bakeries

The Opera cake at Cousin Johns (7th Ave + Berkely) is incredible. Most of the baked goods there are great - we had a chocolate ganache cake (as they were out of Opera cake, and we forgot to pre-order) for my birthday last night, it was good, too.

When it comes to baked goods in South Brooklyn, Court Street is the place to go. The Slope simply does not have anything that comes close to the goodness of the stuff over there.

It depends on tastes, but it's yuppie-ish and good and it's called Sweet Melissa has some great stuff. You defiinitely pay a little more, but it's very much worth it.

If you want Cannoli and some great Italian pastries, Court Pastry on Court Street is great as well. Not too heavy when it should not be too heavy. And just the right balance of richness all around. These are Italian baked goods exactly as they should be.

I'd recommend College Bakery if you're into the old-school yellow cake stuff done well, but they closed down months ago.

And here's a semi-warning regarding Marquet Patisserie. They have a branch in Fort Green and Court Street near Warren Street and I believe one on 7th Avenue in the Slope. I've had mixed experiences with them. Sometimes the goods are bland and overpriced and the staff is abrassive. Sometimes they've made decent goods... But the staff is still abrasisive and difficult. They are a tad overrated and I'd approach their goods--and their attitude--with extreme caution. More of a foodie hole-in-the-wall that someone on 'Sex in the City' would like rather than a decent place.

FLUTE wrote: When I lived in Carroll Gardens (First Place and Court Street), I recall that Caputo's was where everyone went. I'm not sure if it's still there ...

Caputo's is still around. But it's mainly an Italian bread bakery. They bake mainly for restaurants and stores. And their breads are true-blue old-school Itatalian greatness. Crutsy and tasty as heck and soft and fluffy inside. Amazing stuff. And very cheap as well!

But they're sweet-stuff/cookies/cakes selection is a bit weak. I think the deal is that they mainly bake the bread--truly on premises--and make the baked sweet stuff as a side thing.

Court Pastry for sweets.

Caputo's for bread.

The best dessert in the Slope is the birthday cake ice cream at Uncle Louie G's. I never thought that something tasting just like a supermarket birthday cake would be a GOOD thing.

The poached pear dessert at Mulino was pretty addicting. Haven't been there in ages, though.

I liked what I had at Two Little Red Hens, which I've never frequented much since I'm on the other side of the Slope. I've only liked brunch at Cousin John's and think their baked goods are no better than average. I'd rather just get some of the brownies and cupcakes Tea Lounge brings in from other vendors.

I do wish Blue Sky Bakery kept later hours.

I can't believe Cupcake isn't weighing in on this one!

I agree with the Court St. recommendations, BTW.

My favorite bakery for sweets on Court is Monteleone's. Great pignoli cookies and...oh, whatever those super flaky pastries with ricotta in them are.

PS is sadly, and strangely, lacking in bakeries. I agree that Cousin John's is just ehh, and I'm not crazy about Three Hens either. Some of the stuff at Naidre's is good, some is not. Blue Sky gets points for effort, but there's nothing I'd go out of my way for. That "french" place on 9th is horrible.

Oh, how I miss the chocolate babka muffins at Lopez. Actually, I miss that place, period.

teamkaty wrote: Oh, how I miss the chocolate babka muffins at Lopez. Actually, I miss that place, period.

Here's a tip. I'm not a big fan of Russian bread, but Russian pastries are quite good. If you can wing it, I'd highly recommend jumping on the B train (express) or Q train (local if you have no choice) and heading out to Brighton Beach.

There are tons of decent places to get stuff. But M&I International Foods is by far the best and has the best selection.

You want Babka? It's there. And lots more.

What about Regina's on 7th? I've only gotten a black & white cookie there (so far), but it was delish.

ppwgal wrote: What about Regina's on 7th? I've only gotten a black & white cookie there (so far), but it was delish.

Mediocre compared to the Court Street/Carroll Gardens Italian stuff.

Jack wrote: [quote=ppwgal]What about Regina's on 7th? I've only gotten a black & white cookie there (so far), but it was delish.

Mediocre compared to the Court Street/Carroll Gardens Italian stuff.
I agree, it's not quite as good as what you'd get in Carroll Gardens, but if you don't feel like trekking over there, it's still good.

dw438 wrote: Best thing about the store is Reggie, the orange & white tabby cat that must be 15 yrs old by now. Likes getting rubbed on the head.

That cat is pretty cute - but the young girl behind the counter on weekends is unbelievably obnoxious. I would rather buy my black and whites from Key Food.

Monteleone's pastries are overrated compared to Court St Pastry.

They look great but they lack something.

Their ices and cheesecake are good though.

MJR

Dont forget Juniors on Flatbush, they make some really good pies besides cheesecake.

Subject: Re: Have they

roux42 wrote: [quote=germfree!]Is it my imagination, or did Lopez reopen on 5th ave near 19th st?

Bit of a hike, I s'pose.

Have they re-opened some place else? I love that place.. It is well worth the hike!

Yeah, I did, in fact, make that up. There's a bakery there called Selena's that I suppose transported me back to Lopez. I did get an excellent wholewheat loaf there, however. Since Uprising closed it's been impossible to get decent fresh bread (Union Market just doesn't cut it).

Subject: Re: bakeries

citizen jane wrote: Where, in your opinion, is the best dessert to be found in Park Slope? I think the baked goods at Two Little Red Hens are disgustingly sweet and heavy and overrated (not to mention served by consistently surly counter people, in my experience).

There seem to be few alternatives though. Anyone? Thanks.

This bakery is a bit far from me, so I confess I've never actually been there. However, friends of mine have purchased my birthday cakes from there and they were fantastic! They were so beautiful, I hesitated to cut the cake. But once I tasted it, I was eager to cut for seconds.