Bakery – Page 22

Solunto Bakery in Little Italy- Breakfast and snacks and baked goods

July 24, 2007 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Solunto has closed. It will be missed.

mmm-yoso is being blogged by Cathy today. Kirk is doing something else. Ed is sweltering.

Hi, again. The Mister and I were downtown early on Saturday morning and wanted breakfast. We have a few "regular" spots we like to go to before the crowds (and parking meters) kick into gear, and since I do blog about the foods I eat…here we go!

Solunto Bakery on India Street. Been there forever. They supply the bread to most of the Italian restaurants- in a par baked form- so it is always fresh. We go to the source.

Technically the food area in the back is "Honey Bee Ltd." It is run by the same ladies who work in the bakery. They use the same cash register.

The red menu is the breakfast menu; the middle one is the sandwich and specialties menu and the third, more yellow one is the bakery items price sheet. (Click onto any photo to enlarge)

I got the spinach and cheese two egg omelet ($6.95) It comes with the potatoes and a fresh roll and butter. You can watch the ladies crack the eggs and make the omelet and grab a par-baked Frenchette roll and warm it in the convection oven. (You can buy the par baked frenchettes for 40¢ each or $4.35/dozen).

You can see from this cross section that there is plenty of fresh spinach inside the omelet. The cheese was a mild cheddar. The potatoes are nicely crispy on the outside and flavorful, soft on the inside…olive oil for cooking, Not overly buttery. Of course the Frenchette is excellent. Crispy outside, with a great sesame flavor in every bite.

The Mister saw the calzone in the refrigerator case and asked if we could have one heated up for breakfast…of course we could! ($5.95)

As you can see, it is filled with ham, pepperoni and capicola as well as the nicest, creamiest, freshest ricotta and mozzarella I have had in a long time, surrounded by that wonderful handmade crust. The sauce for dipping was a very nice tomato based one, with a slight amount of garlic and olive oil added. Just right. Tastes so fresh.

The regular coffee here is, meh, and the cappuccino is better with breakfast, but we knew we were heading to the New Downtown Albertson's (it has a Peets inside) and so we just got a regular coffee on this day.

We always get something par baked ( panini are 55¢ each or $5.75/dozen or a demi loaf $1.75), but I didn't take a picture and since it is Tuesday, well, it's gone.

Occasionally, as it says on the menu, they have Sfingi for 25¢ each or 5/$1 and I grab them up when I can…(basically small fried donut holes, made with orange and lemon zest- usually eaten for the Feast of San Guiseppe- and sometimes stuffed with a ricotta mixture if you get it from a Good Italian Home)(The Mister and I had some from this teensy bakery in Naples, still warm, and it brings back good memories to taste the warm orange/lemon flavoring in a lightly fried dough…)

Solunto Bakery and Honey Bee Ltd. 1643 India Street San Diego 92101 (619) 233-0881

Arely Again-A revisit to a really good French Bakery Cafe

July 13, 2007 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso, the blog. This is it. Cathy blogging today; Kirk is resting; Ed is in Yuma.

Hi again. I’ve been under the weather, because of the weather, and didn’t feel much like eating out anywhere in the last week (let’s politely say phlegm was involved and leave it at that).

Looking at Kirk’s post about his Bun Bo Hue dossier, I noticed he mentioned his "regular rotation" and started thinking about it. The Mister and I eat at Arely a lot, not for the atmosphere (5 tables, plastic plates and cutlery) but because of the food. It is very good and quite authentically French. In fact, the last time we were here (a couple of Saturdays ago), three people in front of us all were speaking in French to each other, ordering in accented English and then while we were waiting for our food, another group of three people also speaking only in French were also getting food to eat there. Lots of people get food to go, many cakes are preordered and picked up.

Here is a link to my previous post on Arely. I noticed I said I would talk about breakfast and so here is the follow up.

Here is a copy of the glossy menu you can pick up inside. (Click on any photo to enlarge). It’s the same menu as is on the wall that I had in the previous post.

Let’s start out with something simple, basic. An almond croissant. Sure, I sort of cut it open to show you a cross section in this photo. You can’t feel the weight of it or the fact that it was still warm, with crispy layers-delicate layers of dough, the sweet layer of homemade marzipan-honey mixed with finely chopped almonds, or..oh, look…that filling…it is chopped almonds.

Here, how is this photograph? Hand chopped, thin slivers of almonds, still crispy, sweet. Oh, did I say it was still a warm pastry at 10 a.m. on a Friday morning?…hmmm…what did I forget to tell you? Oh, it costs all of $1.50, as do the muffins, apple turnovers, danishes, scones, and walnut raisin snails. The ‘fancy’ Deserts (Napoleons, creme brule, tiramisu, eclairs (chocolate and vanilla) St. Michele, raspberry chocolate mousse, horseshoes, montmartre, opera cake and cheesecake and a chocolate mousse cake) are each the staggering price of $2.95. It is all made here. Fresh.

