Biscotti and fresh bread daily at Atwater's Village Bakery & CafeI kept hearing good things about the Village Bakery on Los Feliz Blvd. in Atwater, but I have to confess that I have a fear of bakeries: First, that they will let me down and I won't find the rhubarb tart or pretzel cheese bun of my dreams, or second, that they'll be so great that I'll be forced to work weekly pain de campagne binges into my exercise plan.
Village Bakery falls somewhere in-between on the bread and pastry scale -- it's solid stuff if you often have a hankering for fresh bread and bacon scones, but not really a drive-across-town kind of place like Huckleberry Bakery. What it is good for is a non-sceney place for breakfast or lunch, with some nice egg dishes and pancakes that pleased even my super-particular daughter. Here's an excerpt from my review for the Los Feliz Ledger:
The saddest part of L.A.’s five-year long cupcake craze is that it’s taken diverted attention from fresh, basic bread. Village Bakery and Café is working to solve that dilemma, revamping and expanding the former LA Bread space with a spiffed up menu and homemade pastries. The homey café was launched last fall by Barbara Monderine, a former partner in Auntie Em’s. There are few bakeries on the near-Eastside, so Village Bakery is a good place to stock up on baguettes and specialty loaves. Sourdough boules—the large round loaves—are probably the most popular, but 12 grain and Asiago cheese are also worth a try. A French friend recommends the boule and the brioche, wishing, “If only they would make a great croissant.”
Cooked-to-order breakfasts can take a while to make, but the wait is worth it for creations like Brian’s Special (above), combining a potato leek cake, tomato, spinach, parmesan cheese, eggs and bacon crumbles ($9).
A cup of good coffee with a prudently-sized cinnamon roll or even better, a bacon-maple scone makes the perfect quick breakfast. Village Bakery is a nice surprise in a neighborhood that can always use more neighborly places for regular folks.
Village Bakery and Cafe
3119 Los Feliz Blvd.
323-662-8600
Totally agree. Their egg breakfasts are delish. Love their sourdough toast (get it w/ raspberry jam, if you can) and the potato leek - though, it could be served hotter -- is a cake worth having. Yay Atwater.
ReplyDeleteBest bread in Atwater is across the street at Whole Food for Life. Fresh every morning around 9 AM. 1/3 the price of Village Bakery. Their pastries aren't bad either. Almond croissants are more than decent.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing I miss about living in Atwater is that bacon maple scone. They also had some really sweet girls working the counter, something that I really appreciated early on a weekday morning.
ReplyDeleteI love the Village Bakery! I've been going since they opened - their muffins are great and the staffs are super nice. Love that winter veggie pot pie too.
ReplyDeleteVillage Bakery also has the infamous Donut Muffin...It's a Muffin......that tastes like a ...(wait for it)
ReplyDeleteDONUT.
The Donut Muffin.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot believe how good it is.
Yes, exactly : a muffin that tastes like a donut.
Get it now.
A donut muffin! I want one now.
ReplyDeleteDidn't this bakery originate further east, in Arcadia?
ReplyDelete