REVIEW: Village Hearth Bakery- **** / $

The Village Hearth has been baking away for years, and as they've grown, they've upped the ambiance, the size, the menu, and, importantly, the hours. I lived for over a year on the island and never found time to make it there during their very restricted schedule. Now with summer upon us, their hours have seriously opened up; they're closed only Monday and Tuesday. It's unfortunate that they close at 4:00pm on weekdays, since my work doesn't end until then, because I would like to make this charming bakery a more frequent destination.

They have a single bake of the day, starting at about 3:00am. Of course this means that when they run out, they run out. You will get no more until the next day. So unless you want an either non-existent selection or simply a poor one, you better show up early. One of the employees advised me that the pastries are usually extinct by 10:00am, but I've been there on weekdays and even a Sunday when there was a still decent selection. One Sunday, I was able to get a mixed fruit rustic tart and two slices of quiche, but that was pretty much the extent of the selection. Basically, if you want a croissant or sticky bun, be prepared to wake up early.

The Village Hearth has come a long way from its plain, spartan beginnings. They now have a fabulous garden area, with flowers and bushes, a spacious deck and dining area, and large windows, doors, and skylights letting in buckets of natural light. Someone here is a big fan of Seven Stars, because the layout, ambiance, and architectural touches are all very similar. Honestly, though, they nail it here better than Seven Stars. The chairs have a distinctly nautical look to them with wooden slates and brushed metal. The smooth copper tabletops look and feel fantastic. And when the doors are open wide, you can smell the ocean pretty strongly.

The outside dining area is especially nice, and very much needed, since the interior is a bit small. Jamestown can get bustling, but it never gets genuinely busy. Traffic sounds are of the quaint, pleasant variety, and the chatter of passing island-dwellers permeates the building. The roadway is situated north-south, so the windows gets excellent sun from morning to close. Combined with the sounds and smells of such a small island, Village Hearth gels into the nicest al fresco cafe in Rhode Island.

The Hearth hits a home run with its bread. It's easily as good as its most direct comparison, Seven Stars, and a bit cheaper to boot. Their selection is diverse and inventive, with many of their breads bordering on meals unto themselves. I'm generally unimpressed with bread covered in stuff, though. I prefer my bread to be bread and like it when the toppings and ingredients can be used as a sandwich. If the bread already is covered in roasted tomato, cheese, and a thousands herbs, it seriously limits the potential of the bread. Still, I can't directly hold this against a bakery. They're being inventive and I must applaud that. Moreover, I am a bit biased and the variety of breads available means that criticism can't hold up against tea breads or dessert breads like stollen, which are basically meant to be eaten alone. Notably, the bakers here are more inventive than those of Seven Stars. Considering their limited size, they produce an inventive assortment of breads that changes each day. This is what having a great bakery nearby is all about, an adventure cast in dough.

The breads run the gamut from crispy boules to chewy batards. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Flakey and dense. The bakers certainly know how to make bread. A personal favorite was the sunflower seed multi-grain loaf. And on my most recent trip, they had a delectable fougasse. Now that is not a bread you're going to find at the supermarket. It's nice that we have a world-class bakery so far from an urban area.

The pastries, much like the breads, rarely hit a sour note. Again, their selection appears limited by their size and they sell out early. This is the one area where Seven Stars takes the trophy with a longer availability of more items. Still, when what they have is available, it's very much worth a purchase. Two fruit tarts were packed with explosively flavorful fresh fruit, but they tasted more like small pies than tarts, especially the second type, which actually looked like a small pie. Delicious, nonetheless. Simply mis-named, perhaps.

The pecan sticky bun was a knockout success. It was one of the least sweet sticky buns I've ever had, which for me is a big plus. Some pastries have evolved to become so cloying that they are no longer appetizing. A good breakfast pastry should have a fine balance of sweet and savory, ever so delicately falling over the fence into the land of sweet. This what makes a croissant with just a bit of jam on it taste so sinful. Obviously, you'd expect a sticky bun to be sweeter than that, and it is, but it's not dripping with syrupy-sweet goo. This is one of the best pecan sticky buns I've ever had.

One of my only real complaints was the muffin. It was surprisingly bland and a bit small. It was neither very bran-y nor cakey. It was a sort of middle ground that, while good, wasn't something I'd really desire like I would so many of their other creations.

