Saturday, January 17, 2009

Bakery Review: Caramel




An exceptionally shiny exterior on a dirty back alley of Sofia - what else could it be but the latest international cafe to come to Bulgaria, Caramel's French Bakery? We visited today on the first sunny morning we've seen since returning from Christmas vacation. 

We bought long and crunchy miniature baguettes, a sugared loaf with cracked exterior, a chocolate twist croissant, and two plain croissants Brett claims are "SO GOOD." I even picked out a little tri-colored chocolate cream tart currently waiting for after dinner in its own fancy box in the fridge. 

Once past its shiny exterior, Caramel isn't much to look at. It has one dingy table covered by one dingy tablecloth, and a few plates and baskets stocked with for-sale-food. Yet a team of pastry chefs is working in the back. It turns out they are preparing catering orders. Amusingly enough, we saw some of their work in the dessert case at the next place we visited - O'Nice - a bagel shop. I'd say the bakery is devoting 3 % of its resources to walk-in customers, but that is enough to give us a delicious taste of France... without a lengthy plane ride. 


1 comment:

judy baker said...

What fun it is to see your pictures and videos! THANKYOU!! The parade - especially the masks and hats were fastinating, and the baked goods and bagels made my mouth water. You won't starve, that's for sure. You are having experiences that will last in a lifetime of memories. Love mom/judy