The ‘Best of Campus’ winners were determined by a student vote. The winners do not reflect the opinion of the Emerald.
The famous Eugene patisserie Sweet Life received more votes than any other “Best of Campus” winners — in any other category. Students love their Sweet Life. And Sweet Life deserves their love. In the bright and bustling French-inspired pastry shop, bakers churn out cakes, pastries, cookies, gelato, pies, tarts and espresso around the clock. People flock to the glass cases, salivating because the desserts at Sweet Life are beautiful, down to the perfectly-swirled cupcake frosting and color-coordinated filling.
Literally everything in the display cases is made from scratch in the patisserie’s kitchen. The entrepreneur sisters who started the business made sure that Sweet Life catered to Eugene’s crowd; they use 50 percent organic, sustainably farmed or wild-harvested ingredients, and 30 percent of those ingredients are grown in the Pacific Northwest.
People with alternative diets can also find a beautiful assortment of safe-to-eat pastries at Sweet Life. Each alternative dessert is labeled. Some are egg, dairy or animal-product free while others are free of gluten or traditional sugar. For diabetic people, bakers make some pastries and cakes with Sue Sweet, a fructose-based sweetener with a low glycemic index.@@http://www.sweetlifedesserts.com/page/sustainability@@
Every month, Sweet Life highlights desserts of the month. The May 2012 desserts of the month range from Dulce de Leche Cheesecake@@checked@@, a caramel cheesecake with a cinnamon graham crust and sour cream and caramel swirls, to gluten-free Honey-Vanilla Panna Cotta@@checked@@, Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes and Mixed Berry Pie. The beautiful, diverse display case is changed and filled (and emptied) daily; some of those desserts are only available for a month. Located on Monroe Street, Sweet Life remains a bright, crowded and authentic symbol of a classy Eugene patisserie.