This loaf of multi grain bread is$2.60. It is very good bread. Hearty, chewy. Different from the baguettes, which have a nice crispy crust. Fresh.

I know, it is not "extraordinary" as far as the location and ambiance goes. You pay, dearly, for that privilege. This place has excellent, fresh made food and pastries and breads. I shant discuss other bakeries here. I know what is good as well as what is excellent and what I will pay for good and excellent.

Ah, breakfast- here are two omelettes

Each costs $5.95 and came with the 5 slices of baguette and side, as shown.

The one on the left is with the fresh fruit (melon, cantaloupe, strawberries, orange slices and apple slices). Each fruit was extremely flavorful and at its peak. The cantaloupe was the most flavorful one I have had this year. The omelette on the right is shown with the side of home potatoes (sauteed with skins on with some onion and..hmmm… I think it was butter).

Ah, innards.

This one is the ratatouille – eggplant, zucchini, tomato and Herbes de Provence . Really good Herbes de Provence- as in you can taste the lavender herb quite clearly. Fresh herbs, fresh sauteed vegetables.

The omelettes are made with real eggs; I did bite on a piece of eggshell near the end of this meal. It just was reassuring that my taste buds, realizing how fresh the egg tasted, were not playing a trick on me.

This is the ‘why play games?’ omelette- spinach and blue cheese. Oh yes. You kind of need those pieces of baguette to fully appreciate the melted blue cheese.

Please look at the previous post to see the French Onion Soup as well as quiche and sandwich choices we had one day. Then, just go.

Arely French Bakery Cafe 4961-A Clairemont Drive 92117 (next to Pick Up Sticks and Woodie’s- you can see the Krispy Kreme and Outback just across the parking lot) (858)270-1910 Mon-Sat 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Maui: Home Maid Bakery

October 28, 2006 mmm-yoso Bakery, Desserts, Maui, Travel

There is a Japanese tradition of giving gifts when returning from a trip, these gifts are called Omiyage. In Hawaii, the tradition is deeply rooted, and goes beyond ethnic and cultural differences. In fact, when making a trip from say, Honolulu, to Hilo, your mind automatically starts ticking off what you need to bring back for Omiyage…., Mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen, or something from Big Island Candies. The tradition even works in reverse; when taking trips to Lanai, Manapua(sort of a steamed Char Siu Bao, but bigger), Pork Hash(Siu Mai), and Pepiao from Char Hung Sut was a required gift. Maui seems to have more than it’s share of Omiyage items, though the list seems to be getting shorter(of the stuff I know) as time goes by. Long gone are the Maui Hot Dogs and Shishido Manju. But several sources of Omiyage are going strong. One of those sources is located in Wailuku on Lower Main street, Home Maid Bakery.

The bakery is not that hard to find, but parking can be. Though it might not be a long wait since cars are always leaving as quickly as they are entering the hilly, uneven, slightly pot-holed parking lot. And Home Maid’s hours are very convenient, they are open from 5am to 10pm daily.

Once in the bakery, you’ll notice all of the bags lined up on the back counter; those are the orders waiting for pick-up, mostly for people on the way to the airport. There are a variety of various pastries available, and most of it is self-serve. But on this trip to the airport to pick-up the Missus’s parents, we decided to try the malasadas, those wonderful Portuguese fried donut like pastries. I’d been warned of the sometimes surly service at Home Maid, but on this day, the Older Lady working the counter was very nice. And we got a dozen to go($6.60):

You’ll notice only eleven malasadas in the box. That’s because, in order to stop a certain someone with a growling tummy from salivating all over the box(not me…), I had to open it up, and that malasada was inhaled. Overall, these were not too bad, they lacked the yeasty goodness of the malasadas from Leonard’s Bakery, but were not a bad substitute for someone who had not had a decent malasada in 5 years. The confections were slightly crisp, very hot, and sugary. Please note that malasadas are only available from 530am to 930am, and 4pm to 10pm daily. When I kiddingly asked the Lady why that was…She looked up with a total deadpan expression and said, "cause no mo’ malasada man!" And proceeded to crack up…….

But what Home Maid Bakery really is known for are the Crispy Manju, which unlike traditional Japanese Manju, has a crisp pastry crust (Think pie crust). So I had to make sure to buy a couple for snacking pleasure.

I picked up the Imo (sweet potato) and Crispy Manju Deluxe(lot’s of azuki). The Missus really didn’t care much for them, She’s much more of a traditionalist, and while I still enjoy the buttery sweetness, I thought these seem to be much more greasy than I remember.

