Old Town Baking Company

I’m not sure if I should call the part of town where Old Town Baking Company is at, Old Town Rancho Cucamonga or maybe more accurately the part of Rancho Cucamonga where they decided to not upgrade. Though I guess if you call your bakery “Old Town Baking Company,” I guess it is Old Town.

Also if you don’t know the city of Rancho Cucamonga, that’s alright. Even though Bugs Bunny tried to get there many times, he seem to never get there by always making the wrong turn. Rancho Cucamonga is in San Bernardino county which is next to Los Angeles county and the famous Route 66 runs through it. The city decided to upgrade itself with chain restaurants and Starbucks to attract people into buying houses there. While it had cloned itself to look like any other cities in LA, some parts of Rancho Cucamonga were left untouched and I am thankful for that.

Old Town Baking Company, like many shops in LA, sits in a strip mall with more than enough parking slots.

Even before walking into the bakery, I was able to smell the sweet scent of freshly baked breads. I walked in to find a big counter space with all of their breads, pre-sliced, displayed and all you have to do is point to what you want. In the back was an opened kitchen where workers were busily making more breads. I couldn’t resist getting just one loaf so I got two, garlic bread and jalapenos & cheese bread.

The breads were nice and soft and still slightly warm. The garlic bread, after a nice toast in the oven filled the room with delicious garlic smell. But the clear winner was the jalapenos & cheese bread. The more than enough jalapenos gave it a REALLY GOOD kick and the cheese gave it a slight salty flavor. A good breakfast item I created was a jalapeno and cheese sandwich stuffed with bacon marmalade french toast!

They also offer sandwiches with any of their breads.

– Old Town Baking Company, 8631 Baseline Rd. Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Farm City Fair

After a week of great weather this past Sunday was sort of a reminder that “oh hey Autumn is on its way.” It was chilly and gloomy, a hoody sort of day. I woke up and my plan for the morning was to do laundry. As I was lugging my 3 weeks worth of dirty clothes I heard what sounded like a live band playing on Bergen Street. Of course I was curious so after I put the laundry into the machine I walked over to Bergen to check out what was up. To my surprised it was a food event. The 1 block of Bergen was blocked off for food, farm and information vendors. I had read about some kind of event going on this weekend at the Invisible Dog gallery but didn’t know it was this grand! It was the Farm City Fair.

Spanish Armada At Saltie

You have no idea how much good stuff I have heard about Saltie. From the internets to the people I know. I’ve been wanting to go to Saltie for a while but it wasn’t till one of my friend, super picky eater, told me that he likes Saltie that really made me want to go that instant. One random Sunday I had to run to Williamsburg for errands and decided to check out Saltie.

I walked in to find a near empty place except for 2 girls sitting by the window and a couple that seem to know the owners. The place was chilled, roomy and bright. I wasn’t sure what I wanted but I randomly got the Spanish Armada sandwich. I noticed they raised the prices of their sandwiches by a dollar compared to what it is on the website. Maybe they need help updating their website? If so I can help! Gimme a call! Within a minute after I placed my order I got my sandwich.

Jacques Pepin’s Tibetan Flatbread

On an episode of Jacques Pepin’s More Fast Food My Way he made a quick flatbread on the stove top, inspired by a bread he had at a Tibetan restaurant. If you watch the clip, he says the recipe is simple: 1 1/2 cups of flour, a cup of water, some salt, and “a teaspoon of baking -” and then his daughter interrupts him before he says whether it’s baking soda or baking powder. I assume it’s baking soda, because he compares it to a quick soda bread. Anyway, you mix it all together (his came out much gooier than mine) and then fry it in olive oil for ten minutes on each side. You also add a splash of water to help it steam. The result isn’t anything you’d really mistake for bread, but it is compulsively snackable. Especially after you slather the warm “bread” with butter and sprinkle it with sea salt.