Hungry Crumbs

As part of the SF Vacant to Vibrant program, the SF government is “helping small businesses, entrepreneurs, artists, and cultural organizations activate vacant storefronts to revitalize the area and promote economic recovery”, by paying their rent for the first few months, giving them grant money to seed their operations, providing resources to help with securing permits, etc. Many of these vacant storefronts are around my office and neighborhood.  One, Hungry Crumbs, just opened super close to my house (where Prima Cafe used to be, which I'm sad about losing, as I really did like their froyo and the owners seemed so nice, but I'm glad to see something finally there, it has been vacant since the pandemic).

Signage.

"Stuffed Cookies Made Right!  Hungry Crumbs offers delicious home made stuffed cookies!"

Hungry Crumbs makes one product: cookies.  The space certainly could accommodate a more extensive menu, as Prima Cafe offered a full breakfast and lunch lineup, along with froyo, and a full coffee bar with espresso drinks, etc, all in that same space, but so far, they are focusing only on cookies.  Hopefully soon they offer drinks too?

"Hungry Crumbs is a  a unique cookie concept that combines classic and contemporary flavors. The menu includes unique selections such as Ube Cookies and Balava Dough Cookies, tailored to appeal to both traditionalists and adventurous eaters."

Anyway, I don't know much about the business, as they have a very minimal webpage.

Displays.

The cookies are all attractively arranged under display domes. All are priced the same, $6.50. The day I visited had 8 regular flavors available. The lineup was: 

• Ube Crinkle
• Hot Chocolate (chocolate based cookie with mini marshmallows)
• Banana Biscoff
• Lemon Curd
• Cherry White Chocolate
• Pecan Dulce de Leche
• Strawberry Cheesecake
• Chocolate Chip

They are larger than your average cookie, and most (all?) are stuffed.

I had a very, very hard time narrowing down my pick, as the strawberry cheesecake sounded very unique and had visible gobs of strawberry cheesecake in it, I do adore ube anything (hence the label on my blog), and the staff member serving me recommended the banana Biscoff as a unique one, and said he loved the lemon curd too.

Oatmeal Raisin (GF, V)

They also offer one gluten-free and vegan offering (that I think changes) for those with dietary restrictions.  It is priced the same as all regular cookies at $6.50, no upcharge.

Racks of Cookies.

Cookies aren't actually plucked from the display domes to sell to you, rather, they are stashed on racks behind the counter.  They are served room temperature, not warm like most other trendy cookie shops these days.

Pecan Dulce de Leche. $6.50.

"Indulge in the rich, nutty flavor of pecans complemented by creamy Dulce De Leche caramel."

After an agonizing decision making process, I went for the pecan dulce de leche.  Something about the pecan perched perfectly in the center just really drew me in.

The base cookie was somewhat a textbook standard for what a good cookie should be - it was soft, yet it had a pleasant chewiness to it.  It tasted freshly made.  The base flavor was fairly average in terms of sweetness level and butteriness.  Baked evenly, with no too crispy burnt edges.  Do I prefer a more gooey, lightly underbaked cookie?  Yes.  But there was absolutely nothing to criticize on the bake on this.  

I knew it was a pecan cookie, but I was surprised by the actual taste of the cookie base, as I recognized it instantly: while it might look like a more common chocolate chip or whatever generic base, it tasted exactly like a pecan sandie, which, I suppose, is the only real pecan cookie I know.  There were bits of nut studded throughout, and it was a very nut forward cookie, which I wouldn't have guessed from inspection alone.

Pecan Dulce de Leche: Inside.

The pecan cookie alone was a pretty good cookie, but this had more to give, in the form of the dulce de leche filling.  Here you can see the cross-section.  It had a thin layer of the dulce de leche right in the center, that extended through most of the cookie.  It isn't a puffy, mega-stuffed cookie, but, you do get some filling in every bite.  It is, predictably, very sweet.  It was fairly thick and rich, it didn't really ooze out at all.  

At room temperature, as served, I consider it a fairly unique, very well baked, cookie, but not one I'd likely find myself really craving.  ***+.

Of course, I wanted to try it warm too, and a la mode, since that is where magic often happens.  The cookie softened up a bit, and as I had hoped, the dulce de leche got a bit more oozy.  It still didn't ooze much, but a bit more.  It did pair nicely with ice cream.  ***+.

I'm not sure which way I preferred this though, room temp with some whipped cream, or warm with ice cream.  Both were fine.  I'd try another flavor next before getting this again, unless really craving pecans.