Wil Andruschak
Rebekah Pearse with Nectar's delectable signature dish, 'The Chocolate Experience,' and a glass of Traginar Banyuls 2003
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Rebekah Pearse, chef, wine professional and owner of Nectar Desserts, has taken her talents to the level of high art with her upstairs café and dessert on Inglewood’s Ninth Avenue S.E. main strip. Using only the finest of ingredients as well as local and seasonal produce, Pearse whips ups small batches of her made-from-scratch luscious treats to ensure freshness and flavour.
Just like the desserts she makes, the eclectic-cool interior of Nectar has been created in the same sweet palette of chocolatey brown, sugary taupe and rich butter creams. Mismatched vintage-style furniture in coloured velvets and rich brocades make up the seating area, with large square shelving units creating a division from the front counter area. Crystal chandeliers and aged red brick give the space classic charm.
Not to stereotype, but this visit required a female companion. A girlfriend and I were chatting with our very friendly server Denise when she confided that, pre-employment, she and her boyfriend had first visited Nectar and their early evening dessert stop turned into an all-night of dessert tasting. We took it as a guaranteed seal of approval that she was now working for Nectar.
Each dessert plate is $12, and for an additional $8 you can add a wine pairing, with Pearse specially selecting the choices to complement the dessert flavours. We decided to share three dessert plates and stuck to café’s large selection of teas ($3.50), my girlfriend trying a cherry flavour while I chose the cream Earl Grey.
Denise and Rebecca brought out our desserts together with a touch of pomp and circumstance and presented them with chef’s pride, describing each item in tantalizing detail and recommending a tasting order. It will be hard to satisfy any future sweet tooth cravings with Duncan Hines after this.
Each dessert was presented on its own long, stark, white plate for the ultimate in sophistication. We took a few moments just to admire the artistry that went into the creation of each dessert and savour the visual before we dove into the tasting.
As per their recommendations, we started with the lightest of the three plates — the cream on cream. This featured a subtle fromage blanc cheesecake complementing tart red macerated raspberries with a delicate lavender shortbread and a small scoop of not-too-sweet creamy homemade buttermilk ice cream.
Next up was the sticky toffee pudding. Unlike the heavy lump you get at Christmas, this medjool date cake was light and fluffy as air and soaked in whisky caramel. The whisky cut the caramel’s traditional overly sweet taste and resulted in pure heaven. I wasn’t even close to being finished but this would end up being my absolute favourite item. The cake was served comfortingly warm and with homemade pistachio ice cream and an apricot compote. A unique and stunning combination.
We ended with the chocolate experience. It was exactly as described — an experience — and offered a thick, dense tart with dark chocolate and caramel flavours, finished with the tang of grey sea salt on the top of your tongue. This was accompanied by a small scoop of Valrhona dark chocolate ice cream that melted in a burst of intense, chilled flavour then faded slowly, leaving a smooth aftertaste. The third in this trio was a sipping cup of spiced hot chocolate, made, again, with top-quality dark chocolate.
It seemed almost sinful to leave even a few bites of our food, but the rich flavours and textures had satisfied every inch of our senses and there was room for no more. We made plans to return before the meal was even over. With their hours extended to midnight six days a week (closed Sundays), you will always be able to satisfy that sweet craving!
Nectar is located at 1216 9 Avenue S.E., phone: 263-8486.
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