Fresh Baked Friday: Bartram House Bakery

This week's Fresh Baked Friday comes to you courtesy of my last fling with high-cal sweets for what I hope to be a very long time.

Sigh. Dieting sucks.

Last week on my way to some serious retail therapy at Tanger Outlets in Washington County, I stopped at a place that had caught my eye many times before.  I'd never been to Bartram House, but any business with the word "Bakery" in its name certainly strikes my fancy.

So knowing that my "diet" was about to start in a matter of hours, I made a point to stop in for some sweet smells and what I hoped would be some delicious goodies, too.

It's a small but charming little place with a few tables for folks to enjoy the coffee (and free wifi) and a sandwich or those who are just too excited to dig in to their croissant to wait until they make it home.

I admit, I stared down the cases and menu for an awkwardly long period of time before I decided I couldn't decide. There were so many options from a classic BLT to a gourmet grilled cheese, delicious looking salads, quiche, breakfast sandwiches and loaves of bread.

But I wasn't there for savory.  Oh no, I was there for the sweet stuff.

Even amongst the amazing looking cakes, pies and tortes, my eyes were immediately drawn to something adorned with Oreo cookies.

I knew I wanted to take one home with me, but I couldn't stop there.  I asked the woman behind the counter what her favorites were.  She smiled and told me "everything."

But she strongly recommended the Chocolate Caramel bar.  A chocolate cookie bar with chalked with coconut and walnuts, delicious chunks of real chocolate and gooey caramel holding it all together. So of course, I had to give it a try.  But as she began to ring me up, a beautiful red velvet cupcake caught my eye. I had her add it to my order.  As something of a self-proclaimed cupcake connoisseur, I couldn't leave with out seeing how their rendition of a classic favorite stands up.

The "Oreo cookie thing" turned out to be a chocolate mousse cup. The "cup" part being hardened chocolate so literally every piece was oh-so-very edible.  The contrast of the solid chocolate with the creamy mousse and caramel that lay inside was so super gooey-licious. I was skeptical to share with my fellow FORT who accompanied me in this tasting.  She made the same face I did after one bite. A face that can only translate to "omg."

The Chocolate Caramel bar was slightly less glorious for me and even less for my FORT who is far from a coconut girl.  Did I enjoy it? Certainly.  But sadly I couldn't bring myself to eat the entire thing.  There are a lot of elements to it that make this bar perfect for sharing.

But the cupcake -- dear lord my fresh-baked-friends -- this thing was amazing.  Not too light, not too heavy and a cream cheese icing that makes Philadelphia proud to be in business. Normally I'm a tough cupcake critic.  But this one passed the test.

Restaurant Info:
Bartram House Bakery
Address: 4120 Washington Street, McMurray Pa (in the strip next to Franco's Trattoria)
Phone: 724-260-0702
Hours:  
Monday - Thursday: 7 am - 10 pm 
Friday & Saturday: 7 am - 11 pm 
Sunday: 8 am - 4 pm
Reservations: Seats about 40, but no need for reservations
Price: $$

Cliffs Notes:
Chocolate Caramel Bar @ $3.99
Berry Mousse Cup @ $3.99
Red Velvet Cupcake @ $2.50
Diet Pepsi @ $1.00
Total with tax: $11.54

Overall Opinion:
I'm definitely glad I stopped by.  Overall, fellow FORT and I had pleased palates and my mousse cup and red velvet cupcake were a wonderful send-off to my sweet-eating days.  I would very strongly recommend it to anyone who lives out the Washington/Peters/McMurray way.  Stop by for breakfast OR dessert!  They also cater both soups, salads and sandwiches or cakes and treats. I can't wait to go back when this cursed diet is over and eat me an ENTIRE key lime pie!

Fresh Baked Friday: Back to Blueberry

Happy Friday!  So it's time for "Fresh Baked Friday" already -- I feel as though I just FBF'd it yesterday!  My how busy weeks fly!

Today's fresh baked feature is an old friend of mine and personal favorite.  I was still in college back during my days of working the Walnut Street retail circuit which meant no toaster or stovetop and therefore no omelets or toast for breakfast.  So when I was scheduled to open the store, it meant one thing: a stop a Prantl's Bakery on the way.

Prantl's is a small but stacked baked-good paradise complete with handmade delights from Cannoli to sheet cakes. If you can dream up any type of sweet, chances are good that they have it at Prantl's.  My tendency was to ask whoever was tending the case to simply grab a box and walk with me as I picked and chose from a plethora of these goodies. But my favorite? As always, the blueberry muffin.

I made a very exciting discovery upon recently starting my new job in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh: Prantl's has a SECOND glorious location in Market Square (just below an insanely fabulous Mexican restaurant that I'll be sure to blog about soon...)!!   I was delighted this morning to discover  that my team members had a a box full of treats ready to share when I made it in to the office.  And, was it my lucky day? The infamous blueberry muffin had not yet been swiped...

It may look funny, but believe you me -- this muffin will knock your socks off.  Prantl's muffins are the lightest, fluffiest, softest, freshest muffins in town. They don't crumble, they melt apart.   I've got to assume -- and will one day remember to ask -- that they are made with fresh berries.  Nothing once frozen could taste that sweet and juicy.

So if you're looking for a cake to please a crowd, pastries to cure a hunger pang, or a muffin to start your morning, be absolutely sure you don't overlook Prantl's.

Fresh Baked Friday!

Do you own/know of/absolutely adore a local breakfast joint or bakery you feel is worthy of sharing with the rest of the 'Burgh?  (C'mon, don't keep those baked goods all to yourself!)

Feel free to e-mail me your experiences, photos, feelings or suggestions.  Downtown Pittsburgh locations are best, but if I can't make it in to try it out myself, I can always make you a guest blogger!

Today's edition: The Crazy Mocha Muffin.

I've chosen Cranberry today, which is a daring move for me -- the blueberry queen of America.  But alas, there were no blueberry muffins this morning.  While I was a bit nervous initially as the last one in the bunch didn't appear to have many (or any) cranberries on the surface, I was more than pleasantly surprised upon first nibble to find a more than sufficient amount waiting for me inside!

HOWEVER -- anyone who knows me will tell you I cannot and will not eat or smell or even look at an orange or anything flavored that way.  So morning munchers beware:  the Crazy Mocha Cranberry Muffin is, in fact, the Crazy Mocha Cranberry with-a-slight-bit-of-orange Muffin.  It was not so much that I had to toss it (who would do such an awful thing), but it was enough that I had to close my eyes mid-nom and think of a marsh full of cranberries and nothing else.

That being said, I must admit that I am very rarely disappointed in any baked good (or Chai Latte for that matter) that Crazy Mocha serves up, and with more and more popping up around the county (I believe I counted 26, now?!) it's becoming a Pittsburgh staple!

Cliffs Notes:

1 Cranberry with-a-slight-bit-of-orange Muffin: $1.97
Tip: (I go there a lot and rarely tip, it was time) $1.00
TOTAL for one:  $2.97

Overall Opinion?

Of course I love Crazy Mocha.  It's my first Fresh Baked Friday blog for a reason!  It may not be a bakery or even technically a "breakfast joint" -- it's more of a coffee oasis -- but I'm going to start with what I know and what I love.  CM is the only place I order coffee or tea as it just tastes more fresh than the others.

 

MOVE OVER STARBUCKS!  The goat is barreling through!

bahhh.