Days of Bread and Pastry Update

Strolled past Monte Leone's pastry shop (or, as they say, "shoppe") and discovered a few new wrinkles in the second coming of Cammerari's bakery. Seems the bakery was never actually, totally closed. Just closed in Carroll Gardens. There was still a branch in Bensonhurst—where Italian culture also thrives—churning out loaves for restaurants around the town. Also, an article in the window said Monte Leone's had been having cash flow problems and clashed with a health inspector. What? Didn't I buy enough mini eclairs and pignoli cookies to keep them in black?

So, contrary to my previous report, Cammerari's story wasn't as sad as all that, and Monte Leone wasn't exactly enjoying good times. I didn't say this blog was 100 percent fact-based. Just a smattering of fact, with a whole mess of opinion mixed in.

In that same article, one old-timer, excited about Cammerari coming back, said of its wares: "The bread was so crunchy!" Funny. "Crunchy" was just the word I kept coming up with when I conjured up memories about their bread. I didn't think the word was descriptive enough, but I guess it's dead on.