Sweet Bites in Vineyard Haven, located at 35 Beach St., is a wonderful go-to for desserts, coffee, snacks, and lunch. My coworkers, Chesley Wiseman and Nicki Galland, and I went there for lunch recently and weren’t disappointed. The tables and chairs both inside and out are wood slabs, sanded, smoothed, and glossy. They are fun — especially the “upside-down” tables suspended from the ceiling of the patio — and add uniqueness to the eatery.
The lunch menu offers a variety of tasty morsels. Sandwich options include: BLT, Chicken Salad, Grilled Cheese, Tuna Melt, Ocean Breeze, and more. Galland ordered the Ocean Breeze, which consists of smoked salmon, goat cheese, cucumber, pepper, and yogurt dressing.
“It was very pleasant,” Galland said. “Sort of a WASPy version of lox and bagel. I liked the originality of the combination of ingredients.”
Some of the salads include Tuna with Quinoa, romaine, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese; Caesar Salad; Turkey Club Salad with sliced turkey, bacon, Parmesan, romaine, pesto, and avocado. I chose the Turkey Club Salad, which was delicious, fresh and refreshing. The lettuce was crisp, the avocados were perfectly ripe, the turkey was real — not the preservative-laden lunch meat you might find at the grocery store — and the pesto dressing packed a powerful punch of flavor.
Chesley got a chicken Coxinha, which looks precisely like enormous breaded Hershey’s Kiss. The inside of the Coxinha was moist, with pulled chicken combined with cream cheese. Chesley added some Buffalo dressing to go with it, which is one of the available condiments, although it’s flavorful on its own.
The to-go options (available in the display case) are very reasonably priced by Vineyard standards. Portuguese Cheese Bread (pão de queijo) is a delectable favorite — not surprising for a Brazilian-owned bakery — and Galland reports that her sister is obsessed with the scones. The made-to-order food is not expensive, but on a par with Vineyard prices ($17 salads, etc).
Now let’s get to the important stuff: the treats. I ordered a gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. It completely melted in my mouth, it was so flavorful and mouthwatering. It was also very large, which made my husband happy later, since I had enough to bring some home.
Galland, a self-proclaimed chocolate hound, got the triple chocolate chookie: “The combination of textures, saltiness, sweetness, and different intensities of chocolate was simply addictive.” I’ll have to check in and see how long it took her to eat it.
We also had Brigadieros, which are little chocolate bonbons. These small bites of sugar goodness are rich and creamy, and satisfy your sweet tooth. And of course, we had to try the Vineyard-shaped sugar cookie. It reminded me of the sugar cookies I had as a kid: tasty, sweet, and tender. Sweet Bites also offers catering for parties and events. And of course, you can get coffee, lattes, tea, macchiatos, frappucinos, and more.
Sweet Bites also offers catering services for weddings, events, and more. Check it out at sweetbitesmv.com.
