Well, I think I have a new favorite bakery. After friends who live in Arlington raved about Butternut Bakehouse, I decided to head over to get goodies for our Sunday morning breakfast. We sampled several pastries and they were all really excellent. The croissants are incredibly flaky and buttery, probably the best I’ve had. The chocolate bouchon was rich and dark and creamy and we much preferred it to the one at High Rise in Cambridge. I usually find morning buns underwhelming, but this was moist and delicious, and the cinnamon sugar caramelized in a few spots, giving a nice chewy surprise.
The space is fairly small, as is the selection. There is a mix of sweet and savory and I’m guessing the selection changes a bit depending on what comes out of the oven. I was there about 8:30, and there were trays of new items being brought out.
Here are a couple of lousy pictures with lots of flakes on the cutting board from the incredibly flaky pastry.
Quebrada is still there, and they have a tiny outpost in Belmont Center as well as a place in Wellesley. I don’t know why it isn’t on my radar screen. Their croissants are excellent. Maybe I’ll have to do some hands-on research comparing the two, just for informational purposes, of course.
I’m very self-sacrificing when it comes to research for the good of mankind.
They mention bread on their facebook page so they must. I was so focused on picking out a good variety of pastries that I didn’t pay attention. That will change!
It wasn’t too much of a detour when I worked in an adjacent town, but since retiring twelve years ago, I can’t easily get there. The basic whole wheat loaf is excellent. I tended to overbuy, which meant one time the loaf was on the counter in its plastic bag for three weeks before I finished it. It didn’t get dry or moldy, though no preservatives are used. The fruit and cream cheese scones are delish. Thanksgiving and Christmas week, they have stuffing bread, best reserved in advance to make sure the don’t sell out. It’s the WW bread with the additiin of sage, onion, and, if memory serves, celery. It smells like a feast, and while you COULD use it to stuff your bird, it really shines in turkey sandwiches in the days after the celebration. In the good ol’ days of the 90’s, they had a flyer listing up to six different breads available, varying by days of the week, but the choices are now rather limited.
For a short while, I became addicted to Great Harvest’s garlic cheddar bread. I find their other breads too sweet. And then I stopped going altogether to avoid the plastic bags. Nowadays, since my bread baking has gone on hiatus, I go to Mamadou or get Bread Obsession at LexFarm or Berman’s.
I had posted in the Arlington Center recs thread about a mix up at Butternut:
I also stopped at the brand new Butternut Bakery last week and had a slightly unfortunate experience. I decided to splurge on some treats for my office, and saw lavender lemon shortbread in a package of about 6 squares for $7. I noted it said gluten free, which is not usually how I roll, so I asked what the flour type was, and was told it was almond and corn meals. Those are legit ingredients I recognize and like, so I bought it, but then upon inspection of the bottom of the package, it actually listed a gluten-free flour blend of rice and about 17 other ingredients, which I never would have bought. I did contact the store and they said bring it back for exchange, which I will do next time I have a chance. But kind of a bummer that they don’t know their own ingredients.
But now since they have their own thread, I’ll add my follow-up here.
I did go back and got a salad- a carrot slaw I believe, with a roll on the side. There was a lot of confusion about whether I could get a salad without a sandwich, and if a roll was included, and just general back and forth. The salad was good, although the Hoodsie-cup-sized portion seemed a bit stingy for the price, but something about the place has kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe if their pastries are vouched for, I’ll give them another try.
