BAKERY REVIEW: Badolina
Striving to bring my legions of loyal readers more content (and address a genre that has been lacking in my Houston Restaurant Guide), I've been trying more bakeries of late. This cute little spot in Rice Village comes from the people who brought you Doris Metropolitan and Hamsa (the powerhouse Middle Eastern/Israeli restaurant next door), so there's a Levantine twist to the breads and pastries.
The selection is quite impressive, with a large amount of both savory and sweet items. I started with the former, ordering a pizza focaccia. The thick doughy square was topped with some tomato sauce, cheese, and a few bits of basil, and crisped up in the oven. When it comes to pizza, I am in the "thicker crust is better" camp, so this was right up my alley.
One item that was decidedly NOT up my alley was a empanada-esque sambusak. This turnover pastry was filled with eggplant, tomato, egg, and an EXTREMELY strong tahini. While the dough was nice, the tahini was quite overpowering, and bafflingly there was even more served in a little dipping cup on the side. I definitely would not recommend this one unless you really really like sesame.
Moving towards the sweeter end of the spectrum was a satisfying cardamom bun. The dough mouthfeel reminded me of a soft pretzel, and it was soaked in a wonderful sweet syrup that had a hint of spice from the cardamom. Add in some mysterious crunchy white morsels on top, and it made for a delectable pastry.
If you really want to be decadent, the Millionaire Bar is the one for you. On a shortbread crust are some cashews suspended in a luscious caramel, all topped by a rich, creamy chocolate ganache. I had to devote an entire Peloton ride to working this one off.
Of course, essential to any bakery or coffee shop in my opinion is their chai latte, and this one was a respectable 8 out of 10 on my scale which I just made up.
All in all this is a nice neighborhood spot with some interesting variations on the traditional pastry portfolio, but I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to check it out like I would with some other spots. Which brings me to the debut of my top 5 Houston bakeries (with the massive caveat that I haven't yet committed to waiting an hour in line to try Ema or CasaEma or whatever they're calling it these days).
Top 5 Houston Bakeries:
- Koffeteria
- Common Bond
- Pondicheri Bake Lab
- Badolina
- Three Brothers Bakery
NEXT UP: A casual Midtown spot that I'm still not sure whether to classify as a restaurant or a bar.