The desserts at new sweets truck Sugarcube are tasty. The staff is friendly and excited. The presentation is even good. To boot, it’s impressive that these little treats have all been prepared inside a truck. From a quality standpoint, the execution is hard to poke at.
The offerings are mostly predictable dessert menu offerings, sometimes with a slight variation achieved by adding a new flavor or ingredient. The traditional staples, like the caramel and creme fraiche coated Pear Almond Tart (all are $5) and the Vanilla Creme Brulee, work the best, while other options suffer slightly from out-of-the-box add-ons. The tart is light and fruity, while the sugar on the Creme Brulee is caramelized in just the right way. The Chocolate Bread Pudding is a satisfying and indulgent choice, but the Earl Grey Creme Anglaise may subtract more than it adds. Similarly, the Peanut Panna Cotta, while tasty, seems to be trying a bit too hard with its Concord Grape sauce. The Creme Fraiche Cheesecake, too, seems like it would be better without the warm Orange Confit on top. The options are tasty, but perhaps more highbrow than a food truck might normally suggest.
Though the desserts are as good as any neighborhood restaurant’s, it’s hard to imagine the truck’s success. Certainly, today’s food trucks have sophisticated beyond egg sandwiches, greasy Chinese and burritos, but it’s hard to imagine that Sugarcube will be able to master that “craveability” factor that the most successful carts and trucks capitalize on. Though the novelty of a desserts-to-go truck will generate initial hype, it’s hard to imagine wanting that fix while walking up Walnut more than once in a long while.
Moreover, there’s something about enjoying a dessert that culturally doesn’t quite fit into the mobile ethos. There’s something about sitting around a table, deciding to splurge on a dessert, perhaps to share, maybe with some coffee or tea to go along with it. A brownie to go might work, but something about walking around campus with a Creme Brulee, tasty as it may be, doesn’t feel totally right. Should we, and can we, hold a mobile kitchen to the same standards as a stationary one?
Perhaps, once Sugarcube settles into a permanent location and a more permanent schedule (they’re currently still petitioning for a permanent location permit), we’ll be better able to assess the staying power of this Willy Wonka of a food truck.
Sugarcube
sugarcubephilly.com Don’t Miss: Pear Almond Tart
Skip: Earl Grey Creme Anglaise
