I just love what Maeve Schultz has built at her little bakery Sugar & Scribe on Garnet Ave. in Pacific Beach. The place is overflowing with the most delicious house-baked pastries and baked treats and she’s veering into savory territory with one of the best beef stews I’ve ever tasted (she’s promised to teach me how she makes it).
That’s not enough, though. With Maeve’s Irish roots and a pronounced Irish theme running through Sugar & Scribe, it was inevitable that she’d import some Irish favorites for customers (and her mother Mary Margaret) to enjoy. I’ve selected just a few to highlight, but when you go (and you should), look for items in glass display jars with black labels (like irresistible Irish Butter Toffees and Irish licorice), as well as random products like Tayto Chips, Odlums Brown Bread Mix, and Lucozade Orange Energy Drink. She’ll be bringing in more items—cookies, flours, etc.—in the coming months.
Irish Jams
Preserves
With this visit, there were only two types of preserves on the shelves so far (more are expected shortly), but they’re divine. The first is Fruitfield’s “Little Chip” No Peel, a lovely peel-free orange marmalade ($6.99). This is just perfect with Maeve’s raisin scones and will be wonderful as a glaze for chicken and pork, especially since I don’t have to worry about the peel burning. She’ll be getting in their lemon marmalade soon. The other is a small-batch, hand-made gooseberry preserve by Abbey Farm ($7.99). Sweet and tart, it’s lovely with Maeve’s apricot scones. The scones are $3.89 for a four pack.
Crunchie Bars
Crunchie Bars
These Cadbury mini sweets are a favorite—perhaps the favorite—of Mary Margaret, so of course Maeve has plenty on hand now for 75 cents a piece. Maeve says they’re the most popular candy bar in Ireland and why not? Who wouldn’t become addicted to these milk-chocolate covered honeycomb toffee bars? (Shush, don’t tell the Irish that these are British.)
Tea Biscuits
Tea Biscuits
I’m always looking for something to accompany my afternoon tea and these tea biscuits, or cookies, from Boland’s in Dublin, hit the spot. There are two varieties, both with marshmallow, which Maeve says the Irish adore. The first is Coconut Creams, a crumbly graham cracker cookie topped with coconut-covered marshmallow. The second is the Kimberley, a mild ginger cookie sandwiching a chewy marshmallow filling. A whopping 35 cents each.
