bakery

HOT: Babka Bakery Cafe, 358 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

July 26, 2009 ⋅ 3 comments

The day that I can walk into Babka and sit at a table straight away is the day that I buy a lottery ticket. I’ve given Babka a HOT previously as part of the Hot Cross Bun Challenge 2009, but I thought it deserved a separate assessment on the basis of its sit-down service and [...]

HOT: A1 Bakery, 645 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

July 13, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

I remember my first visit to A1 Bakery and being astounded by the cheap prices for the freshly baked lebanese pizzas. Well, amost 5 years on and it’s still dirt cheap, mostly hovering around the $3 mark. My zaatar pizza ($1.50!) consisted of a soft pillowy base, the complete opposite of a crispy Italian crust, [...]

HOT: Hausfrau Bakery and Cakes, 32A Ballarat St, Yarraville

July 12, 2009 ⋅ One comment

Hausfrau is a cute bakery cafe styled with kitsch 50s-style laminate, enamel jugs and crockery of bright blooms which serves an array of savoury and sweet treats as well as selling loaves of bread. Its warm cosiness was very popular when we popped in for a movie post-mortem so we had to wait a while [...]

HOT: Commercial Bakery, Rear 360 Lt Collins St, Melbourne

July 2, 2009 ⋅ One comment

Commercial Bakery is the kind of hidden Tardis-like cafe on which Melbourne thrives. At first I thought it was a tiny establishment selling only what was displayed in its window shelves, but step inside and you see that a large warmly-lit split-level area stretches into the back beyond. Its frontage caught my eye because of [...]

HOT: Baker D Chirico, 149 Fitzroy St, St Kilda

May 28, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

Daniel Chirico’s small brightly-lit bakery/cafe has been producing quality sourdough for Melbournians for many years, but today was my first visit. The apron-clad staff looked happy, healthy and like they were in love with bread. After a bit of discussion, I decided on the $6 raisin loaf (light, white, organic sourdough packed with juicy fruit) [...]

HOT: Loafer Bread, 146 Scotchmer St, Fitzroy North

May 22, 2009 ⋅ One comment

If you’re going to visit two bakeries in the same area, then it’s only right that you should conduct a comparison visit of the third bakery. Cheerful Loafer Bread seemed to specialise more in cakes, pastries and pies than bread, and their window display of delectable pastries convinced me to try a walnut scroll ($3.50). [...]

HOT: Natural Tucker Bakery, 809 Nicholson Street, Carlton North

May 22, 2009 ⋅ One comment

RM loves scones, but he is also deeply suspicious of anything organic, vegetarian or heaven forbid, vegan. When I spied the fruit-packed vegan scones lovely stacked at counter of the Natural Tucker Bakery ($1.50), I thought I’d take an epicurial risk anyway – and let me tell you, we agree that they are possibly some [...]

NOT: Nicholson Street Baker, 706 Nicholson St, Carlton North

May 9, 2009 ⋅ 3 comments

I love a good neighbourhood bakery, so I was disappointed with my taste-test of Nicholson Street Baker. On the basis of its cheerful orange awning, RM and I had a brief morning tea there and sampled a dry chocolate cupcake and a sturdy apple and walnut muffin containing minimal fruit and nuts. The best of [...]

NOT: Little Cupcakes, Shop 7 Degraves St, Melbourne

April 24, 2009 ⋅ 5 comments

Aww – I feel dastardly giving cute candy-striped Little Cupcakes a NOT. But really, it’s only because their red velvet cupcake ($4) didn’t compare favourably to the red velvet cupcake from London’s Hummingbird Bakery. The cream cheese icing and the flavours were right, but it was just a bit too crumbly for my taste. Perhaps [...]

HOT: Babka Bakery Cafe, 358 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

April 6, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

When I was a kid, every trip to Melbourne involved a pilgrimage to McDonalds because I was deprived of filet-o-fish and fried apple pies in deepest, darkest Tassie. When I grew up, every trip to Melbourne involved a pilgrimage to Babka Bakery Cafe because I loved the food and the friendly neighbourhood atmosphere. I was [...]