast turkey sandwich topped with tangy cranberry sauce and sweet red onion chutney.
For an entree choice, chèvre stuffed chicken breast is a good bet. It comes with an amazing strawberry rhubarb red onion compote and a creamy, buttery pistachio risotto. And for a local hit of flavour, I love the spiced pickerel that comes wrapped in a banana leaf (neat) and topped with blueberry siracha sauce (really neat). It too comes with risotto, but this time a corn one. It’s all to die for.
Once you’ve had your fill of dinner, that’s when the fun really begins. After all, in a place named after desserts, it would be a sin not to save room for some… see what I did there? Oh never mind.
The dessert case has got it all–tortes, cheesecakes, cookies, squares and cupcakes–and I’ve never gone away anything less than completely delighted. I’m always partial to lemon and chocolate desserts so I often go for the very citrusy lemon torte or the chocolate mint cheesecake. Along with poutine, I’ve also got a thing for cupcakes so I’ve been known to take one or two (or six) home with me after dinner to save for later.
Covered in chocolate, oozing with flavour - Mar 2011
“Right behind the Winnipeg Art Gallery is a diner filled with twinkling lights and decadent desserts. This dessert café offers a variety of tortes, cakes, cookies, dainties, as well as entrees, appetizers, sandwiches and a bar of wines, beers, liqueurs and specialty coffees.
The coffee menu is delicious; the caramel latté I had was the perfect accompaniment to any dessert, particularly the delectable zebra brownie. They have many tea and coffee options as well as a low fat latté.
The prices are a little steep for students, and Dessert Sinsations posts that they reserve the right to charge a minimum of $8 per person. Cappuccinos, hot chocolate and lattés are $4 or more for a cup. Slices of cake are at least $8 and so are slices of pie.
Dessert Sinsations has alternative options for celiacs, vegans and diabetics. The dessert options are rotated every day so you’ll always have a fresh batch of choices.
The turnover at Sinsations is fast and efficient. You’ll be enjoying your food with your closest friends and the rest of the café too because it’s busy and loud, but the hustle and bustle can make for a great place to socialize.”
DINE OUT WINNIPEG
Review: Dessert Sinsations
505 St. Mary Avenue
(204) 284-4661
I have found Winnipeg’s best burger.
You can eat it, too, at Dessert Sinsations. It’s their portabella mushroom white cheddar beef burger. Sure, I’ve liked other burgers in the past - any version of the burgers at Johnny G’s in the Exchange, my mom’s own homemade patty, fatboys at George’s and Mrs. Mike’s and VJ’s, the vegan incarnations at Boon - but nothing - nothing - compared once I bit into this baby.
It’s not your average greasy burger off the grill. There’s been no unnecessary pressing of the patty, no pool of grease dripping off the side. The burger is pure, thick, juicy perfection, smothered with sharp, aged white cheddar, and topped with earthy strips of grilled portabella. Bouncy lettuce and thick slices of onion and tomato add a touch of freshness. A fluffy onion kaiser is just the finishing touch. Add a side of sweet potato fries (a mix, really) and call it a day.
Oh, there are desserts, too. Good, large portions that make the prices seem more reasonable than Baked Expectations.
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April 16, 2007
After our lovely supper at Asahi, we headed over to Dessert Sinsations to satisfy our sweet tooth(s). Luckily, it also happens to be Ciao Winnipeg’s ChocolateFest, and so, we chose two of their chocolate specials to share: the Rolo torte and the Chocolate Amaretto cheesecake. Both were exceedingly decadent, and I am happy that Colleen and I decided to share the slice of torte.
The slice of torte was more generous than that of the cheesecake and the multiple layers of chocolate goodness presented a challenge. The layers of chocolate cake nearest to the cream were moist and tasty, but the outer layers were just a tad dry. The layer of chocolate ganache was heavenly but quickly became too much for our tastebuds, especially in combination with the equally rich icing. The Rolo bits were lovely to come across and the drizzle of caramel over the plate provided a nice dipping sauce for the drier pieces of cake.
Colleen indulged in a Long Island Iced Tea for $3.95 (the day’s special), while our ChocolateFest specials were $5 a slice. We enjoyed ourselves and the lovely service (she didn’t charge us the minimum $5/person since it was fairly slow) and vowed to return to have a meal. The table next to us had a mound of French fries that smelled heavenly.