Liz BiscevicBarb Batiste, the founder of B Sweet Dessert Bar in Sawtelle, is a Filipina pastry chef who in 2009 launched a catering company as a way to sell baked goods like the ones she'd long made for family and friends. By 2012, the catering gig had expanded into a fleet of adorable food trucks, which continue to rove around L.A. on consignment selling Batiste's sweets.
Last year, B Sweets Dessert Bar opened as a brick-and-mortar on the corner of Sawtelle and La Grange Avenue, and at first glance it looked like many other L.A. cafés — small, simple and rustic. Inside, the counter is lined with the sweets of the day, which include everything from old-school favorites like chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls to new-age indulgences such as giant peanut butter cups, “slutty” brownies and vegan carrot cake.
But what truly sets B Sweets apart from other cafes is Batiste's house specialty: bread pudding.
Credit: Facebook/B Sweet
Perfectly textured and sold steaming hot in Chinese takeout-style containers, the bread pudding is where B Sweet got its start. Though the bread pudding is traditional in style, it would be a stretch to say that B Sweet's bread puddings are anything like what your grandma would make — unless your grandma dreamed up flavors like circus animal cookie, green tea and Twinkie.
Batiste has baked up more than 40 variations of bread pudding, and B Sweets Dessert Bar offers six each day. Though a few are to be expected — like the original, honey and banana — there are others that break the mold. Think glazed doughnut, maple bacon, ube (purple Filipino yam) and horchata. The flavors don’t overwhelm the simplicity of the dish. Instead, they're more like a subtle complement.
You used to be able to buy some of B Sweets' more popular flavors in the frozen section at Target and Costco nationwide, but that arm of the company has since been put on hold, making the Sawtelle shop the only place in L.A. to consistently find Batiste's goods. You can schedule pickup times in advance so your bread pudding is warm when you arrive. Unsurprisingly, B Sweets recommends you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to any bread pudding you order.
B Sweets also offers cold-brewed coffee (they roast their own beans) and matcha green tea on draft, as well as traditional Filipino snacks like halo halo.
2005 Sawtelle Blvd, Sawtelle; (310) 963-9769, mybsweet.com.
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