Cake in Chestnut Hill has grown beyond its sweets and into a full-service kitchen making it a welcome addition to the top of the hill.

On the left side of the entrance are glass cases displaying the array of baked goods for which Cake was famous; behind that is the kitchen for which it will be. Open all day for sweets, Cake also offers lunch and breakfast hours on weekdays and brunch on weekends. The mealtime offerings are, for the most part, simple: fruit and granola, grilled cheese, chicken salad. So, too, is the presentation, which is typically garnish-free.

But dismissing the ordinary-seeming menu would mean missing out on savory treats like a fluffy frittata of smoked cheddar and caramelized onion with pepper-dusted home fries or an autumnal salad of wheat berries, roasted beets, butternut squash, goat cheese and dried cranberries. The “croque monsieur” proves to be something of a misnomer, though layered ham and gruyere on a warm croissant slathered with whole grain apricot mustard is delicious in its own right. A tangy coleslaw (a side option, along with chips or salad) is too good to be confined to the little cup it’s served in.

King Cake [City Paper]