There is a neighbourhood about 15 minutes walking distance from the campus of the university I used to attend that I am convinced (other than an ATM and a tanning salon)has barely changed since the 1950’s. The houses are not attached nor semi-detached, and the lawns are actually lawns, not small patches of grass that one could trim with a pair of manicure scissors. At the center of this neighbourhood is a small plaza with a covered walkway from which wooden signs hang labeling the stores. I don’t mean the store signs, I mean signs which say ‘pharmacy’, ‘bank’, ‘coffee’, and ‘pet store’; almost like the parts that make up a Christmas village. In the middle of this picturesque scene sits the sign marked ‘bakery’.

Inside the Village Italian Bakery & Deli you are immediately overtaken by the exquisite smell of sweet treats including cannoli (of course), biscotti, and 3 varieties of almond cookies. Not to mention a myriad of other non-Italian albeit traditional goodies ranging from petit fours, butter cream bars, custard tarts, date squares, and an abundant selection of shortbreads.

They also bake their own breads, the calabrese is almost always sold out if you get there anytime after 11:00, and other savory items including mini pizzas, rice balls, and sandwiches. But what many of the bakery’s devoted clients come for is the veal on a bun, which isn’t available everyday. So it was a real treat to be nearby today and find the veal freshly prepared for lunch. Because of our loyalty to this little gem having graduated a few years ago and now living 35 minutes away by car, my friend and I were rewarded with 2 pieces of veal instead of the regular 1 on our sandwiches. I like my veal topped with just mozzarella and sauce, my friend got green peppers and mushrooms on top of that. for dessert we each got a cannoli and then (yes, even more after that) split an apple turnover. It’s not something to be eaten everyday, but it’s definitely worth the trip, and putting a few months in between cannolis makes them taste all the sweeter.

Bookmark this: BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb