Crema

Crema is closing in a couple of days to be reopened as Stage Café. I hope they continue to offer their cornbread.

There was once a little girl who loved sponge cake. Orange sponge cake to be specific. She’d have her mother buy it from the bakery and she would eat the entire cake by herself. One day her brothers learned of orange sponge cake and the little girl’s mother would have to buy two cakes at a time. One for the brothers and one for the little girl. The mother loved all her children and did not want to see the little girl strangle her brothers over sponge cake.
If you think you love sponge cake as much as me then this is your lucky day friends! Crema sells the best orange sponge cake I have EVER had in my ENTIRE life! It’s sold as a single portion mini cake. My BF just happened to bring it home with him one day after he had a meeting there. I didn’t think much of it because it didn’t even look like sponge cake. It was haphazardly stored in plastic wrap and there was a white wrapper around it. Not Eminem but a piece of paper cradling the cake. I threw the cake into my purse as I ran out the door to pick up my children from school.
I picked them up and as we waited at a traffic light I opened up the cake. Have you ever bitten into something and started to groan out loud? Well I did and it was as though time had decided to stop so it could listen to my singular groan in the Universe. It was that good. A million thoughts raced through my head:
«Holy sh*t this is good!»
«My boyfriend does love me!»
«Why the hell did my friend Leena not tell me about this cake?!»
«I have got to have more of this!»
«Can you legally marry cake?»
My children asked if they could have some and I begrudgingly gave them some of my cake. Isn’t it terrible that I almost didn’t give them any? Well that’s how freaking good it is! It’s complete sponge cake perfection! It’s as though an angel food cake and a sponge cake got drunk, had drunken cake sex (the best kind!) and somehow made the perfect lovechild. When I get married I’ve decided that this will be the cake we’re going to serve. Each guest will get there own mini sponge cake and I won’t have to hurt someone for trying to eat my cake.

I’m really pleased with this place and it’s quickly turning into my spot for lunch. Granted, the food is on the simpler side: standard sandwiches, soup, and pastries; however, it’s in a pleasant location with very nice associates.
It being located in the Design Center, one would assume the prices would be astronomical as those of the furniture (I’ll have 3 of those $ 1K bar stools please… What? You don’t have them in 18K white gold? Then forget it!!!) but the truth is they’re pretty on comparable to CorpBux and the portion sizes on the food are actually a bit larger.
I especially like the Chocolate Fromage Brownie $ 2.50 (Chocolate & Cream Cheese NOT Pepper Jack), the Pastrami Sandwich $ 6.00, the Clam Chowder $ 3.00/small and the Vanilla Sponge $ 1.50.
Check it out. :)

Crema is a standard coffee shop located in an incredible building surrounded by pompous furniture. Nothing particularly stands out in this shop as amazingly different — it’s a coffee distribution site for the slightly upscale (or those who think they are). To tell you the truth, I am simply bitter because I can’t afford a thousand dollar lamp, an eight hundred dollar espresso machine or a nine hundred dollar bar stool. So right from the beginning my opinion is biased, from the proletariat level where I’m (apparently) looking up from to those that can afford luxury furniture (God I miss IKEA).
The GOOD: I enjoyed a ChocoMello, what I think is a bastard love child between a caramel latte and a mocha latte. I ordered myself a $ 4 small which is equivalent to a ‘tall’ at the Green Mermaid Empire. It was good and creamy, I was far from disappointed and noticed that they serve Illy coffee which, to anyone who knows anything (or at least pretends to know anything) about coffee, knows that Illy is the stuff coffee enthusiasts cream their pants over. Another good point is I think you can take your coffee with you through out the store, so in essence, when you bitch that Starbucks has shitty chairs, at Crema, you can go out and find a nice one. They also have WiFi, so you can lounge out (literally) and work on assignments in a comfortable and expensive setting.
The BAD: Crema itself, doesn’t have outlets for your laptop, so you’re working off your battery life if you don’t have the balls to unplug the $ 760 lamp that is on display (I didn’t). The coffee although, pretty outstanding seemed pricy — but what do you expect when you’re trying to blend in to the luxurious upper-​class.
Overall: I live two blocks away and enjoyed my time at Crèma. In the end though it’s a simple coffee house and its not like I am going to be ditching my normal joint for Crema. I am not even sure how you would park here. I am sure the Honolulu Design Center has lovely parking, but I have no idea where it is, or whether it cost (I walked). They do have sandwiches that they will ‘warm-​up’ for you, but I am not in a rush to try them out. Will I come back? I would stop in if I were wandering the area, but nothing about Crema screams out ‘exceptional’ and makes me want to make them my local coffee stop.

Sorry~ what the f? I went to Crema yesterday because I had a function and was shocked at the service received. I’m standing in line, waiting to order, assuming they were closed because no one was behind the register. Well was I wrong!
Hidden behind the food display was a tiny little Asian girl staring and giggling at me when all I wanted was my ice tea. It took me thirty seconds, timed, before she comes up to ask what I want. No hello, just «what do you want?» in a timid voice. Another two minutes for the tea, which is respectable as it’s not pre-​made, so kudos on that.
I probably wouldn’t go back unless I have a function at Amuse but realistically, I’ll stick to Fresh Café or Starbucks for tea. They’re faster and more personable!

Met up with some friends for the first time at Crema, which is the little café on the first floor of Honolulu Design Center. I’ve always wondered how good a café in a furniture store could really be, I mean afterall, IKEA’s cafeteria in the mainland is not the greatest. But I was REALLY surprised and happy to discover this little gem of a place!
First of all, the prices here are pretty good. Less expensive than Starbucks or CBTL for what I think are better drinks. The selection is small yes, but the drinks itself are oh so yummy! I tried a sip of my friend’s hazelnut mocha chilled coffee, and it was sooooo good. I ordered a mango mint smoothie and it was excellent, and «fresh» tasting. The desserts are decadent and very cheap, like $ 2 for a chocolate ganache cupcake and $ 2.75 for a big, tiramisu in a cup dessert which so delicious!
There’s also free and ample parking which is always a plus! If you’re looking for a very relaxed non-​crowded place to hang out and talk story, study, or do some «portable office online» work, I’d highly reccommend this place. It’ll pleasantly surprise you!

Crema café is an awesome little spot you’ve got to see! A lot of people miss it because its so incognito but I think thats the best part. If you’re in the area and you like Illy coffee this joint is a must visit.
Their showcase is full of fresh sandwiches, pastries, salads, and sweets almost every day. They service Illy coffee and a pretty great array of other canned/​bottled products as well.
There are coffee cards too, so after your 11^th purchased coffee, the 12^th is on the house!
A new feature has just been added to this spot too; FREE WI-​FI! You can’t go wrong! There are multiple seating spots for you to enjoy but not a lot of outlets so make sure your batteries are charged!
As you walk in to the building from the street or the parking garage, Crema is right there and they’re open from 8am-​5pm daily!