The sandwiches were good. The turkey sandwich I ordered came on their sunflower seed multigrain, which just made the meal. Unlike Seven Stars, who use a bread so dense and chewy that eating it is a freaking endeavor, this bread is much easier on the mouth muscles. And as I mentioned above, this bread is my current favorite, so I like it as much as I expect I'd like any sandwich on it. Otherwise, the sandwich was a sandwich, with good quality deli meat on it for a fair price, it's hard to complain. The quiche was a similar story. Very well prepared, with a variety of veggies like mushrooms and green onions, I liked it even cold. If you're willing to wait a while, you can have them heat up your slice in their oven. It takes a good ten minutes to get it up to temp, but I think it's worth it. I don't come to a bakery to get quiche, but the fact that they have it, and that it's good, continues to elevate the Village Hearth to a legitimate option for a full-on breakfast.

Continuing on with breakfast, we need a drink! And what drink goes best with everything breakfast related? Anyone? What, you don't actually know? Or is no one out there? Out there, in the cold, vastness of cyberspace. Sigh. COFFEE! If you don't like coffee, they have a good selection of teas, and San Pellegrino's Aranciata and Limonata sodas, which are crisp and refreshing... unlike San P's god-awful and confusing website (I just had to mention that). But I, unlike you, you pinko commie, do like coffee, and I especially like espresso. I was encouraged by the visible placement of a La Marzocco Linea espresso machine right next to the register.

I was not let down. My first latte had some pretty poorly steamed milk, and the shot was under-extracted, but that was the exception. Without fail since then, the milk has been well-steamed and the espresso has been dark, but mellow and not over-done. After asking, my suspicions were confirmed as New Harvest Coffee. They provided the machine (I got it wrong. The bakery didn't buy the machine from New Harvest, they simple got a recommendation from them), the coffee, and the training and they did an excellent job. No matter who makes the drink, the espresso is well-pulled and the milk is dense, silky, and sweet. I am so frequently let down by the texture of milk in espresso drinks, but not here. This alone would be enough to recommend them. Add to that the fact that they are the only true cafe on all of Jamestown, the best cafe in any direction for about twenty minutes, AND a bakery, well gaw-lee sarge, this place is the bee's knees.

(The photo references the second latte I received, which was well-pulled, but the milk still had some big bubbles in it. Again, this was the exception so just imagine the drink with better milk.)

I've been racking my brain to try and figure out how to rate this place. What it has is certainly as good as Seven Stars, which despite its name I gave four stars, but its selection is very limited. And the small kitchen, combined with a single daily bake, means pretty much everything is gone well before noon. I'd be less reticent if they had the selection to equal SS, or goods were available later into the day, but even considering that, I think I will err on the side of praise. They certainly deserve it. Perhaps if the drinks hadn't been so damned good, or everything I managed to actually get hadn't been basically perfect; but they were, and for that, The Village Hearth is the equal of Seven Stars, and truly worthy of your time and dime.

They serve wood-fired pizzas on Sunday nights from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. I've tried to make it twice, and both times I've failed because of crushingly long waits. I'm going to try again with a telephone order and simply pick it up. I will update this space after succeeding.

The Village Hearth: ****
Price: Pastries range from $2 to $7. Breads are similar.

http://www.villagehearthbakerycafe.com/


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2 Watson Ave
Jamestown, RI 02835-1418
401-423-9282

Hours
Summer
Wednesday & Thursday 7:00am to 2:00pm
Friday & Saturday 7:00am to 4:00pm
Sunday 7:30am to 2:00pm with pizza served 4:30pm to 7:30pm
Winter
Friday & Saturday 7:00am to 4:00pm
Sunday 7:30am to 2:30pm with pizza served 4:30pm to 7:30pm

Frozen Delight

I was poking around the local Dave's Supermarket and invariably found myself staring at the dessert case. I noticed a new brand, David Glass, and figured to give it a try. I tried his Cheesecake, which he advertises as so rich it serves eight.

Well, I'll start off with the bad. That's a complete lie. If you and a bunch of cheesecake lovers converge, you'll be lucky to squeeze four slices out of this. This was a small, freaking cake. See, in that photo, those are tea plates. Barely seven inches across. And for a six-inch wide cake, this thing cost a fortune. You can order this thing online for $18.95, and an eight-inch cake costs an bonkers $24.98. You can go down to a local bakery and get four, large slices of cheesecake for four bucks apiece. Or you can go to a restaurant and get a gargantuan slice of cake for usually no more than eight clams. This cake is definitely over-priced.

Now, about the good, the cake. Yep. It can't be denied, this is some good cheesecake. Its texture was spot-on, and the flavor was smooth and sweet. The flavor was a bit weak, though. I expect cheese cake to taste very much like cheese, and this cake was lacking in that department. If you're a local, cheesecake from Emilio's Bakery, or if you're on the road, L'Epicureo, are more pleasing alternatives. Although, I guess they should receive some serious kudos for making a frozen cheesecake that can be mentioned in the same breath as fresh ones.

