05/27/09

Most amazing...

by amstapp

I've been to the bakery a number of times and loved everything I ate. Seriously. HUGE cinnamon rolls, cookies, doughnuts. But life got better - I have the good fortune of working with someone who is good friends with Gary. We work in a bookstore and every Sunday, Gary brings us whatever is leftover from the day - whether it's cake donuts, holiday cookies, chocolate croissants, pecan pie, cherry cheese danishes, you name it. I can tell you that every single thing he's brought is delicious and amazing, even day old. The chocolate croissants had me and two other co-workers moaning, no joke.

• Pros: Chocolate croissants

02/10/09

Excellent Excellent Excellent!!

by cres00022

We have hired Gary numerous times to make cakes for our wedding on other parties. Every time I am impressed by how moist and delicious they are! I would HIGHLY recommend a visit to meet this man who clearly loves his work and while you are there, try one of the many fresh pastries! You won't be disappointed!

• Pros: great food, fun staff, cozy atmosphere
• Cons: small store with limited seating

02/01/09

You can smell the deliciousness from the street!

by knutson5

As soon as we got out of the car we could smell the yummy treats waiting for us. When we walked in we saw thick buttery frosting smothered on huge cinnamon rolls! The chocolate snowballs were the size of a softball and covered with smoothly shaved chocolate. We also saw the light and crispy shell of a chocolate croissant. There were about 20 items to choose from. The guy who helped us was super friendly, was great about answering our questions and making sure our frosting didn't get smudged in the bag. We tried five different things and they were all amazing... but the American Teacakes were addicting! They are a flaky, yet moist ,caramel-like treat like you've never had. This place is a gem.

• Pros: Quaint, friendly, gold standard baked goods
• Cons: Kind of a small place... no strudel

12/31/08

Inviting cozy bakery with a buttery delicate mouthwatering strudel

by Chublis

The delicate warm strudels will woo you for life and the teacakes are lovely. Once you have experienced their pastries you'll get that unreasonable giddy feeling walking through the door (or maybe it's just me), you know the kid in the candy store feel...... The Baker's Wife is warm, inviting, cozy, unpretentious and certainly worth the trip from any corner in the city.

12/23/08

The Perfect Bakery

by Coco135

Absolutely the BEST chocolate mousse cake in the world. Everytime I have ever served one at a gathering it has been devoured with gusto. The rich creamy frosting, lovely moist layers and joyful (completely fun and over the top wonderful) decorations have everyone oohing and ahhing. If you love chocolate and want to have a fabulous indulgent memorable dessert, this cake is it! This is hands down one of the top three bakeries ever. It's quirky and unique interior, neighborhood feel and wonderful staff are an asset to the area and the city. The butter flake rolls are a holiday must and the breads are wonderful. The lemon bars and brownies are worth the calories. Go and enjoy and be glad they're not cookie cutter perfect. Viva La Bakers Wife!

• Pros: Delish, delightful, unique, quirky, one of a kind.

12/16/08

Why go anywhere else?

by MSPgal

Just walk by the front door and smell how wonderful this place is. Best part, when you order iced coffee - they have coffee ice cubes!

• Pros: Best Bakery in the Twin Cities
• Cons: They aren't open 24/7

12/08/08

let them eat their own cake 'cause i'm not gonna do it again

by surlymonkey

i thought i'd try this bakery, new to me, based on the rave reviews i found online. their pastries looked just fine and tasty, but cake seems to be something they cannot do. i ordered a basic 8" chocolate cake and what i got was something to behold. it seemed to be made up of (day+ old) scraps of cake that were put together with the filling used as an adhesive or mortar - think asymmetrical cake sculpture. the piping and miscellaneous candies stuck atop the cake smacked of a preschooler's baking project. i was optimistic that the taste would make up for the presentation, but sadly that was not the case. the chocolate had a strange aftertaste and the cake was quite dry. i was highly disappointed and still wonder how something so simple could go so awesomely wrong.

11/28/08

Best Bakery Around

by Pamalama

I love this bakery, it has a huge variety. Make sure to look above, behind, and to the sides of the front counter because they have a lot. An American teacake warm right out of the oven is incredible (and big enough for two). The price is affordable, it's cheaper than coffee chain baked goods and you get more, and it's better quality.

• Pros: Variety, quick service, outdoor/indoor seating, delicious baked goods
• Cons: fattening and addictive

11/24/08

The real thing!

by kellisuetoo

Baker's Wife is the best way to treat yourself on a day off. The smell when you walk in makes you feel like you're 5 yrs old again. Try the almond puff pastry. Also, the iced coffee comes with coffee ice cubes! That is just so thoughtful.

05/19/08

Best donuts ever, the rest is variable

by donutqueen

I love A Baker's Wife's donuts. They are incredible and I could write an entire paragraph about them, so if you're looking for donuts, go right now. My favorite are cinnamon-sugar.

The pie is pretty good (great crust, pretty good filling), and the other pastries vary - I had a not great croissant (more bready than flakey), a fabulous tea cake of sorts, and a fairly good cinnamon roll. If anything, all of these err on the side of being too sweet.

I just had my first cake from ABW and I wasn't too impressed. In fact, I had so looked forward to it that I was pretty disappointed. There were several layers (feeds many many more people than they estimate), but I can't tell you how many because they were uneven and misshapen. The cake itself was just a little flavorless. There was WAY too much filling - in most places the filling layer was thicker than the cake layer, which made the dessert overly sweet. The frosting was delicious and well-made, and it was well-applied, too - not too thick. Because the layers were uneven and kind of slapped together, the cake was tilting when we got it, and by the time we served it, there was a crevasse opening up in the middle. For the price, I would have expected it to look a little nicer (especially after reading reviews), but it looked like something a teenager might have slapped together at home, not a fabulous pastry chef.

For a couple extra dollars, I would recommend Buttercream over ABW for cakes.

I love ABW and will continue going there - I'll just stick to the donuts!!