Village Bakery -- Calistoga

Apparently bakeries are the hot new trend right now. Despite the fact that there are now two coffee shops in town, both of which sell some baked goods (muffins, quiche, etc.), there recently opened the "Village Bakery" on Lincoln Ave. From what I understand, I think it's a new branch of a chain of two bakeries open in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.

It's a small place, kind of austere in its personality and presentation, but not cold... a few small tables and chairs are there to relax and nibble on your baked goods or sip a coffee (which they also sell), and it feels warm and inviting enough (certainly better than Starbucks, which I've always found extremely cold and uninviting).

They have the requisite display case of cupcakes, brownies, etc. as well as a back shelf for loaves of bread -- in other words, it's like a plainer, less-hyped version of Bouchon Bakery. Which is why it surprises me that the prices are a bit higher here. Whereas a standard-sized loaf of bread at Bouchon Bakery would be about $3.25, here at Village Bakery they are $4.25. I can't attest to the quality. but might try the "Sebastopol Sourdough" at some point.

Usually I pop in here when I'm hungry for a serious sweet-tooth/sugar-rush fix, because I go straight for the brownies with cream cheese frosting. These are dense, fudgy brownies with a serious layer of cream cheese frosting on top. The brownies aren't cheap -- $2.95 -- but they are pretty huge. It's like a whole meal (a whole meal of carbs and sugars). I'd actually prefer if they were cut in half and charged half the price. As it is, this one would be a good one to share with a friend. One drawback to the flavor is: I can't be sure, but the frosting tastes like the artificial, packaged variety... which is disappointing. I might be wrong, but it just doesn't taste like the real cream cheese frosting I am used to.