Giving your Valentine a generic mixed bouquet, a dozen red roses or a cliché box of chocolates each Feb. 14 can get tiring. It is even worse for Valentines receiving them. We have celebrated this holiday for sweethearts for over 1,500 years, so there is no shame in indulging with a few sweets with your sweet. However, you do not have to give the same boring heart-shaped box full of assorted chocolates year after year.
For those who have Valentines with a sweet tooth, try a non-conventional method to please your sweetheart this Valentine's Day. Go to one of Madison's locally owned bakeries and pick up a pastry - or a dozen of them. Bakeries provide a comforting atmosphere with a great selection of delectable pastries, cookies and cake. There is bound to be something for everyone. This should help you decide what is worth your while and what you should pass up.
Greenbush Bakery:
Greenbush Bakery, 1305 Regent St., is a favorite place to begin an early morning recovery after a long night. However, Greenbush - an establishment that prides itself on using completely kosher ingredients - is more than a campus hotspot on early Sunday mornings. It is also a great place for breakfast every day.
The pastries are prepared the night before and the smell of doughnuts upon walking through the door is enough to make a person break any intentions of dieting for the week. The fritters are delicious and large enough to share - if one can bear to - and there is a great selection of timeless doughnut favorites.
Greenbush will surely be stocked with Valentine's Day goodies considering the array of green and yellow sprinkled doughnuts they often have before Packer games.
Scott's Pastry Shoppe:
Scott's Pastry Shoppe, 17 W. Main St., is located on the Capitol square and has a very friendly atmosphere with helpful staff. With a wide variety of pastries, cookies and candies made fresh daily the selection can be overwhelming. Everything looks good.
The German Chocolate Cinnamon Roll is one out of the ordinary option. This pastry has a standard cinnamon roll base but is covered in coconut and chocolate frosting. It is a rich and indulgent treat you will certainly want to split with a Valentine. Scott's Pastry Shoppe also serves lunch, but with treats this good, you should eat dessert first.
People's Bakery:
People's Bakery, 2810 E. Washington Ave., is a little out of the way for anyone living on campus and is not necessarily worth the bus ride. Upon entering the building located in a small strip-mall on the corner of East Washington Avenue and East Johnson Street, the somewhat overwhelming aroma of deep-fryers invades the senses. In particular, the smell of items such as gyros, which are served throughout the day, seem to linger.
On a positive note, People's Bakery prepares its doughnuts fresh each day and has an average selection of the favorite little breakfast pastry. In addition to fritters, long johns and Bismarck doughnuts, People's Bakery has a small selection of some decorated cookies as well. This was not my favorite bakery, but the fare was tasty and the prices were reasonable. I was even able to surprise my co-workers with some sweet Saturday sustenance.
Café Soleil:
Café Soleil/L'Etoile Restaurant, 25 N. Pinckney St., is a cozy café also located on Capitol square. With its warm, inviting setting and amazing but few pastry items, Café Soleil is number one on my list of Madison bakeries.
The café begins preparing items for the day around 4 a.m., and the hard work certainly pays off. The herb and chà vre croissant is delicious. It is the perfect way to start the day if you are looking for something not as sweet as a doughnut.
Another option is an almond and marzipan croissant, which was also good but was definitely on the sweet side. One of the newer treats is a sugar-coated doughnut with a chocolate and hazelnut filling. It was extremely difficult to eat without spilling the filling, and the taste of the dough didn't seem to compliment the gooey interior.
However, my absolute favorite item on the menu was the double chocolate cookie topped with a sprinkle of sea salt. No, don't wrinkle your nose. It is delicious. The salt helps cut through the very rich, sweet chocolate. It is the perfect balance. A couple of these can help you and your date celebrate.
Lane's Bakery:
Lane's Bakery, 448 S. Park St., is a short distance away from campus, but it is most definitely worth the trip. Lane's has a plethora of cookies, cakes and pastries to choose from right within their store. They even have frosted, cut out cookies in fun shapes. What archeology major wouldn't like a dinosaur sugar cookie?
The selection of more traditional cookies is impressive as well. The display case contains white chocolate macadamia nut, chocolate chunk and oatmeal raisin, among others.
An interesting cookie on the menu is the Charlie Brown, which is a chocolate cake cookie with cherries in the middle covered with chocolate frosting. Lane's also has a refrigerator case with cheesecakes and cakes that look good enough for any Valentine to appreciate.
Although each bakery has something that distinguishes one from another, they all pretty much had the same response when I asked them if they would have anything special in store for Valentine's Day - ""Not really."" Pink frosting and sprinkles were mentioned and possibly some heart shaped cookies. Lane's even had platters of heart shaped sugar cookies around the store. Otherwise, it is business as usual, which, in a pop culture oversaturated with pink and red on Feb. 14, can actually be somewhat of a relief.
So indulge with something special - a fresh-baked pastry from one of Madison's amazing bakeries. Valentines everywhere will be pleased you did.
