Any good bakeries anywhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some great bakery vendors (bread, croissants/laminated pastries) at the City of Falls Church farmers market on Saturdays - I think one of them is related to the family that used to have Cenan's in Vienna, which was so good.

For special treats, I like Chateau de Chantilly and Guava Artisanal Bakery. Victoria's Cakery in City of Fairfax for classic cakes. Living the Pie Life for the obvious Out of the Bubble Bakery in Springfield for allergies.

Agree that Heidelberg is very overrated, AND the service is so grumpy!

I like Pie Life but they are too expensive - $4.00 for a cookie! However, we had a slice of their peanut butter chocolate cake recently that was delicious The Mile High pie is also very good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stela’s in Rockville is best for cake and cookies.

I think they are wildly overrated. Everything i’ve tried (which is a good amount because I always felt like I was missing something since everyone loves it) has been mediocre at best. Nothing special.

I feel that way about Heidelberg. Everything I've had from there tastes extra-processed.

I always thought their pastries are bad but the bread is decent.

[Anonymous]

Stella’s in North Berhesda (cakes in particular)

[Anonymous]

Petite Cerise has the best chocolate croissant I have ever had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amphora Bakery is top notch.

+1 These are the people who actually compete —they are so good! You can hand them a design or a cartoon character and they will design whatever and match the colors perfectly! It’s over the top superb.

[Anonymous]

Toy Les Jours

[Anonymous]

Tout de Sweet and Praline for wonderful cakes.

[Anonymous]

if anyone want to give MasQpan Bakery a try please post feedback. needed a cake late last sat and was in the vicinity so trusted google review and got one there - a strawberry tres leches cake. thought it was very good, not top notch stuff but better than grocery stores. but i'm also always happy when i have cake so not a good judge but curious what others with more 'refined' taste think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Around here? No. I do not eat baked goods from the Us as they are of such low quality. The butter isn't near anywhere as good as in even eastern Europe.

The other day I was looking up croissant recipes and learned American and European butter are quite different. They all emphasize not using American butter. Maybe it applies to pastries in general. I forget what the difference is, something to do with fat content maybe. But bread here tends to be quite bad in general too. I spend half my life fruitlessly looking for good bread.

American butter is 80% butterfat. European/Irish is 82%. Amish is 84%.

For regular white bread, I like the milk bread from Shilla. But then again, bread is ridiculously easy to make, so half the time, I just make bread at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some great bakery vendors (bread, croissants/laminated pastries) at the City of Falls Church farmers market on Saturdays - I think one of them is related to the family that used to have Cenan's in Vienna, which was so good.

For special treats, I like Chateau de Chantilly and Guava Artisanal Bakery. Victoria's Cakery in City of Fairfax for classic cakes. Living the Pie Life for the obvious Out of the Bubble Bakery in Springfield for allergies.

Agree that Heidelberg is very overrated, AND the service is so grumpy!

We used to get donuts at Heidelberg every Friday, and the staff was lovely. But sometime during the pandemic, the donuts changed for the worse. Staff was still lovely, though.

Baguette Republic sells great baguettes at farmers markets in Virginia

https://www.baguetterepublic.com/farmers-markets/

[Anonymous]

Where can I find great cake for special occasions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where can I find great cake for special occasions?

See above,
Starting page 1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where can I find great cake for special occasions?

Stella’s I Rockville.
Get the black and white mousse.

[Anonymous]

Here are my favorites in NOVA:
Heidelberg--black forest bread (made with rye flower but no caraway seeds)
Westover farmers market--best sourdough boule
Randolph's--best croissants and mousse cakes
Harris Teeter-- best carrot cake
Italian Store--best white loaf to have with dinner
Sandwich loaf--I make my own. This recipe https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/sourdough-sandwich-bread/
Still looking for the best cheesecake and baguette. We don't eat a lot of bread/sweets so want it to be special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where can I find great cake for special occasions?

See above,
Starting page 1.

Those bakeries mainly offer breads, viennoserie, and laminated pastries… I’m looking for a gorgeous layer cake for a special occasion. Stella’s cakes are not great tasting (too much mousse and not enough flavor) and really dated looking.