Comments on: Eric Wolitzky Heads Up The Bakery at Cakes & Ale

By: Robin

Robin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:59:46 +0000

In the name of all things holy-keep the Nutters. Best “cookie” on earth!

By: Keith F

Keith F — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:22:09 +0000

Good. I hope that’s the case, but when Wong left it was announced that Sweeney would “head the bakery” and now I’m guessing that meant “Until a pastry chef” could be found.

By: Marty

Marty — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:28:34 +0000

I don’t think what the new pastry chef is doing has any impact on what David Sweeney has been doing. David is not a pastry chef – his role has been doing the lunch menu at the Bakery. Both are going to be great fit!

By: EmersonJ

EmersonJ — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:50:20 +0000

I like CA. I was just commenting on what I perceive to be a general misuse of the word bakery, not just by CA, but by many places. I do remember when a bakery was different than a café or a sandwich shop, as At Home in Decatur described. I’m not lamenting the past, because traditional bakeries still exist, just commenting on the changing definition of the word.

By: At Home in Decatur

At Home in Decatur — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:15:12 +0000

I forgot to mention another bakery that functions more like a retail store than a cafe–the German bakery on Lawrenceville Highway near Home Depot. Just like with Alon’s, I cannot walk out of there without at least 10 different items, even though I only went in there intending to buy a couple of items. The difference between the two is style (Alon’s is more French patisserie/NY delicatessen oriented and German bakery is, understandably, more German) and price (German bakery is about 1/4 the price but still excellent). You can sit down and eat at both of these establishments but the majority of customers do not.

Cakes and Ale is a great place to sit down and savor a superb European croissant or bread or dessert with an excellent cappuccino. But I cannot fulfill a lot of my grocery list there as I did the other day at Alon’s: sliced bread, croutons, some take out dinner items, party-level cheese, Swiss yogurt, Irish butter, cheese straws, Easter candy items, party napkins, cake for family party, gruyere crackers. Usually I would also get some croissants and poppy-seed and hazel-nut raisin danish but the previous items broke my budget.