We love the danish...

Thirty eight weeks ago I started to write about weed, bakeries and life. In that time I have given scant attention to cookies and the danish. Ironically, both of these items were favorites in my childhood home. Entemanns famous chocolate cookie box and danish boxes, from the pecan ring to the raspberry cream cheese, were an after school delight. In the modern world of bakeries, the danish recipe has been shelved on the baker’s wall. We visited The Bakers Grove today, in Shrewsbury, and grabbed a Boston Cream brioche and raspberry muffin. No danish in the building! The pastries were fantastic by the way. The Cream is sinful and the raspberry drips throughout the muffin.

Today I come here not to bury the danish, but to praise it. The Wake and Bake tour discovered that the so called demise of the danish is an exaggeration. All good things, sometimes, come to an end of its popularity. The danish has had a phenomenal run spanning generations but our tastes are changing. We did not have as many choices growing up, as today, and the danish was a slice of sweetness in someone’s day in hardworking America. No party table was complete without the danish. Think of all the “Joes” who sat down, at their local stool, for a coffee and a danish. But we want more than the same old today. We want original big cakes and innovative pastries from culinary chefs, not from simple bakers in white smocks. Those simple bakers are keeping the tradition alive. Long live the danish!

Top to Bottom: The Bread Stand Peach and blueberry//. Apricot from Calandra’s

Pecan ; Vaccaros Pecan lower: Swiss Pastry Shop

If you want to find a good danish look in a working class community. Working class communities hold on to traditions, especially with food, in their daily lives. I started out on Friday morning and went to Vaccaro’s in Clark. My Clark high school buds love the pecan danish and the people of Clark love danish. How do I know that? Well the lovely lady, behind the glass cases, and I had a short conversation about the danish. I asked her if the danish was still popular and she nodded and said “well look at the trays,, they are just about gone, people still buy our danish.” Now I do not want to be accused of ageism but I am beginning to think this is an older than boomer crowd who buy all this danish.

I grabbed a pecan danish and headed out to the Parkway for a short trip up to Bloomfield, a quick stop for some medicine, and on to Newark to get an apricot danish from Calandra’s. Turned around and headed back through Maplewood for rustic bread and danish at the Bread Stand. Their square croissant like danish, filled with blueberry and cream, fell short and made me appreciate the classic style even more. I stopped at Swiss Pastry Shoppe, in Scotch Plains for another pecan danish. My friend Danny, the artist, loves the baker’s pecan danish. It is here you will find the ancient baker sitting in his white smock, bemoaning the changing world, as we buy his tasty treats. I have seen this man bake danish since 1988, when I moved to Scotch Plains, and he is a true Wake and Bake oak tree. I went back to the office and forced David, Vincent and Marilyn to test one bite of one danish of their choice. I know that is bossy, but believe me I can be worse. The pecan danish from Vaccaro’s had the most positive votes. The danish has a unique sandwich like quality to the dough. It is thicker and more chewy than most pastries. The pecan flavor was present in every layer and it was just sweet enough.

So I decided to head out Saturday morning to find some more danish. I went to Manny’s diner and sat on the stool. I said good morning to the stranger next to me, ordered a coffee, three eggs and a danish to go, and scrolled through my phone for a moment. When the waitress came with the eggs I asked her if the danish was still popular. “Oh yes, we bake it here fresh on the premises every day. Everyone loves our danish. It is really fresh and good”. Classic Jersey counter person! That is the cheese danish on the far left. The two on the right are from Pinho’s.

Well she brings me a cheese danish that is 2x2 and fills up one of those to go boxes. You could feed all your kids with that piece of danish. I showed it to the stranger and we shared a good laugh. From there I headed to Pinho's bakery, on Chestnut Street, in Roselle. I cannot say enough good things about Raoul and Julie Pinho, the owners and bakers, of the Pinho’s Bakery. They are such serious minded and devoted people to their families, community and faith. I have much personal experience with them and they are the best kind of people you can find. Their bakery is one of the largest working class bakeries in the state. There were over thirty people at 8:30, either buying baked goods or eating breakfast, coming through the store. Over 800 people a day walk through their bakery. Their selection is outstanding, featuring breads, cakes and custard cups. The chocolate pudding cake is a Wake and Bake top ten nominee.

But today I came for the danish and they did not disappoint. They had numerous trays and multiple varieties of the layered dough. There seems to be no shortage of demand for the danish in Roselle. And then I look around and realize there are many old people, just like me, getting their breakfast treats. I bought, and Pinho’s is the most reasonably priced of all the bakeries, an apricot and an almond. I now had three danish to try for lunch. What a great way to pump up your Saturday. Sweets and Coffee!! Now some of you may object to calling myself old. Well, if American life expectancy keeps plummeting, 66 looks old to me. Eating all this refined sugar once a week is my way of living dangerously!

The Cheese Danish, from Manny’s, was outstanding. The sweet cream cheese, layered between the folded dough, was most excellent. The dough was thick, chewy and filling. The danish is a good bet at Manny’s. Pinho’s had the best danish of all the bakeries. Their danish was not as thick and chewy. It was lighter than all the rest and the apricot filling was layered perfectly inside the dough. The apricot was not overly sweet or tart, like Calandras which tasted more like candy than fruit, and this was my favorite danish of the Wake and Bake tour.

Most of the bakeries I visited this week are founded and run by the same family for generations. They did not go to culinary school or participate in some reality tv bake show. They simply show up and service the community without any fanfare or concern for branding. They are the people who wear the white smocks, show up on time every day and fill the glass cases with wicked delights. Sometimes the baker is going to have a bad day. Most days they will not. I am amazed watching a dynamic place like Pinho’s operate versus the mom and pop atmosphere of Vaccaro’s or Swiss Pastry Shop. The volume of product, the level of service and the excellence in preparation separates Pinho’s from all the rest in Union County. The only other comparable store is Natale’s in Summit. They are both, affectionately, “old school”, like the danish, doing it well with great style and tastes.

Peace to Everyone

See my friend Danny Turitz at the Carter Burden Gallery, 548 W.28th street, NY. November 17- December 16.. I will plug once more when we get closer. This piece is called Skaket and it is 20x30.

Please take a moment to enjoy the music of Jason Isbell and Amanda Stires- 15 minutes total.