I’m a big fan of bakeries.
It’s the first place I like to find when I travel to a new city, sinking my teeth into the region’s popular baked product or a slice of freshly baked bread. In fact, I might judge a neighborhood’s culinary landscape by how just good the bakeries are.
Which brings me to this: how do you know how good a bakery is? Is it the quality of their products? The uniqueness? The variety?
In Hawaii, everyone seems to have a favorite. Some love the Cocoa Puffs from Liliha Bakery or the poi glazed donuts from Kamehameha Bakery in Kalihi or the malassadas from Agnes’ Portguese Bake Shop in Kailua. And to them, that constitutes the best bakery.
But some would argue that the depth of the menu matter. Sure, Champions Malasadas on Beretania Street churns out some of the best Portuguese donuts around. But it is really known for anything else? And does that really matter? (At least Leonard’s Bakery has great sweet bread, hot cross buns and mini dobash cakes.)
Still others — and I know a few — judge a bakery by the quality of its bread, period. French, challah, focaccia — these are staples that bakeries need to get right. After all, bakeries, by definition, are places where bread is baked.
So what’s your criteria for a good bakery? And what’s your favorite in Hawaii?
9 Comments
For me it’s about quality. Doesn’t matter if it’s one thing on the menu or a bunch of things, if the offerings are good, I’m there. Kaneohe Bakery for custard pie, Liliha for cocoa puffs, St. Germain’s for ham and cheese croissants…it’s all good.
Cuz i like Aunty Shirleys Bakery in Kalihi :):):)
I like different things about different ones but I must confess the malassadas at Agnes are to die for… therefore it is the best. Shallow thinking indeed but hey sue me.
David and I love the long johns at Larry’s Bakery near Target-Salt Lake, because they are always freshly made.
a plain cake donut, a french baguette and an english scone. that’s the trifecta. if a bakery can score on all three, i’m there.
CAT: My favorite is gone…Kimuraya!
depends on what the specialty is. some bakeries, like Leonards have a big selection of good stuff. others, like Paalaakai are known for one exceptional item (although their other pastries are good, too).
some places like Voodoo donuts in Portland do one thing and one thing only and make no excuses.
for me, though, it’s about the bread. I like italian style breads over french or loaf breads. heavier with a better chew than lighter french loafs.
my first day of my first trip to new york city, years ago, my wife and I were wandering around soho (I think…first time there plus just got off a red eye=nothing was certain) I wandered into an italian bakery in search of a real New York cannoli (which I scored immediately). the real gem, though, was a prosciutto loaf. a small loaf of crusty italian bread with prosciutto bits chopped up and baked inside. a freakin’ ready made ham sandwich. I ended up eating the whole loaf as we wandered gotham’s streets. sadly, in my multiple return trips, I’ve never figured out what that bakery was and I’ve never seen that prosciutto loaf again.
all it takes is one (or two) item(s) for me. milky stick and monroe bread at bakery manoa, turtle bread and mochi rolls at boulangerie on s.king, glazed poi donut/malassada and apple fritter at kam bakery, apple fritter at regal bakery, malassadas from champions, glazed flaky donut at napoleons, spanish rolls at nandings, glazed donuts from liliha (almost as good as my long gone fave glazed at kapiolani bakery), pumpkin custard pie at deluxe pastry, macaroons at la tour cafe, peanut butter cream rolls at anis, lemon crunch cake at cakeworks (you get a show when they take a hammer to a slab of that crunch topping!), and anything that looks good at cafe laufer. thinking of bakeries reminds me of that famous line by the one and only homer simpson…”mmmmm….doooonuts”
What makes a great bakery? Yeast products. If they can make good bread, then the other tings will be good too. If bread is good, it can be the meal, the accompaniment to a good meal and/or the desert. If you don’t even need buttah, den da bread is da bes! Agnes’ in Kailua has da bes Malassadas, sweet dogs and sweet bread. They make a lot of other good things too, like the Russian tea roll made with fresh raspberries…mmmm. Hawaii Star for English muffins. Punaluu Bake shop on da Big Island for sweetbread, guava rolls and taro rolls. The Big island used to have the best healthy bread, from Laupahoehoe, their multigrain bread was ONO! I liked it so much i figured out how to make it back home.