It’s been a little longer than usual since my last post. In addition to restaurant schedules being upended by the holiday, I’ve been busy eating the Sunday gravy and pasta that I posted about Monday. I’ve also got plans for a heavy period of eating commencing Saturday and extending through next week.
That’s my way of saying I don’t have a significant meal to report on today. Rather I took a respite by eating what passes as “light” food by my standards. I already had planned on asking my wife to accompany me to a relatively nearby bakery that was recently recommended by a friend. They have a few savory items in addition to an extensive array of sweets, so I figured we’d stop by and take out a few things to sample for lunch and dessert Thursday.
But I didn’t have to wait that long to satisfy my sudden craving for baked goods. When my wife arrived home early Wednesday evening – and before I could get the question out of my mouth – she presented me with a pair of pastries from K’Far Cafe, a renowned Center City bakery and coffee shop, as an early birthday present.
K’Far is owned by Michael Solomonov, one of Philadelphia’s top chefs and a man with a great track record. So it wouldn’t be surprising for their pastries to be a cut above the norm. I went nuts – no pun intended – over a Pistachio Sticky Bun from there a couple weeks ago when my wife brought one home. She had another of those as well as an Almond Marzipan Challah Danish this time around.
I badly wanted to grab the sticky bun and take a big bite as soon as I saw it but contained myself and laid it and the Danish out neatly for photographs before diving in.
The Danish was – unsurprisingly – divine. I don’t always like the sort of glaze that was on top of it, but it was nicely proportioned and hadn’t hardened too much in this case. The slivered almonds added nicely to both the texture and flavor, while the challah pastry itself was extremely light and delicious.
This was one great Danish. But it was still the lesser of the two pastries we downed Wednesday evening.
Having now had two Pistachio Sticky Buns from K’Far in recent weeks and the same over-the-top reaction both times, I feel confident enough to pronounce this wonderful pastry one of the ten greatest things I’ve ever eaten.*
It’s absolutely through the roof in terms of both flavor and texture, with the pistachios sending it to an even higher level. Anyone in or passing through Philly who has a sweet tooth worth the name and doesn’t have a strong aversion to sticky buns should try one of these. They are a wonder.
As great as the Danish and sticky bun were, I was no less up for visiting Ardour, a European-style bakery in a nice little business district within Ridley Park, PA. We did so late the following morning. The immediate area, with a handful of shops and eateries, appears to have been around for years, although the bakery moved in more recently. Both are new to me and welcome additions to my knowledge of Delaware County’s food scene.
Ardour is small but has a pleasant dining area for those wishing to eat or drink their coffee onsite. We returned home with our vittles, but may eat there in the future. Our early impressions of the food were more than good enough for us to return.
Their tremendous display of baked goods is virtually guaranteed to have something for everyone. There were great looking muffins, doughnuts, filled croissants, tarts, mousse cakes and much more.
They also had a small but appealing selection of freshly made sandwiches that were appropriate to the place’s atmosphere. My wife went in that direction and ordered a Caprese on a ciabatta roll. After considering ham, egg and cheese on a croissant, I instead opted for a small savory pastry that was labeled Bistro Leek Parmesan and an Almond Bear Claw.
The ride home was an anticipatory one. But we again managed to refrain from stuffing our faces until after I had taken the necessary photos.
While I’m not a Caprese sandwich guy, the roll it came on looked excellent and my wife was pleased with it.
The Bistro Leek Parmesan was fantastic. There were no chunks of leek, but the essence of it and the Parmesan cheese combined with the buttery quality of the pastry crust made for a very tasty lunch that I’ll probably repeat at some point.
The Almond Bear Claw had a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top and was filled with the type of paste that is found inside some almond croissants. It worked very well as a follow-up to the leek and Parmesan pastry.
I don’t get into Center City very often any more but my wife does, so I’ll have to count on her to occasionally bring home a Pistachio Sticky Bun from K’Far. And I won’t complain if she grabs another Danish while she’s there.
Ardour, on the other hand, is close enough to where we live for me to drop in whenever I have a craving for a quality pastry. I may also try one of those croissant breakfast sandwiches next time.
* In case you’re wondering what the single greatest thing I’ve ever eaten was, that distinction belongs to the carrot mousse that used to be served as a side vegetable at the great and now defunct Le Bec-Fin, for many years Philadelphia’s nearly unchallenged best restaurant. The sweet onion crepe at Vetri Cucina, arguably Philly’s greatest restaurant of the post-Le Bec-Fin era, is a very respectable runner-up.
It would take a lot of thinking back through old memories and browsing of past posts and photos to come up with the rest of the top ten. I don’t rule out doing it at some point.
Warning: Stop reading here if you’re only interested in food and don’t care about cute animal photos.
A few weeks ago I posted on a family of geese that is living by a pond that sits next to a train station near me. The rate at which the young geese are growing is amazing. It’s almost difficult to tell which ones they are and which are the parents at this point.
Unfortunately, it appears the family has one fewer member than was the case when I first photographed them.
And if you really want to die from an overdose of cuteness, here are a pair of photos from earlier this week of our cat, Madge, in a couple of her favorite poses.
Enjoy the weekend. I have a roadfood outing of significance planned for Saturday and will report on it Monday.
BZ Maestro Eats 
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