My Mother In Law on the other hand, who obviously eats this much more often than we do(living in Honolulu) loved them. And we made a stop on the way to the Airport so they could grab a good selection as Omiyage for their friends and the people at work. The MIL says, the Coconut is really good.

So on your way to the airport, don’t forget the Crispy Manju from Home Maid Bakery.

Home Maid Bakery
1005 Lower Main Street
Wailuku, HI 96793
Open 5 a.m.-10 p.m
7 days a week,

Malasadas Available
530am – 930am
4pm – 10pm

Saturday Snack – Ono’s Cafe

May 6, 2006 mmm-yoso Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego

*** Ono's has closed

A while back I heard of a small coffee/tea/dessert shop in the Bonita area called Ono's (love the name) that supposedly served Malasadas. Yep, Malasada's.

Now nothing can make an Ex-Pat Kama'aina as homesick as the thought of hot and fluffy Malasadas from Leonard's Bakery in Honolulu. For those who don't know what a Malasada is; think of it as a Donut without a hole, fried to a nice golden brown crisp on the outside, with a light and fluffy interior. Served piping hot, there is nothing that quite compares to it in my book. Though Portuguese in origin, Malasadas has long been an Island favorite. So naturally, this made Ono's a "must-try".

Ono's is tucked away behind a branch of Well Fargo on Bonita Road. Though hidden from the street, once in the parking lot, you can't miss the "statue".

The decor is a tasteful Asian-influenced tropical, with "New Age" Asian instrumental music piped in. On this day the Cafe was quite full, with people having tea or coffee, and various desserts like Kahlua Cheesecake.

I did find a sign for Malasadas, 9 for $3.50! Now that is very, very inexpensive. I placed my order, and was told that it would be an 8 to 10 minute wait. Soon enough, a small white package was delivered to me. I opened it as soon as I got to the car.

Though the donuts were golden brown, and smelled heavenly, these looked more like donut holes then Malasadas. I guess that explains the price. As I took a bite, I noticed that the interior of this small donut was cake-like and pretty dense. Overall these tasted pretty good, since they were served hot and fresh.

The texture was somewhere between a Malasada and Andagi, the dense Okinawan "donut". These really weren't Malasadas in my book.

Even though I was expecting Malasadas, and these didn't fit the bill, they still tasted good when "hot". Though I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Ono's in the future, I'd probably drop by for a cup of coffee or some dessert if I'm in the neighborhood.

Notes: Service was friendly and efficient. There are a number of desserts, smoothies, and other drinks available.

Ono's
4154 Bonita Rd
Bonita, CA 91902

Ono-licious Hawaiian Style Bakery

August 13, 2005 mmm-yoso Bakery, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego

Update: I’ve been told that as of Christmas 2005; Ono-Licious Bakery is no longer open.

I got to Kaisen’s a bit early yesterday, and they weren’t open yet, but right next to the restaurant was this little shop:

Hmm, Hawaiian Style Bakery, huh? Well I thought I’d go and check it out. And believe it or not, there was Malasada’s, and Guava and Haupia Chiffon cakes. I thought that I may have just hit the "motherlode" here. Talk about a bonus, I’d driven out to Oceanside for Hawaiian Food and found a "local style" bakery to boot! And yes, I could smell the familiar Malasada smell in the air. I’d almost forgotten the mission at hand, and shook myself back to reality. Also, the really nice young lady behind the counter was starting to stare at me. I told the cashier to "not sell all of the Malasada’s" and that I’ll be right back after lunch. She laughed and said not to worry, the bakery’s not going anywhere.

As I ate lunch I watched a few people walking out with cake boxes and a few flower arrangements. Lunch finally over, I entered the bakery and ordered two Malasada’s (0.85/ ea) to go:

While waiting I ogled the wonderful looking cakes:

The gal behind the counter told me that Ono-licious has been open about 5 months, and that business was pretty good. In addition to the cakes Haupia Malasada’s, as well as Baked and Steamed Manapua, among other pastries are available.

At home we bit into the malasada’s. They tasted pretty good, though these were really alot more "cakey" and dense, not like the lighter, fluffy-er, one’s from Leonard’s back home. These are more like Champion Bakery, heavy and cake-like, and not the style I enjoy. But, if you enjoy that style of Malasadas this is probably a required stop. If you’re in the neighborhood make sure to stop by and give some of these ono treats a try. Service is great and the smells are wonderful!

Ono-licious Hawaiian Style Bakery
1906 Oceanside Blvd (next to Kaisen’s)
Oceanside, CA 92054

760-757-7060

Open Daily 9am – 6pm

Sorrento European Bakery – Some Banh Mi with your Chocolate Mousse?