If it wasn't for the price, I think I would have been happier with my purchase. David Glass makes the best frozen cheesecake I've ever had, but at a price that puts it in the upper echelon of freshly-baked cakes from local producers; an arena in which it can't compete.

UPDATE 3/19/09: The cakes are available for around $9 at Dave's Market. This makes them far and away worth a purchase.

REVIEW: Seven Stars Bakery- **** / $$

I wasn't going to review Seven Stars. It's not a restaurant, and it's not really a cafe either. Still, I reviewed Emilio's Bakery, so I guess I should attach a star review to this, as well. I dunno'. I'm confused and scared. Where are my pants? Regardless, Seven Stars Bakery thoroughly impressed me and it definitely deserves those four stars. The bread is excellent, the pastries excellent, and the coffee & espresso rate amongst the best I've had. Put this place on your short list of establishments at which to gain a pound or two.

Seven Stars has two locations, both of which are mobbed all day. The location on Hope Street at least has sufficient parking, alleviating some of the headache. The Hope Street location is also the original and as such is inferior in aesthetic to the Broadway location. The Broadway location is much more finely textured and warm, compared to the wide, blank, almost warehouse-like feel of the other. The Hope Street location has a (very cool) large, chrome baker's oven door on the wall, styled circa 1945. It's a glorious touch to an otherwise unimpressive interior.

Both locations have lots of windows, which let the light come in, with tables pressed against them so you can while away an hour or two, basking in the sun and the delectable aroma coming from the back room. During the summer months, they erect some tables and chairs outside to provide some reprieve to the chair-less hordes waiting for a place to sit. On busy days, even these aren't enough.

Now down to business: all the baked goods. They make sandwiches on bread that is so amazingly chewy my dining partner was unable to eat the sandwich. I'm sure there are many who enjoy a sandwich that makes you work for your meal, but rendering your food inedible to some people is just dumb. Luckily for us and them, this is as bad as it gets. It's all uphill from here.

The pastries are excellent across the board. The cinnamon twist is layered, crispy, flaky, and ever so lightly flavored with cinnamon as to just set your heart aflutter. The cream cheese danish is equally flaky, with a dollop of sweet, smooth cream cheese in the middle. It is the best cheese danish I've had in Rhode Island. Muffins remind me of muffins my parents used to eat when I was young. I remember not liking muffins at that age because I found them too rough and bready. I had sometimes wondered how the hell I couldn't like muffins considering that most of them are basically cake. Now I know why. These are muffins. Not the cloying pieces of child-sating sweetness you get at Dunkin' Donuts.

Now that I've said that, I really like those cloying pieces of child-sating sweetness. I certainly appreciated these muffins and enjoyed them, but I still think I'd go with the cakey ones. Go ahead. Call me uncultured. Just don't call me late for dinner. Oh ho! Buddum bum ching. The pecan sticky buns were illegally delicious; dense with caramel (care-a-mel) and sweet but not too, which was very well done. The brownies were a personal favorite since they tasted like the ones I make at home. Dense, not too cakey, and most importantly, a very subtle sweetness.

The croissants are as perfect as I can imagine a croissant to be. Large, flaky, light, and buttery. I only wish I could be there to get the croissants fresh from the oven, like they should be eaten. The only pastry that didn't leave me impressed with its quality were the scones. Calling them bad would be inaccurate, but they were not excellent. They were... good. I would have no qualms about buying them, but unlike many of the other offerings, I wouldn't make a drive for the scones.

I also wouldn't make a drive for some of the breads. The bread, here, is a mixed bag. Some of the bread is well-priced, such as a French baguette for $2.99, but others are alarmingly priced; alarmingly to the tune of $9 for a single loaf of bread. Freshly made bread is an experience. The freshly made bread at Seven Stars is no different, but loaves like the cheese bread, with cheese baked into the boule, were dry, and the cheese means you can eat the bread as it is or... with more cheese. Perhaps on a sandwich, but why pay extra for cheese in your bread when you can simply add it yourself?

They must also compete with some large-scale bakeries producing their own, good breads. Ecce Panis, for example, makes some damned good bread and makes it for $3.99 a loaf. Seven Stars does little to make a value proposition for their breads which cost more than twice as much. I will go so far to say that Seven Stars is better, but not enough so to warrant the prices. The pastries are not covered in this criticism. The pastries are all very competitively priced. For example, the muffins and croissants are $2 each, which is right in line with what most other places charge.

Seven Stars Bakery is more than just a bakery, it's a cafe and a trendy hang-out, emphasis on the trendy. The pretentio-meter went off the scale during one visit to the Hope Street location. Hemp bags, soy lattes, judgmental stares, and a judicious helping of facial metal were de rigeur. I'm not sure why I got so many disapproving looks. Was my fly down? Did I have something in my teeth? Did my 220 pounds not mesh well with their chic, vegan frames? I guess we'll never know.

