Went to Pizzelle Bakery this morning, at 201 Market St in Lowell. A bit tough to find, as their signage isn’t done yet except what’s on the recessed door. Shannon, the owner, said hopefully the two-window signage and a building banner will be up in the next few months. But just look for the Warp and Weft pub…Pizzelle’s is right next door (See: Google Street Map photo).
It was quiet this morning. Sounds like the ribbon cutting yesterday was a smash success, as they had sold out of almost all of the bread. There was sourdough proofing in the back, but it would be a couple of hours before I could pick up a loaf. Next time.
So…my choices were 2 Kouign Amann, a chocolate croissant, a lemon bar, and what I just HAD to get: a slice of the pear-ginger brown butter tart. I also wanted the Sanguinello Tart, but none to be found.
I waited until I got home to try my first Kouign Amann. Holy hell, this is dangerous! Chewy, sugar-caramelized crust, flaky inside, and very rich and dense, with a burst of sea salt sprinkled on the outside. The other has been tucked away for tomorrow.
I also had the chocolate croissant. Flaky, light chocolate inside. Also very good. (And that’s enough sweets for me now!) In transferring the kouign amann, pear-ginger tart, and lemon bar to an airtight container, a bit of lemon “accidentally” got on my thumb. Umm…yeah. this one is going to be good as well.
We did go to here this past weekend, yay. Pizzelle is still ramping up so the selection seems on the limited side. A slice of olive oil cake topped with preserved orange slices for me, a slice of flourless chocolate tart for my guy, and a small loaf of sourdough bread with a shatteringly crisp crust. We’ll be back. Thank you, @LindaWhit for posting!
I also recommend a stop at lala books next door if you are a reader. This sweet little bookstore would have been right at home in the Cambridge of old. Staff will offer a personalized recommendation for your next read upon request.
Also: While street parking can be a hassle, there’s free parking for the first 30 minutes in the Leo Roy parking garage across Market Street. (We just call it the Market Street garage.)
Another visit to Pizelle this weekend, where we snagged a couple of slices of rich, yet light, Italian rum cake. Not visible in the photo is a thin chocolate layer—ganache, maybe?—between two of the pastry layers.
A steady stream of customers came and went on a warm Saturday afternoon, despite not much left in the pastry case. We may have been too late in the day to catch a broader selection. Folks appeared happy to have a bakery like this ramping up in DTL (downtown Lowell).
Went to Pizzelle Bakes https://www.pizzellebakes.com/ again this morning (a bit later than I had hoped, but I’m blaming it on a Friday night out at Dali in Somerville ).
In the box, from top right: Gingersnap cookie (I love ginger!), a Snickerdoodle cookie, 2 fruit scones, and 2 Craquelin Choux (Pate a Choux pastry filled with lemon ricotta cream and topped with crunchy craquelin of varying flavors). I also got a loaf of day-old sourdough bread. Cost: $28.00 even.
OK, tried the Craquelin Choux afafter dinner tonight. The pastry is wonderful, but the filling is too much (for me). While it is very light and airy, with a delicate lemon flavor, it was overwhelming in quantity. I will enjoy the second one in the box, but I won’t buy it again if this is the normal amount of filling.
Well, I didn’t get to enjoy the 2nd Craquelin in the box. When I came downstairs on Sunday morning, the top of the box was crushed in, meaning a certain someone jumped up there overnight and landed right on top of the box. :::Sigh::: The Craquelin was a bif ol’ pile of mushy mess; the other scone was broken into 2 large and 1 small pieces (so I had that for breakfast), and the cookies were OK - although the Snickerdoodle had some Craquelin filling on the edge of it.
Don’t leave shit in a collapsible box on the counter when an asscat can jump up there, Linda.
My mom had made a fairly elaborate birthday cake for my 7th or 8th bday, which she had parked on the dining room table before we went somewhere… TBH I don’t even recall if we just left the dining room or the apartment, but when we returned, both our dachshund Dagobert and his PIC, my mom’s BF’s dachshund Pretzel were on top of the table, ankle and muzzle deep in the cake.
Heard from a friend long ago that on Thanksgiving day, she, a vegetarian, found a half-eaten at least 16 pound turkey carcass in her yard that her free-range dog somehow found somewhere.
Following in the footsteps of @LindaWhit, my husband and I have put Pizzelle on our rotation. We are charmed by the place and want to see it succeed. This past weekend we tried rum baba, delizia al limone, and kouign-amann.
Our favorites from this selection were the rum baba and the delizia al limone (looks like a scoop of ice cream in the photo), which did indeed evoke the glorious use of lemons that my tastebuds can still recall from the Amalfi Coast. Lemon desserts are usually not even my thing!
We didn’t enjoy the kouign-amann as much, being that our hearts have already been won by the version at Cake Ann in Gloucester.
We’ve been combining jaunts to Pizzelle with other stops in Lowell. This time we had a late lunch around the corner at Fuse bistro, where I satisfied a craving for a Korean fried chicken sandwich. My husband enjoyed a bulgogi-marinated steak and cheese special. Craft beer to go with: Jack’s Abby Helles lager for me, Maine Lunch for him. No need to make dinner that night.
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jumped up there overnight and landed right on top of the box. :::Sigh::: The Craquelin was a bif ol’ pile of mushy mess; the other scone was broken into 2 large and 1 small pieces (so I had that for breakfast), and the cookies were OK - although the Snickerdoodle had some Craquelin filling on the edge of it.
