Alki Bakery

[little ms foodie]

I had never heard of it but had a client meeting today and this is where he decided we should meet. 1st and Orcas- SODO area.

I just had latte and a biscotti but the place was packed with soup and salad goers. I heard many people raving about the clam chowder.

So whats the skinny? anyone been and if so how is it?

[reesek]

i didn't know there was a second outpost. the original (on alki) is great. it's just the place to go on a "sick day" afternoon and drink coffee or tea and eat crumble and watch the rain and wind whip along the coast.

[chefpeon]

Ahhhh......Alki Bakery.......affectionately known to me as "Alki-Traz".

I used to be the production manager there at the Georgetown location. Started at the beach

location which was MUCH better. Imagine going from beautiful sunrises on the beach to......

Georgetown. So depressing.

They do make some good stuff. Their clam chowder is very popular, and they also make it

for their other satellites, The Alki Cafe and what used to be the Point Grill (I don't know what it's called now).

I was also the lead bread baker, and we cranked out loaves upon loaves of rustic italian bread in a really nice Tibiletti oven. I used to motivate my crew by telling them if we got all the bread in the proofers by midnight, we could go shoot a game or two of pool at the bar down the street.

They were really into that.....only problem was they worked hard until midnight, and then when we got back to do the bake off they slowed down considerably.......sigh. Those were fun days......sort of.

The owner also had an obsession with making our cinnamon rolls EXACTLY like Cinnabon. He kept wanting me to tinker with the dough or the filling or the icing and he was never satisfied.

Meanwhile we'd sell them like gangbusters and I figured "sheesh......leave well enough alone....some people don't even LIKE Cinnabons....."

Alki has grown since I've left, and I don't even know what they are doing now, but they're still

in business so they must be doing something right.

A funny side note: The owners father has his own toupee business in the same building as the

Georgetown bakery. We could always tell who his father's customers were......all the guys with

BAD (and I mean BAD) toupees who walked in the door. If you ever get lost in Georgetown,

and want to find Alki Bakery, just follow the trail of bad hair.......

[lala]

I like the espresso at Alki Bakery, which is Torrefazione, but generally find the baked goods to be overly sweet for my taste (perhaps explained by chefpeon's comments about the cinnabon clones). However, it is a good place to have a nosh at the beach, and do some people watching. For relaxing, though, nothing beats the fireplace at Tully's on a cold day. I fondly remember a day off a couple of years ago, when friend and I got sandwiches from Salumi, went over to Alki in a *snowstorm*, watched some crazy guy windsurfing in the wild waves, then sitting in Tully's by the fire, eating our very messy sandwiches. What a nice day...

[little ms foodie]

lala, the espresso I had yesterday at the one on 1st ave s. was from Cafe Vita. it was really good! I don't know if they made the biscotti in house ( chefpeon?) but it was orange flavored dipped in white chocolate. yum!!!

[lala]

Interesting... I wonder why they use different espresso? Cafe Vita is good - there's one a block and a half away from where I work.

I'll have to doublecheck on Torrefazione/Vita at the Alki Cafe on Alki. It's always been 'Faz, and their brew urns are 'Faz, but I'll double check. They do make the best espresso drinks on the beach, whatever it is.

[chefpeon]

I don't know if they made the biscotti in house ( chefpeon?) but it was orange flavored dipped in white chocolate. yum!!!

Well, when I worked there we made our own biscotti, and I'm sure that hasn't changed.

The owner would never buy anything in if he could make it himself.

[crouching tyler]

As I was collecting my baggage at Sea-Tac on Sunday, I noticed that there is an Alki Bakery outpost at the airport now. Sort of nice to know there is a Starbucks alternative. It is near baggage carousel 7.