July 15, 2005 mmm-yoso Bakery, Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Sorrento European Bakery has closed

I had heard about a “Vietnamese Bakery” in Mira Mesa that made good Banh Mi. So with some rudimentary instructions we headed off. We came across a mall on Mira Mesa Blvd, that had an interesting Food Court and right next to the Food Court was Sorrento European Bakery. The little sign outside said Vietnamese Sandwiches.

We walked in and were met with a case of wonderful looking cakes and pastries like the mango mousse pictured on the right. I thought “no way can this be the place”. But the owners looked to be Vietnamese (and spoke some pretty good Mandarin too).

And there was a grease board with 10 sandwiches listed; the five on the left were stuff like roast beef and turkey. On the right it said “VN Sandwiches”, bingo! There were 5 sandwiches listed, all priced at $2.50, so I chose the #1 – Dac Biet. And while the poor Missus waited to pay and ogled the pastries and cakes, I wandered around the Food Court. We ended up doing a “Mini – Food Court Crawl”, which I’ll post later. The owner told my Wife that they bake their own bread for the sandwiches daily – so the bread is always fresh!

So how was the Banh Mi (please excuse the bad picture – I was over come by hunger) ? This was the “lightest” Banh Mi I’ve had by far. The bread was light and crusty, and a bit yeasty, with a really nice texture. The “ham” was very tasty, as were the veggies, but there was a spread (mayo??) that detracted from the taste a bit. The rest of the meat was good as well – no roasted pork this time, but the pork in the roll was good – I tasted all the meat separately. Not enough cilantro and the green chili’s on the sandwich were really mild. Rich, but light, good enough for a return visit. I’d order at least 2 sandwiches for me the next time though. The sandwich was good but there is something missing, I need to re-evaluate (poor me…) whether it’s a lack of filling, or a taste component was missing, I just can’t put my finger on it, so I’ll try again. Maybe someone else should try and let me know if I’m missing something?

Very nice and friendly service – the pastries looked very tempting, but I was focused on the Banh Mi. I think another visit is in order, the jury’s out!

Sorrento European Bakery
6755 Mira Mesa Blvd #117 – in the Sorrento Plaza Shopping Center
San Diego, CA 92121
858-909-0599

Hogetsu Bakery

June 19, 2005 mmm-yoso Bakery, Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers

I’m almost sure that 99.9% of the people in San Diego or Chula Vista have never heard of this place.

Located in another one of those non-descript strip malls strung throughout Chula Vista, Hogetsu Bakery makes excellent Manju and Mochi, and also sells Castella and other Japanese goodies.

A friendly, Family run operation, Hogetsu has been in business since 1983. So I’m still amazed that only 1 person that I’ve spoken to has ever heard of this place! Many people I know still drive to Los Angeles to get their Manju, or just buy them from Nijiya or Mitsuwa.

The prices are reasonable ranging from $.95 and up. And there are many varieties available. I purchased a small box of goodies ($9.00).

It’s amazing when you bite into a “fresh” Habutai; usually somewhat chewy, this one is softer, more delicate. It’s almost strange being used to store bought manju how different this was.

So there’s really no need to drive to Los Angeles for mochi anymore. It’s just down the street in Chula Vista.

Hogetsu Bakery
1210 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Open Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

(619) 422-6677

One quick post-script – For fellow Chowhounds, Hogetsu Bakery is located in the same mall as the infamous Kaga Zushi…..

Indulgence – A Sugar Free Bakery.

June 3, 2005 mmm-yoso Bakery, Desserts

*** Update: Indulgence has since closed.

Hard to miss this place – the bright purple sign beckons on Park Avenue.

They advertise themselves as a sugar free bakery. So we stopped by just to see what this was like. The interior is cafe-like and ecletic, with artwork lining the walls. And there is a large case filled with cakes, cream puffs, and other pastries.

That's a strawberry chiffon cake calling to you…. Though these treats are sugar-free, they're not low calorie! A slice of that chiffon cake is 477 calories. We chose two lemon bars – only a 100 or so calories a piece. The bars had a good texture, but as amazing as this may seem, tasted overly sweet! I enjoyed the slight tang and good aftertaste, but a little too sweet for me.

The staff is very friendly and helpful, so much so, that when I asked if it was ok to take a picture of the cakes, the Gentleman behind the counter, answered brightly, "of course", than proceeded to open up the case for a better picture! Breakfast is served from 9-5! With various egg or egg substitute options, quiche, and other items. Lunch is served from 11am to 5pm, with extensive menu of everything from Boca Burgers to Reduced Carb Pizza to Pot Roast. Indulgence A Sugar Free Bakery. So if sugar- free, low-carb, and organic is your thing, give it a try.

Indulgence Bakery
4207 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 299-3404

Tuesday to Saturday:
9 am – 9 pm
Sunday:
9 am-5 pm
Closed Mondays