Every year the Muse is asked, in her other life, to predict restaurant trends 3 to 5 years from now. This always gets the Muse a little worked up because there is a wide gap between what she sees coming down the road and what she would like to see coming down the road. The first trend I would like to see return, to San Francisco at least, is the return of the fountain, a la Blum's. New York has Serendipity and we San Franciscans have, well, nothing. Yes, bits and pieces exist here and there. Fenton's in Oakland is the closest to what Blum's was - a good combination of savory sandwiches and over the top ice cream creations. But Blum's had more to offer. Blum's was a pink spun sugar fantasy come to life. It had a gift shop. It had shocking pink banquettes. It had surly waitresses. And it had cake. Not those plastic looking, multi colored and tasteless layered cakes offered in cafes around Union Square. No. They had Blum's Famous Coffee Crunch cake. (This legendary cake is so memorable that Nancy Silverton has included a recipe for it in her latest cookbook.)
Blum's was partly a restaurant for the ladies who didn't work and spent their days going downtown to shop, meet friends and get home before the children came home from school. It was also the highlight of a day spent in THE CITY for those who came from across the bay.
So here is what the Muse would like to see in Union Square: a pink soda fountain with freshly baked layer cakes (NO CUPCAKES, PLEASE), a decent club sandwich made with thick bacon that does not declare its pedigree, and a tall, hot fudge sundae served with a pitcher of hot fudge on the side. How hard could this be to realize?
Hello Fellow Foodies! I grew up in West LA and remember going to Blum's in Beverly Hills with my grandmother. I always had the Coffiesta Sundae.....and she ordered the cake. Now I live on the central coast and have found the cake replicated at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, where it's called Toffee Crunch Cake. Cost is $7.00 for one slice or $30. for the whole cake....worth every penny!!! Both recipes are available online by googling "Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake" or "Blum's Toffiesta." Enjoy!
Posted by: Audrey G | July 11, 2010 at 02:46 PM
I would just love to have the Towensend's cream spinach recipe recipe is it avaiable?
Posted by: Carrie Ross | June 24, 2010 at 05:49 PM
And don't forget coffee-ettes, or however they were spelled. There was a Blum's at Stanford Shopping Center too -- we'd always save our last few dollars for a Coffiesta Sundae. OMG, how I wish I could have one of those today. I've always felt it would be a GREAT fundraiser if some SF charity could recreate Blums for just an evening. It wouldn't have to be everything, just those special key items!
Posted by: Pat Boomer | March 31, 2010 at 09:20 AM
Does anyone have the recipe for Blum's great cheesecake? It was one of a kind and nothing else matches or tastes like Blum's cheese cake. It had 3 layers if I remember correctly, was a pre-teen at the time but I do remember the taste.
Posted by: Jane Alvord Knispek | March 03, 2010 at 11:02 AM
Growing up in the 60s in Berkeley, it was always a treat to go to Edy's on Shattuck for an ice cream treat. Any one remember the coffee parfaits, made with this wonderful coffee syrup in the bottom of the glass? When you stuck in the long spoon, you had to carefully press down so the syrup oozed around the vanilla ice cream to the top of the glass. Of course, it almost always bubbled over and down the sides. I have tried to recreate the coffee syrup using mostly brown sugar, corn syrup, espresso and vanilla. Close, but not how I remember it......
Posted by: Leslie | February 26, 2010 at 12:21 PM