As a baker, I’m always in search of a good bakery. Not just a grocery store bakery counter or section. I’m talking about a free standing building. With a baker or pastry chef. With cakes, cookies, bread, pies, etc. Made from scratch.
So I was happy to find Best Regards Bakery. And one of the things I look for at a bakery is a good iced sugar cookie. About 3 years ago, I made a trip to Best Regards to check it out. The sugar cookies are nice and thick. Not hard. And with a nice, spread of a sweet icing on top. I was pleased. And occasionally I would go in to get a cookie or two.
Then something happened. A few months ago, owner Robert Duensing posted a video on the Kansas City Eats Facebook page. For almost 15 seconds, viewers get to see magic. Heat and dough work together to create big, soft cinnamon rolls. You get to see the dough rise. You get to see the cinnamon as it begins to escape from between the layers of dough. It is mesmerizing.
So I made another trip to Best Regards and expanded my horizons. When I got there, I introduced myself to Robert. He introduced me to his wife, Cherrie. And then introduced me to the cinnamon rolls, sitting there on the counter by the register. And he also introduced me to the big bottle of icing sitting on the counter next to the cinnamon rolls. Apparently, customers like to be in control of the amount of icing on the rolls.
Then, I learned something else new. It’s not just Best Regards Bakery. There’s a “& Café” on the end there too. All this time, my focus was on the baked goods in the glass case and around the register. As Robert pointed to the wall behind him, I discovered a menu of salads, soups and…grilled cheese sandwiches. Not just one. But over TEN GC sandwiches. There’s a Signature GC with Tillamook cheddar and Havarti cheeses. But my favorites are the Paradise Bacon, Faith’s Turkey Club and the Espinaca. Especially with a bowl of San Marzano Tomato Soup. The Espinaca is at the top of that list of favorites. If you love the creamy spinach and cheese dip you find at a lot of Mexican restaurants, you’ll love this sandwich. Grilled between two slices of French Country bread are spicy Havarti, provel, cream cheese, spinach and other secret ingredients.
Equally as important as the cheese in these sandwiches is the bread. Robert and his wife Cherrie made the right decision to choose their current location. It came with a bread oven. But not just a normal, commercial bakery oven. This thing is the Hummer of bread baking ovens. It has several decks and they are deep. Perfect for completing holiday and seasonal orders for dinner rolls and specialty breads.
Robert and Cherrie are smart. They have created unique menu items that draw customers in. And keeps them coming. Recently, they’ve offered a lunch special of a featured grilled cheese sandwich, choice of side item and a small square of gooey butter cake. All for $5.99.
New menu items include very tender pastrami served on house made marble bread. And cream puffs and chocolate eclairs, available in two sizes. The pastrami sandwich is already a hit with transplanted New Yorkers. And those eclairs are very popular as well. The pate-a-choux is perfectly baked and the bittersweet chocolate glaze balances well against the sweetness of the pastry cream filling.
I might as well prepare you. Once you go to Best Regards Bakery AND Café, you WILL return. You’ll go back for another sugar cookie. You’ll go back for another cinnamon roll…and swirl on as much icing as you can stand. And you’ll go back to eat yet another party size cream puff or éclair. And if there’s a new menu item, Robert will be more than happy to introduce it to you.
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