Review, Rose32 Bread bakery/café

Below is my review of the Gilbetville Bakery, Rose 32 Bread that appeared in the December, 2012 Sturbridge Times Magazine.

Hardwick is an idyllic spot in Western Central Massachusetts.  The town center is the usual, picturesque common.   The road leading to the Quabbin has a fine view.  There are beautiful farms with happy cows and, as reported in the September 2010 issue of the Sturbridge Times Magazine, the town is the capital of grass fed ranching in the Commonwealth.  Despite sometimes-harsh winters, there is a thriving winery on a fine piece of land.

So, a perfect town exists just northwest of Sturbridge Country.  Well, not completely.  If you travel onto Route 32 from Route 9, there is a stretch of moribund factories and aging workers’ housing.  The manufacturing jobs of the mainly Polish immigrant population are gone.  The working class section of Hardwick, known as Gilbertville, has seen better days.

That does not mean there is no enduring historical merit in the district.  The Covered Bridge that spans the Ware River is an exemplar of the style.  Recently renovated, it is something to see and could occupy the tourist for at least several nanoseconds.  Clearly Themepark Gilbertville is not going to happen.

For me, the road through Gilbertville has been a way to get somewhere else.  This is not horrible; most roads are, as is the one that passes by my home.  One expects little on the way to the destination.

Only vaguely did I notice the place with the outdoor tables and umbrellas.  It looked like a shop, maybe garage that had been converted to some kind of food business.  Nothing about it enticed me to stop.  Luckily, It was word of mouth that changed my mind.

Our first foray to Rose32 was for takeout.  There was a line of people waiting to order.  The display case did not make choosing an easy chore.  The variety of cakes and pastries was lavish and a feast for the eyes.  Steeling ourselves to the task, my daughter, Bríd, and I made our selections.

First up, the almond croissant, which had an almond paste, baked in.  The filling was good, but as in all them, it is the lovely moist croissant that is the best part.

The tarts, cherry and raspberry were rich.  If you are averse to flavor, they are not for you.  Same with the peach scone. 

We also purchased a loaf of olive bread.  The breads are whole but they offer to slice them.  I’m more partial to olives than the rest of the family and surely ate most of it.

Our next visit was for lunch.  After ordering, one sits down with the numbered sign so the server knows where to bring the order.  One of the staff came over and apologized to me (with a sincerity that could not have been feigned) because they only had the rustic baguette for my capresse.  Would that be acceptable?  I acquiesced and happily lived to tell the tale.  A capresse is a baguette sandwich of tomatoes, mozzarella, and pesto with balsamic and olive oil.

Bríd had the salmon crostini, an open-faced sandwich with smoked salmon and capers, cream cheese, and onions on toasted sourdough walnut bread.  All too often, a salmon crostini can be overly salty, but this one was just right.

I also ordered the soup of the day which was squash with crispy bacon and balsamic.  It came with bread and butter.  Bríd left with a Breton, which she described as a sort of shortbread cookie.

We came back with Robin, my wife, for breakfast.  Robin had the cheddar and green onion biscuit sandwich with egg, and ham, and described it as fantastic.

Bríd had the chicken potpie on special.  Though the vegetables in the pie were okay, the chicken was perfect.

My scrambled hash, a pleasant mélange of diced ham, potatoes and green onions with a cover of cheddar, left me satisfied.

All of this is in a building that is a converted service station.  It has its advantages as the large windows of the inherited structure gives Rose32 an abundance of natural light.  The industrial aspect of the structure serves it well as most of the production takes place in a huge oven imported from Barcelona.  It is difficult to imagine such a behemoth precision instrument on anything but a heavy-duty floor.

Such an oven is necessary to get the crust right and cook the breads evenly.  This sentiment is attributed to Glen Mitchell by his wife Cindy.  They are the Rose 32 co-owners.  The Mitchell’s had a thriving bakery business in San Francisco with 250 employees and four retail outlets and a distribution network.  As interesting as the story is, the food is most important aspect of their adventure.

That is true.  I have never had a flakier or more buttery croissant.

So there is a reason to visit Gilbertville, and after you eat the sticky bun and lick your fingers, you can cross the covered bridge.