As any trendy hang-out needs, Seven Stars has good coffee and espresso. Very good, in fact. The chai was... strange. Overly floral with bitter notes made it more like east Asian tea and not chai. It was alright, but when I order chai, I expect chai. The tea selection in general was pretty thin. Stock a few bags, it's not hard. The espresso, though, did not disappoint in the slightest. Every time, deep and powerful, with milk steamed very well. On one trip, I received one of the best lattes I've ever gotten; something I was not expecting from a bakery.

Some credit can undeniably go to New Harvest Coffee, who provided the beans. They consistently produce some of the best coffee the state has to offer and it shines through loud and clear. They choose a one of the heavier roasts, with dark, chocolate notes as opposed to the lighter, nuttier roast I get more frequently. All taken in, better coffee can be had a bit of a ways down Hope street on Wickenden, at Coffee Exchange, where, interestingly, they also carry baked goods from Seven Stars. I guess it's a toss-up as to which is more important on any given trip. You'll get better coffee at CofEx, but the pastry selection is pretty lean.

I came away from Seven Stars Bakery suitably impressed. Good atmosphere compliments a wide array of delicious, well-priced pastries and very good espresso and coffee. Since discovering it, I've made the 30+ minute trip on multiple occasions, and will undoubtedly do so many times in the future. It's hard to deny a place that does everything it sets out to do so well. Nothing is notably lacking. The coffee and espresso reveal owners who care about the cafe as something more than to just satiate the caffeine-crazed coffee hamsters there for the pastries. Seven Stars is one of Rhode Island's best bakeries and one of her best cafes.

Seven Stars Bakery: ****
Price range for two: $10-$20 (I kinda' improvved this. It's the price for two coffees and pastries)

http://www.sevenstarsbakery.com


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342 Broadway
Providence, RI. 02909
401-632-4496
Hours
Monday through Friday 6:30am to 6:00pm
Saturday & Sunday 7:00am to 4:00pm


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820 Hope Street
Providence, RI. 02906
401-521-2200
Hours
Monday through Friday 6:30am to 6:00pm
Saturday & Sunday 7:00am to 6:00pm

REVIEW: Emilio's Bakery- **** / $

I have a hard time putting my love for Emilio's to words. So much of what they are is perfect. The quality, the recipes, sigh. I'm drooling as I write this.

Emilio's is generally a take-out kind of place. They have small tables in the quaintly decorated interior. You can sit down and enjoy a cup of decent coffee with the utterly fantastic desserts. In fact, as far as ambiance goes, it is one of the most European places I've ever been, merely because it's not trying to be. European decor isn't a shtick at Emilio's. It just is.

I'll highlight the stars, which are numerous. The slices of chocolate covered cheesecake are sweet, creamy, and imbued with an incredible cheese flavor. Some of the best I've ever had. The coronets are the best I've ever had. I've never had a coronet that comes even close to the flaky, airy perfection of the dough, or the sweet, creamy decadence of the filling. Their chocolate covered coronets are great, but stick to the traditional ones. They have some of the best éclairs on Earth, with a perfect filling, firm, buttery dough, and rich icing on top sending your mouth into a tizzy.

Their wide selection of cakes and pies are all excellent. The cake is moist and rich. The icings are all rich and not too sweet. Only a few of the cakes spoil the party with bland fillings and too much icing overwhelming the cake. Their wide selection of house-made cookies threatens to turn anyone into a Cookie Monster. Their fruit tarts, cookies, and danishes all cry out to be gobbled down. Unfortunately, some of their cookies are NOT house made, which seems odd in a bakery with such wide offerings. These are pretty standard butter cookies, but can't hold a candle to the flavor of the house-made butter cookies.

For pastries and cakes, I always, without hesitation, make the trip to Emilio's. Their prices are just this side of insanely cheap. You can walk away with three more inches on your waistline in a box for under $20. Some other bakeries compete in price, or in quality, but never the two combined. Emilio's is the killer combination of both that leaves everyone else wanting.

UPDATE 3/19/09: I've eliminated a star from the review. Not because the quality went down, but because I wrote this review years ago for another website and I think I was too much of a cheerleader. The bakery is not without problems, such as cake that is too dry, and as such a five-star review denoting perfection is unwarranted.

Emilio's Bakery: ****
Price range for two: $5-$20

287 Legris Ave
West Warwick, RI 02893-2905
401-828-2456

Hours
Tuesday through Sunday: 8:00am to 8:00pm