Never in the storied annals of Friday Food Fight has the competition resulted in a draw. It’s in the FFF bylaws. No ties.
Until now. It was unavoidable — as you’ll see. What’s more, while two restaurants squared off, we have a three-way tie. All will be revealed, I promise.
For this chocolate-cake Food Fight, I opted for eateries over bakeries. We found two restaurants in downtown St. Pete with chocolate cake on the menu — Social Roost and Bacchus Wine Bistro — a few short blocks apart. We embarked late Tuesday afternoon with me intent on eating chocolate cake, and chocolate cake only, back to back. (Bonnie could not partake. A Lent thing.)
SOCIAL ROOST
We arrived just after 5:30 having bulldozed through gusty headwinds. Even though the mercury had peaked in the mid-80s earlier in the day, the sun had dipped behind the buildings and I was glad I’d brought along a hoodie. We sat inside the tastefully appointed, nearly empty dining room.
Our server — I think her name was Sam but I neglected to write it down — seemed only mildly amused when a grown man ordered chocolate cake for dinner, along with the only sensible beverage: Milk.
Appearance
One of the reasons I chose restaurants over bakeries was to see how they would present the cake. Social Roost’s was gorgeous, with the wedge resting on an artfully misshapen plate, sided by some fruit and whipped cream, plus two circles of raspberry sauce. It came with a spoon.
Taste and Texture
As expected, the cake was decadently rich, but not overly so. Three layers of coarse(ish) cake blended elegantly with slabs of lush, thick icing. The outer edge was flecked with little chocolate chips. Nice.
The berries (straw, blue, rasp) provided lively pops of brightness, and the sauce was exceptional. Overall, the flavor skewed toward dark rather than milk chocolate — a major plus in my book. I knew I had more cake to eat, so stopped about halfway into my Social Roost portion and boxed it up — although I really wanted to keep going.
BACCHUS WINE BISTRO
The restaurant’s sidewalk tables were well populated as the clock approached 6:30. The wind had died down, but we chose to sit inside at a cozy two-top next to the window. Across the playfully designed dining room sat a dessert case, where I eyeballed the cake.
Our server, Hannah, was a born performer. She waited on us with an ironic grandeur that kept us entertained. I thought she might burst into song.
Appearance
I was pleased to see contrasting presentations between the two restaurants. The cake sitting on a large black board gave it an air of regality. Puddles of sauce — caramel (nope) and fruit (yes) — joined whipped cream and strawberries. It came with a fork.
I examined the cake. A feeling of déjà vu came over me. Take a closer look at the photo above. Yup. Same exact cake, right down to the gleam coming off the top layer of icing and the chocolate chips.
Taste and Texture
What’s the point?
And the Winners of the Chocolate Cake Surprise Are …
Social Roost, Bacchus Wine Bistro and …
Mike’s Pies.
According to Ricky, the co-manager of Bacchus, the Tampa bakery provides desserts for several dining establishments in downtown St. Pete.
I should’ve known that restaurants, few of which make their own baked goods, tend to source desserts from the same vendors.
I got clowned. It happens.
I know what some of you are thinking:
Dude, you could’ve broken the tie between the restaurants based on service and atmosphere.
We had such a sweet time at each place — bantering with hosts and servers, eating chocolate cake for dinner — that it seems unfair to single one out.
Dude, you could’ve just pronounced Mike’s Pies the winner.
A tenable argument. One that I reject.
Dude, why didn’t you just go to a third restaurant and find another version of chocolate cake?
That may be the best argument of all. To which I respond: a) I found it tricky enough to find two nice restaurants with chocolate cake on the dessert menu; b) I didn’t feel like it.
A final thought: I hope you got enough pictures of chocolate cake.
