Funky little pastry shops are popping up from Oakland to Brooklyn. Inside, you'll find cases stocked with goodies that will remind you of home. But these aren't your grandma's desserts. They're new twists on the American desserts we love most.

Sugar Bakeshop, Charleston, South Carolina
This sweet little downtown bakery was founded by Bill Bowick and David Bouffard, two architects who moved from New York to Charleston. The couple transformed what was once Old Whaley's Vegetable Stand into a cream-and-blue-green pastry showcase, and Bowick started turning out crowd-pleasing treats, like chocolate chip cookies and iced-to-order red velvet cupcakes. 843-579-2891

"Charleston has a ghostly aura—it's a city
with an old soul. I love the closeness of
the sea and the fact that you can walk
and bike everywhere." —Leigh Magar

South Carolina native Leigh Magar presides over Magar Hatworks, where she also hosts the occasional tea party.

The Peninsula's up-and-coming neighborhood, Cannonborough, just became heaps sweeter with Sugar, a stylish yet quaint bakeshop dedicated to providing locals with fresh cupcakes , cookies, and tarts. Owners and New York expats, Bill and David, have precisely and successfully christened Charleston by applying a modern twist on standard, traditional bakeries. Bill's passion for baking along with David's encouragement created the synergistic push in transforming a nearly dilapidated building into and artful experience of sight and taste.

Enjoying a treat at this local bakeshop is a delight in itself. A jingle of bells softly awakes as the door opens. Hints of cinnamon and vanilla flood your senses. A warm, engaging smile welcomes you. Immediately, you are aware that you have entered someone's home – someone's kitchen. The antiquated stained walls and chic displays demonstrate a sample of this duo's modern flare so elegantly meshed with charm.

Born of a collaborated recipe collection from friends and family, it is safe to conclude that all of Sugar's treats are, well, simply perfect. Each menu item is made with care and thoughtfulness. On this particular day I chose the ginger molasses cookie, again perfectly crisp edges bordering a softer center. Waling out of the store, the street was quiet yet alive and walking home I felt lighter, refreshed from my experience. We always emphasize stopping to smell the roses, but in this calorie counted life, we need to remember that life is sweet and take time to taste the sugar.

Charleston City Paper

Thursday, June 6. 10:30 pm. Party for the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Sugar Bakeshop, Bill Bowick and David Bouffard. 59½ Cannon St.

You could call it the Zoolander Effect. Take two stylish guys from New York, put them in a transitional neighborhood and add pastries, chocolatinis and champagne and the result is some hip and really, really ridiculously good-looking people. I mean, look at this picture. I’m not a good photographer. All the other party photographers have fantastic cameras. Mine is crap. The room was just that smoking.

But even without the Spoleto SCENEsters, the bakeshop and gardens of Sugar are pure eye candy. Bill Bowick and David Bouffard, architects both, are of the form-follows-function school – the space was a wonder of workable décor, mixers and stainless steel bowls, racks of cupcake tins, sacks of flour.

The backyard is a minimalist (Maya Lin-ist?) garden of modern delight. Pea gravel ground cover, old shutters as dividers, a big blue storage shed that reads nothing like a shed. (“Reads” is architect for “looks.”)

Sculptor Loren Schwerd, (formerly of CofC, visiting from LSU), and the V-tones’ own Noodle McDoodle (I believe his real name is Don Something) were checking out Jared Charzewski’s (currently of CofC) video installation, projected on ostrich feathers. Cindi Gasparre, Harleston Village Neighborhood Association president and lifesaver/babysitter to the stars said the billowing white plumes made her feel cooler.

Architect Randolph Martz explained that a recent photo of him had mislabeled his glasses. “These are my angry, discontented architect glasses (see left). But they can also be my haughty, supercilious architect glasses.” (Right.)

The Sugar duo lives in the house next door. Bill bakes while David is still designing, at Liollio Architects alongside Jay White, who with his new bride Amelia arrived on his-and-hers Pashley city bikes. Brian Sanders and Jen Hurst, also of Liollio, came on a Columbia Twosome tandem.

I was pumped to talk about Chipper “Mr. 400” Jones but this ain’t the crowd. The closest I got to sports was hockey – Lauren Curler said her brother-in-law Brian Rafalski just won the Stanley Cup. She and her husband celebrated with a special St. Petersburg bottle of Veuve. Sweet!

Charleston Magazine Party Scene

On Thursday, June 6th, I attended my last Spoleto party. Sugar Bakeshop was the place, and delicious sweet confections are what everyone ate. This quaint little bakery on 59 ½ Cannon Street was packed with Spoleto SCENE members in honor of the playful and entertaining Carolina Chocolate Drops performance.

Heading to the Cistern for the concert, I really didn’t know what to expect. I had heard that the trio played the fiddle, banjo, jug (yikes!) and drum. It was an absolutely beautiful night to be outdoors (no bugs). They started with a couple of old, folk tunes, and I thought, Oh boy, here we go. But my perception quickly changed. The Chocolate Drops were very entertaining and funny. They interacted with the crowd giving us a history lesson on Carolina Piedmont bluegrass and invited us to dance and sing along. A few people in the crowd jokingly threw out song requests (“Free Bird”). Then, they unexpectedly played a rendition of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘em Up Style.” Who knew they could rock a little hip hop?

Everyone was definitely buzzing after the listening to the throwback sounds of “The Drops”, and the final Spoleto SCENE party was underway. The bakery was completely packed, almost too packed. Everyone had pretty much staked out their spot in front of their favorite homemade desserts and did not move. A few people gave me the evil eye as I reached over them to grab a cupcake, but nothing comes between me and chocolate. The desserts were outstanding. The word of the night was ummmm. How many times did I hear that sound as people were devouring chocolate brownies, cupcakes, and cookies. To wash it all down, we were given (teased with) a half glass of the most delicious chocolatinis I have ever tasted. Seriously. This drink was cold, smooth, and just plain ummmm. (There’s that word again.)

I spotted my friend Lee Deas who was making her way around the bakery double-fisting chocolate-covered cupcakes. We immediately starting laughing because she knew I was about to make fun of her. Two cupcakes. Eat one and move on. As we discussed the performance and toasted to the end of the Spoleto season, we both were disgusted with how much chocolate we had eaten.

Ok, so who was responsible for this decadent indulgence? No other than New York transplants Bill Bowick and David Bouffard. Bill is the baker, and David an architect. Both have design backgrounds, so I am sure the concept for Sugar came with ease. The oversized sugar bags on top of stainless-steel counters were perfect accessories, along with the glass-domed cake plates like you would see in your grandma’s kitchen. David thought hosting this party was a great way to introduce their bakery to a new and different demographic. I think they hit the jackpot with this crowd. Before I left, I put a few cupcakes in my purse for the ride home and a little midnight snack. I felt like the little old lady who stuffs bread rolls in her purse, but I could not get help myself. This was the perfectly sweet ending to la dolce vita of Spoleto events.