Leonardo's and DaVinci's

[JanMcBaker]

I saw the mention on another thread about bread from Leonardo's, an Italian bakery at 183 Bustleton Pike just outside Philadelphia in Feasterville. Living not far from the county line, I thought I'd check it out this weekend. What a place! Except for some cookies, every baked good is baked on the premises. And boy, is there a variety of baked goods-- assorted breads and rolls, cakes, cookies, pies, butter cakes-- including one that my sister described as "a childhood dream come true"-- peanut butter cup butter cake. They sell butter cake by the piece, so it's not the runny kind of butter cake. I got a piece of the plain to try and there is definitely a lot of 'goo' on the cake-- it's not more cake like some butter cakes are. It was a bit sweeter than I prefer, but still a very nice cake. They also have these fried cheesecakes, which is something I had never seen before. The cheese filling is this smooth, rich cheesecake-like filling and is either alone, or paired with cherry, chocolate, lemon, raspberry, etc. Picture a cinnamon sugar dusted, approximately 2x6 inch blintz and you'll have an idea of what one of these things looks like. I had part of a cherry cheese one and it was very tasty-- crispy outside, smooth filling and a nice, not too sweet cherry filling. My sister tried a chocolate cheese one and she really liked it.

They also sell various savory pies by the piece, such as tomato, fresh tomato, vegetable pies, and a potato pie.... yes, potato, and it is good! Picture the basic rectangular tomato pie shape with mozzarella cheese on it, then paper thin potato slices spread on it, and rosemary sprinkled on it. It's baked, of course, and a piece of it made a nice breakfast with a cup of made-to-order cappucino. They also do sandwiches and have assorted meats and cheeses. Plus all manner of Italian groceries-- pastas, oils, vinegars, candies, etc. And I haven't even gotten to DaVinci's yet, the pizzeria and restaurant side attached to the bakery. I can't wait to get back and try something there. I will definitely be posting a report from that side of the business too. The restaurant menu looks very interesting...... Geez, I'm sounding like an ad, aren't I? But really, this place is definitely worth checking out for tasty Italian foods-- and $2 cappuccinos don't hurt, either! BTW, Carol, the very helpful and friendly counter clerk, advised that the website is still under construction so it might not be as detailed as they'd like it to be yet. And if you go, the place is on the northbound side of Bustleton Pike, just behind a real estate/law office at Franklin Ave. By Septa, you can take the Neshaminy Mall 58 bus from Frankford Terminal, or from the Somerton train station at Bustleton and Philmont on the R3 line.

Edited April 21, 2008 by JanMcBaker (log)

[JanMcBaker]

I've finally got myself together as far as locating my digital camera's USB cable and uploading some photos. Now it's time to show off some stuff from this place! At least, from the bakery side of it. Still haven't made it there yet for pizza or dinner. The photos are from several visits over the last 2-3 weeks or so.

Piece of butter cake. While not as messy as other butter cakes I've had, it was still pretty gooey and tasty.

View of fried cherry cheesecake. And it is properly fried-- not greasy AT ALL! Also tasty and not too sweet, which was very nice. Lovely cherry jam flavor blended nicely with the cheese filling.

Slice of fresh tomato pie, with mozzarella cheese under the tomato. This made a nice breakfast with a cup of cappuccino.

Slice of potato pie, topped with rosemary--also with cheese under the potato. It did sound kind of strange at first but it really works.

A couple of the many kinds of breads and rolls they have-- on the left is a rosette and the other is a sesame-seeded roll.

This picture wasn't quite as bright as the other ones, but it will still give an idea of some of the pastries they have. Top left is piece of a chocolate drizzled crumb cake, middle top is a yummy, chewy, very blueberry scone, top right is a tea biscuit, bottom left is the remaining bit of what seemed to be a cream cheese frosting-topped cinnamon roll, and bottom right is a chocolate frosted vanilla cupcake.

Fudge! Fabulous fudge, believe it or not! On the left is maple fudge and the right is coconut fudge. Both are not too sweet, and the maple taste is clear and strong, as is the taste of coconut and vanilla. Not pictured is the coffee fudge I got, with roasted coffee beans on top. bzzz bzzz bzzz!

Mmmmm.... peanut butter cup cheesecake smushed on top of brownie.

Ciabatta on the left, and smaller versions of the seeded rolls on the right.

I was hungry, and forgot about taking a picture of this till after I took a bite! They also have a deli area, and this is sandwich is one of their rolls with in-house cooked roast beef, butter on the roll and topped with dabs of Kelchner's horseradish. Mmmmmm- beefy.... The top picture is the roll I made it on, next to my $3 thrift store find-- a Henckel's serrated bread knife!

Now I need to head back to try some of their Prosciutto di Parma! Luckily you don't need too much of it at $25 a pound!

[Jeff L]

Hey Jan, that sandwich looks really good. The only thing missing is some good imported sharp provolone.

I've heard other reports about this place and I'll have to go check it out soon. My local deli in Holland uses their rolls for his hoagies and they are quite tasty.