Monday, October 24, 2011
Countdown to Halloween: 7 days left
Here in Alexandria VA, Hallowe'en is a Big Deal. Our street, S. Lee Street, from King St. to Gibbon, attracts trick-or-treaters from all over the D.C. Metro area. Most years we hand out candy to between 1,000 and 1,500 kids! The city closes the street to traffic from sundown until 9:00 pm, so come down if you want to see a truly amazing Hallowe'en.
Friday, August 19, 2011
New Bakeries in Northern Virginia
I love NOVA. I grew up on Staten Island, and I do not yearn to go back. But I do miss the bakeries. So I am even more excited when I find a new, good bakery here. This week, I have have been to two new bakeries and was pleased both times - so try them out.
The first is La Panaderia de Paris -- a Salvadorean version of a French bakery. La Panaderia is not a promising looking space - in a strip mall off Rte 50 in Seven Corners, next to Mark's Duck House (excellent Chinese, try it ), and sharing it's space with The Chicken House - a South American restaurant specializing in, well, the name says it all. I would not have bothered trying the baked goods. They looked totally mass producted, almost too perfect, so I assumed that they had been brought in, maybe frozen, from a mass produced bakery. And the name, La Panaderia de Paris, with it's mash-up of Spanish and French, also put me off. But my son really, really wanted a chocolate cake after our Chinese food at Mark's Duck House, so I gave in. I am glad I did.
Our selection was limited late on a Tuesday night, so we bought the Tiramisu Cake (that is what I call it, I am not sure what the bakery's name for it is.) We got the cake home and cut ourselves slices - and it was great. The Tiramisu cake is a soft yellow cake, soaked with a light coffee syrup and covered with a really nice, light, European style mocha buttercream frosting. It is lovely, and the small cake (plenty for a family or small dinner party) was a modest $12.00. A cake of this quality will usually run double that at Balducci's or The Swiss Bakery.
I will be going back to try some of the other cakes and also their bread. But even if the rest isn't any good, I'll be buying the Tiramisu cake again.
La Panaderia de Paris
The Willston Center
6184 Arlington Blvd (Rte 50) - just East of Seven Corners, on the North side of Rte 50
Fairfax, VA
The second bakery is less of a surprise - but something that is perfect for downtown Manassas. A new cupcake and coffee shop called Persnickety Cakes in Manassas. Unlike La Panaderia, this new cupcake joint is exactly like what it looks to be -- a nice place for a cup of coffee and a snack, with sheet cakes to order and also coffee and iced drinks. My son and I had the angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream frosting. The Angel food cake was lovely, and NOT dry (which can be a problem with Angel Food Cake.) We also split a chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting, which was a very credible version of this standard. I will definitely go here again, when I am in downtown Manassas.
Persnickety Bakery
9105 Center Street
Manassas VA
The first is La Panaderia de Paris -- a Salvadorean version of a French bakery. La Panaderia is not a promising looking space - in a strip mall off Rte 50 in Seven Corners, next to Mark's Duck House (excellent Chinese, try it ), and sharing it's space with The Chicken House - a South American restaurant specializing in, well, the name says it all. I would not have bothered trying the baked goods. They looked totally mass producted, almost too perfect, so I assumed that they had been brought in, maybe frozen, from a mass produced bakery. And the name, La Panaderia de Paris, with it's mash-up of Spanish and French, also put me off. But my son really, really wanted a chocolate cake after our Chinese food at Mark's Duck House, so I gave in. I am glad I did.
Our selection was limited late on a Tuesday night, so we bought the Tiramisu Cake (that is what I call it, I am not sure what the bakery's name for it is.) We got the cake home and cut ourselves slices - and it was great. The Tiramisu cake is a soft yellow cake, soaked with a light coffee syrup and covered with a really nice, light, European style mocha buttercream frosting. It is lovely, and the small cake (plenty for a family or small dinner party) was a modest $12.00. A cake of this quality will usually run double that at Balducci's or The Swiss Bakery.
I will be going back to try some of the other cakes and also their bread. But even if the rest isn't any good, I'll be buying the Tiramisu cake again.
La Panaderia de Paris
The Willston Center
6184 Arlington Blvd (Rte 50) - just East of Seven Corners, on the North side of Rte 50
Fairfax, VA
The second bakery is less of a surprise - but something that is perfect for downtown Manassas. A new cupcake and coffee shop called Persnickety Cakes in Manassas. Unlike La Panaderia, this new cupcake joint is exactly like what it looks to be -- a nice place for a cup of coffee and a snack, with sheet cakes to order and also coffee and iced drinks. My son and I had the angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream frosting. The Angel food cake was lovely, and NOT dry (which can be a problem with Angel Food Cake.) We also split a chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting, which was a very credible version of this standard. I will definitely go here again, when I am in downtown Manassas.
Persnickety Bakery
9105 Center Street
Manassas VA
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Checking in from the International Toy Fair in NYC
Hey everyone. The International Toy Fair is over and it was great and loads of fun and I bought lots of great stuff.
The Vintage Cookie is proud to announce we will be expanding our selection of children's toys and gifts. We will be offering toys for dramatic play, including a new toy kitchen and play food from Haba, wonderful play dishes from Green Toys, made in the U.S. from 100% recycled plastic, cardboard playhouses and dollhouses printed here in the U.S. and in Germany, beautiful European paper goods, including a tabletop theatre and beautiful, innovative art kits designed by working artists, puppets by Fokmanis, and from Guidecraft some of the prettiest painted kids furniture I have ever seen.Come by over the coming weeks as our new products come in.
The Vintage Cookie is proud to announce we will be expanding our selection of children's toys and gifts. We will be offering toys for dramatic play, including a new toy kitchen and play food from Haba, wonderful play dishes from Green Toys, made in the U.S. from 100% recycled plastic, cardboard playhouses and dollhouses printed here in the U.S. and in Germany, beautiful European paper goods, including a tabletop theatre and beautiful, innovative art kits designed by working artists, puppets by Fokmanis, and from Guidecraft some of the prettiest painted kids furniture I have ever seen.Come by over the coming weeks as our new products come in.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Vintage Cookie Expands to three times original selling space!
The Vintage Cookie has tripled in size!
Come and see our expanded new selling area. Three times the space for all your vintage entertaining and decorating. We are now featuring beautiful, vintage inspired jewelry and a wonderful selection of vintage lighting and small furniture.
As always, The Vintage Cookie can be found at:
Eclectic Nature Garden Center
1503 Mount Vernon Avenue (Del Ray)
Alexandria, VA 22301
Come and see our expanded new selling area. Three times the space for all your vintage entertaining and decorating. We are now featuring beautiful, vintage inspired jewelry and a wonderful selection of vintage lighting and small furniture.
As always, The Vintage Cookie can be found at:
Eclectic Nature Garden Center
1503 Mount Vernon Avenue (Del Ray)
Alexandria, VA 22301
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Civil War Sesquicentennial Calendar: Carlyle House, Alexandria VA
2011 is a big year for all of us who love American history. Here at the Vintage Cookie I will be posting information about Civil War sesquicentennial events, especially those local to Northern Virginia. To start, here is a link to upcoming events at the Carlyle House
The Carlyle House was built in 1753 by John Carlyle, a merchant, for his bride Sarah Fairfax. In 1755 the house served as the British General Braddock's headquarters. The house is a magnificent stone mansion in the Palladian style.
Although the house itself is gloriously Georgian, the spring events calendar revolves around the Civil War, including:
Saturday, Apr. 30 2011, 10:00 am.
""Did Grandpa Wear Grey or Blue? Civil War Records at the National Archives"
121 North Fairfax Street, Old Town Alexandria, VA
Hours: Tue-Sat 10 am - 4 pm, Sunday 12 noon - 4 pm, Closed Mondays
Web site: www.nvrpa.org/park/carlyle_house_historic_park
The Carlyle House was built in 1753 by John Carlyle, a merchant, for his bride Sarah Fairfax. In 1755 the house served as the British General Braddock's headquarters. The house is a magnificent stone mansion in the Palladian style.
Although the house itself is gloriously Georgian, the spring events calendar revolves around the Civil War, including:
Saturday, Apr. 30 2011, 10:00 am.
""Did Grandpa Wear Grey or Blue? Civil War Records at the National Archives"
121 North Fairfax Street, Old Town Alexandria, VA
Hours: Tue-Sat 10 am - 4 pm, Sunday 12 noon - 4 pm, Closed Mondays
Web site: www.nvrpa.org/park/carlyle_house_historic_park
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