Like the bakery your grandma never had.
Darby's Bakery is a quaint, homey bakery in historic West Boylston, MA, nestled next to the local pizza shop, across from the Irish import store, and just up the road from the old Beaman Memorial Library. This bakery has a homegrown feel with European roots; imagine your grandma opening a bakery with her Parisian expat friend, and you've got Darby's. It reminds me of bakeries I've visited in German villages, or the kind of hole-in-the-wall place you just happen upon when you get lost in Barcelona. When you walk into Darby's you're instantly hit with the smell of fresh-baked bread, yeasty, warm, and sour, mixed with hints of coffee and a warm sweetness from the array of cookies in the oven. The case is filled with a mix of European pastry, good ol' American cookie classics, and a variety of cakes, pies, and cupcakes. In the corner a rack of fresh, house-made breads are cooling: sourdough rye, cinnamon swirl, focaccia...
Okay, enough waxing poetic, let me tell you about this amazing place! If you get here early enough you'll get the pleasure of trying one of their gorgeous croissants. The chocolate croissant (pain au chocolat) is my favorite, but it will be sold out by 8 or 9 am. If you're a little late you can still catch an almond croissant; a beautifully flaky exterior, stuffed with sweet ground almond paste, glazed, and topped with slivered almonds. I've also heard there is a strawberry-cheese croissant (I almost keeled over from delight when I heard this from an employee!!) but I have never been here early enough to snag one.
Darby's features classic New England cookies like hermits (a spiced bar cookie with raisins; yeah I didn't know what this was either, until I moved here), all-american favorites like peanut butter (SO fluffy! And with a Reese's in the middle!), and old-world European staples like jam thumbprints.
They also have one hell of a cake case! The raspberry chocolate torte is heavenly and the pumpkin cheesecake is INSANE. Its a super fluffy, lightly-spiced cheesecake mixture atop a cinnamon cookie crust. It is to die for. It'll run you about $35 or $40 around the holidays but it is SO. WORTH. IT. Darby's also has a rotating group of cupcakes including mocha, marshmallow madness, lemon buttercream, and German chocolate. I can tell you they're all amazing, and yes I've tried them all. I can't let a good flavor go uneaten.
Lastly, Darby's is cheap. You can get a cookie for $1-1.50. A cupcake will run you about $3-4 (but they are sizable, chunky little things), a non-custom 10" cake about $25, and one of their amazing pastries (I forgot about the Cape Cod muffins! Try the Cape Cod muffins!!) are $3 or less.
Next time you want some baked goods, make the drive to West Boylston. I know we're a little town, and it doesn't seem like we have a lot going on sometimes, but damn we've got some good food, and this little family-owned bakery is BOMB. Definitely worth the drive.
Happy Eating!
Do you have a great bakery in your hometown? Let me know! I am always looking for great locally-owned places, and I can't resist a bakery. I might just add it to one of my next posts!
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