BEST BAKERIES IN EAST COUNTY

December 1, 2008 (San Diego's East County) — Holiday
season brings warm memories of home-baked goodies--the yeasty aroma of
freshly baked bread, rolling out cookie dough and decorating holiday
cookies, not to mention savoring home-made pies and other sweet delights.

Fortunately, if you don't have time to prepare baked goods from scratch
or just want to treat your family to some masterful creations, East County
has a wealth of wonderful neighborhood bakeries to satisfy your cravings.  Whether
you're looking for Christmas cookies, kosher breads for Hanukah, French
pastries, fruit pies or an elegant wedding cake, you'll find a bakery
that fills the bill in East County and San Diego's eastern region.

Here are our favorite picks:

Alpine Bread  Basket
1347 Tavern Road, Suite 23
Alpine, CA 91901
(619) 445-0706    
www.alpinebreadbasket.com

Voted one of our county's best destination restaurants by National
Geographic Traveler magazine, the Alpine Bread Basket is famed
for its assortment of freshly baked breads--such as cherry, cinnamon
nut, raspberry berry, sunflower wheat and jalapeño cheese bread.  Other
baked goods include biscuits and muffins.  Situated just off I-8
in the mountain town of Alpine, Alpine Bread Basket also serves up
breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Be sure to top off your meal with
a slice of homemade pie!

A Delight of France Bakery & Bistro
126 W Grand Ave
(between Broadway & Kalmia St)
Escondido, CA 92025
(760) 746-2644
www.delightoffrance.com

French pastries at A Delight of France in Escondido.

Cozy ambience at A Delight of France is reminiscent of a French bistro.

C’est la vie!  This gourmet French bakery and bistro in the heart
of downtown Escondido offers heavenly pastries ranging from Napoleans
to almond croissants, all made with the freshest fruits and vegetables.  Breakfast
and lunch are served daily, with dinners every day except Monday.  Savor
French or American wine with your meal in a cozy atmosphere reminiscent
of a sidewalk French café.

Dudley’s Bakery
30218 Highway 78
Santa Ysabel, CA 92070
(760) 765-0488
www.dudleysbakery.com

Founded
in 1963 by the late Dudley Pratt, Dudley's Bakery confounded skeptics
who thought Santa Ysabel was too remote a location for the business to
succeed.  Nearly
half a century later, this mountain town establishment has become a mecca for
aficionados of Dudley's 43 varieties of breads as well as pastries.  Our
favorites include Julian apple nut, date nut raisin, Rosemary olive oil, Irish
brown and sun-dried tomato breads.  You can even buy low-carbohydrate
breads at Dudley's, which now takes orders online and has also added a
bread of the month club.

D.Z. Akins
6930 Alvarado Rd.
San Diego, California 92120
(619)265-0218
dzakinsdeli.com

Best known as San Diego's favorite Jewish deli, D.Z. Akins also has
a popular bakery.  Oy vey!  Challa and rye breads,
cheesecakes, cookies, rugalas and other tempting treats are among the
offerings baked fresh daily at D.Z. Akins, located on a frontage road
just south of I-8 between La Mesa and San Diego State University. 

Flour Power
2382 Fletcher Parkway
El Cajon, CA 92020
(619) 697-4747 wedding salon
(619) 697-6575 all occasion cakes

Promising cakes that taste just like Grandma made, Flour Power uses
recipes handed down and enhanced over 25 years.  Only natural ingredients--no
chemicals--are used to bake flavored and filled cakes, such as champagne
with raspberry mousse, butterscotch treat, and chocolate mint Dobash;
choose from a variety of frostings.  Flour Power is famed for its
wedding cakes and also offers seasonal favorites such as cranberry orange
pecan cake, fresh strawberry, and pumpkin chocolate chip cake filled
with Bavarian cream.

Grove Pastry Shop
3308 Main St.
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
(619)466 3277
www.grovepastryshop.com    

For more than 60 years, the Grove Pastry Shop has been serving up scrumptious
and beautifully decorated cakes for weddings and other special occasions,
as well as a tantalizing array of filled pastries and Danish.  The
bakery is best known for its sweet and creamy butter cream frosting,
but also offers tasty fruit fillings for its delicious cakes.

Mom's Pie House
2119 Main St.
Julian, California 92036
760-765-2472
www.momspiesjulian.com

Mom’s pies are so popular that the store's bakers cooked up several
thousand for Thanksgiving this year.  Order up a slice of apple
crumb, apple boysenberry or another mouth-watering variety topped with
your choice of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream or melted cheddar cheese.  Add
a cup of hot cider or a bowl of soup and savor your treats on wood tables
beside a pot-bellied stove in this charming mountain establishment—or
take home a whole pie to go.   As an added bonus, watch Mom's
team rolling out and assembling pies through a glass pane while you wait
to place your order.  Mmmm!

New York Bakery
245 E. Main Street
El Cajon, CA 92020
Across from the El Cajon Arts Center
619-334-5164
www.newyork-bakery.com

Pies and cheesecakes tempt visitors at the New York Deli.

Pastry case at New York Deli in El Cajon.

New to El Cajon, the New York Bakery began in North Park before owners
Sylvana and Santo DiGrigoli decided to relocate in East County.  Savor
the aromas of baking bread and other goods while watching the hard-working
bakers at work through a glass window behind the counter--reminiscent
of old-fashioned delis on the sidewalks of New York.  Elaborate
pastries and an assortment of buttery cookies melt in your mouth.  The
bakery also serves up breads, cakes, wedding cakes, and main-dish fare
including deep-dish pizzas, sandwiches and meat pies along with fresh-brewed
coffee and espresso.