Bakery Moderne
Price: $ ($2.00-$10.00)
Location: Historic Riverside off of Stockton Street
Website: http://bakerymoderne.com/
This afternoon I visited Bakery Moderne with my boyfriend. It is a cute little bakery on the corner that sells coffee, hot tea, different types of bread and baguettes, cakes, desserts, pastries and serves daily lunch specials. We planned on going somewhere else that I've been wanting to visit for quite some time but as soon as we walked in they said the kitchen was closed... what? But it turned out to be a great afternoon full of awesome food.
Like I said, Bakery Moderne serves daily lunch specials and you can check on their website each day to see what they are making; I attached the link at the bottom of the post. Today they offered a Cuban sandwich, a Chicken Salad sandwich and Spicy Black Bean soup. But I was pleasantly surprised when I got there to see that they serve Bruschetta every day. Sold!
To start off, I ordered the Bruschetta as you probably already guessed. They made it by dicing up tomatoes, mixing in sweet basil and shallots and marinating it all in Balsamic vinegar and olive oil and they served it with slices of toasted baguette with melted mozzarella cheese on top. Now, I have never had Bruschetta with cheese on the bread, but I've tasted it and I'm never going back. I never really liked Balsamic vinegar before but it was not strong at all in this dish. You could definitely tell that the firm tomatoes and pungent basil were fresh. All of the flavors combined together was just delicious. I don't really know how else to describe it. The bread was nice and crispy but also chewy because of the melted cheese and the warmth of the bread along with the coolness of the tomatoes went together perfectly. A+!
My boyfriend, Michael, ordered the Cuban sandwich. I had never tasted a Cuban before but he's had a few and he described it as authentic. It has mojo seasoned pork, ham, swiss cheese, mustard and pickles. In case you're wondering what mojo seasoning is, which I didn't know either to be honest, is a mixture of olive oil, orange or lime juice, garlic, cumin and ground black pepper. In my opinion, all of these components put together between two pieces of bread just does not sound enticing to me but it was amazing, to say the least. The zestiness of the mustard and the sour tinge from the pickle really brought the whole sandwich together. To get another take on it, Michael Strileckis is going to share his input:
"Following suit with an ongoing stereotype of having lived in Miami, I've come across a multitude of takes on the traditional Cuban sandwich, most of which have been lackluster. However, this was nothing like the sloppily constructed ham and cheese with pickles I've endured as of late. This small shop's rendition relied heavily on a hefty portion of tastefully seasoned pork. For me it was a deal-breaker. Not only did it tie in the necessary flavor of a traditional Cuban, but it provided great substance and a sense of fulfillment after finishing. Easily the best Cuban I've had north of Miami."
After looking at the pastries and mini desserts, I couldn't help myself. What I ordered was the mango creme brulee and if you have ever experienced the pure bliss of creme brulee, you will absolutely love this one. Seeing the word mango in it may throw you off a bit but it had just the right amount of sweetness. It was creamy and not too crunchy on top; heavenly. I also ordered two shots of espresso because we had never had straight espresso before and he loved it, of course, because he is a "coffee-holic". As for me, I hated it. I took a couple sips and was finished. It was extremely bitter and way too strong for me. But if you like coffee then you'll probably love it. It wasn't that instant espresso that some places make. They had an original espresso machine behind the register and I watched as she made it quite skillfully. It just wasn't my cup of tea, or coffee I should say.
As I went to pay, she told us that we both got complimentary cookies! I mean, come on. A free cookie with every order? What's better than that? Michael got the peanut butter cookie and I chose the Italian wedding cookie which is a light crispy almond cookie covered in powdered sugar. Yum!
I would definitely recommend this place on a gorgeous day to sit outside and enjoy great food or maybe a rainy day and enjoy a hot cup of French press coffee.
