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Sweet Adeline
3350 Adeline St.
Berkeley, CA
510.985.7381

website

The Flour Song
(did you know that Sweet Adeline was originally called The Flower Song?)


What kind of dough head doesn’t like a good bake sale? Not me. When I heard there was a new bakery in Berkeley, I needed proof.

Service:
Knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating. You fill your own coffee once you are given a paper cup.

Atmosphere:
They did a great job remodeling this building into a light and airy bakery/café. I love the way the baking area opens out to the service area. Tables and chairs line are in a row along the wall.

 

They also serve sandwiches for lunch. I think that they should bake some sort of cute little calzones or do something signature to attract the finicky Berkeley eaters, but then again, their baked goods should get them through the door on their own so maybe it doesn’t matter.

I didn’t list the prices (I get way too excited around baked goods to think about money), but they are all reasonable especially when you take into consideration the high quality ingredients.

Rhubarb muffin:
I loved this little fluffy, eggy cloud studded with tangy chunks of stewed rhubarb. They sprinkled raw sugar on top before they popped them in the oven to create a crunchy surface which contrasts nicely with the soft interior. My fave.

Cinnamon bun:
Pleasingly sweet (why else do you order a sticky bun?) with pecans and a icing sugar glaze. This old style spiral is comforting, but not special enough to distract me from that great rhubarb muffin.

Asparagus cheese galette:
You can pretend you are being virtuous and eating your veggies. This cute little rough puff pastry savory cheese snack is slightly bland, I wanted a little more zing from some onions or even some anchovy would be good.

Brownie:
It’s crisp top yields to a moist and luxurious interior which is speckled with white chocolate bits (which are normally not my thing, but work fine here.) I read a good description of what this confection should ideally embody, “brownies are frosting you can pick up” This has always served as my baseline in my brownie evaluation technique. Very nice chocolate delivery system.

Ginger cookie:
A generous amount of ginger gives this a nice punch. Rolled in sugar just the way I like. This chewy molassasy sweet hit the spot.

Praline cookie:
Carmely praline studded cookie with a chewy texture. Very nice but I liked the ginger even better.

Almond raspberry shortbread:
Think linzer torte lite, but in a good way. Buttery crisp shortbread base with a thin layer of zingy raspberry jam topped by crisp blanched, sliced almonds.

Coffee:
They use Mr. Espresso beans to make their coffee drinks which are up to strict Berkeley standards.

----- Overall Rating: -----

 

Two carrots out of four.

Come for the brownies, stay for the muffins.

 
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