Local Bakeries Offer Desserts for the Holidays and Beyond
All Roads Lead to Rh & #244;ne at Midyear Wine Festival in Paso Robles
EXECUTIVE DINING
by Fifi Chao
If you are hosting a special event at home, or are invited to someone else’s home and want to bring along dessert, here are two of my suggestions for this particularly heavy party season and beyond.
These places make cakes and other interesting desserts that really impress in looks and flavor,and they are fair about their pricing. Both are chain operations, but each location seems so individualized you’d think it was a singular family operation.
Diamond Bakery has its roots in the Monterey Park/San Gabriel Chinatown. It spread to Rowland Heights and other cities with largely Chinese populations, and now Irvine has its own. They specialize in light but rich tasting cakes, most with some sort of French custard filling. These never fail to bring on questions about where I got the delicious cake. I happen to have an extreme fondness for the cloud-like yellow cake with cr & #269;me filling, white frosting and a topping of sliced fresh fruit. Diamond Bakery does take special orders as well.
Another little gem from this bakery is the three shelves of savory and sweet buns. For anyone who likes Chinese barbecue pork buns (usually served steamed in the restaurants) the ones here are baked to a rich golden brown and the filling is terrific. They have buns filled with vegetables and some with curry beef, and a variety of other savories. There also are delicate buns of that ilk that are filled with sweet custards. Take home two or three and try them and you might acquire another food addiction in life, or put a few in a basket for a different kind of food gift.
Diamond Bakery is at Jeffrey Road and Walnut Avenue in Orange Tree Square. Phone: (949) 651-1237.
Another place making very impressive desserts is the Champagne French Bakery Caf & #233;s, actually a chain of 23 of which we now have seven in OC. I am beyond counting how many special-order cakes I have had them bake for me and I often choose something terrific just staring out at me from the display cases. The most recent was a three-dimensional castle I commissioned for the birthday party of a one-year-old. I really appreciate their consistent can-do attitude, and they come through with an impressive product every time. These cakes are of the French genre, not overpowered by a cloying amount of sugar, airy light and bursting with flavor. White cake, that bastion of weddings and such, is often a rather dry cake, but not here. It’s as moist and delicate as all the rest. They have a great array of possible fillings and finishes that turn already good cakes into something even more. This chain, founded by French master pastry chef Jacques Pautrat, also makes artisnal breads, a few sandwiches and entrees, and even some breakfast items. There is a very good Croque Monsieur sandwich of Black Forest ham, cheese and b & #233;chamel sauce, a traditional French onion soup, Ni & #231;oise salad of organic greens with albacore tuna, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, olives and fresh green beans, and a few other possibilities like quiche and crepes. Their bistro-like atmosphere makes them inviting stops for a light meal anytime.
Champagne French Bakery Caf & #233;s are in Northpark Plaza, Woodbridge Center and Westpark in Irvine; Westcliff Plaza in Newport Beach; South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa; 215 Main St. in Huntington Beach, and in the Market Place in Laguna Niguel.
The Wine Cellar
Rh & #244;ne-style wines finally are making a big impact on American wine consumers. After too many years devoted to idolizing chardonnay and cabernet, and more recently merlot, it’s a joy for me to dine with people who actually go right for the varietals such as these. American winemakers are placing more and more emphasis on the growing of Rh & #244;ne indigenous grapes and the resultant wines. Paso Robles is at the center of attention because of its unique microclimate that is so perfect for these wines.
There’s a superb way to learn a lot about the Rh & #244;ne-style wines. All you need to do is make reservations fairly soon for the event, which always is a sellout. From May 30 to June 1, Rh & #244;ne wines from around the globe are set to be showcased at the 10th annual Hospice du Rh & #244;ne to be held at the Mid-State Fairgrounds in Paso Robles. The three-day event is among the most unique in the wine world, celebrating wines produced from the 23 white and red grape varieties approved for production in France’s Rh & #244;ne Valley.
This event attracts wine savvy consumers, restaurateurs, retailers and producers from Australia, France, South Africa and the U.S.
The days and evenings are filled with tastings, seminars, feasts prepared by local and global chefs and a barrel auction consisting of one-of-a-kind lots from participating producers. I am reminded that this would be a nice getaway weekend that’s within a reasonable driving distance. To learn more about the Hospice du Rh & #244;ne, look online at www.hospicedurhone.com or call (805) 784-9543.
Chao publishes Chao’s Dinesty, a food, wine and travel newsletter, in Irvine.
