Great Baked Goods in OC?

[Das Ubergeek]

All the fancy bakeries I know are in LA. All the really great ethnic bakeries I know are in the Valley (with a few in the SGV). But now I live in OC.

I've found Blackmarket Bakery, which is at various farmers' markets (Tustin, Irvine and CM, I believe) and has really great, imaginative stuff (lime-coconut croissants, YUM)...

...but where else are the great baked goods? I can certainly get my fill of light, airy, rice-ridden baguettes two for $1 anywhere in Little Saigon, but where do I get pastry?

[justagthing]

Avanti Cafe on 17th is a small vegetarian cafe that has great food and pastries. I'm not a vegetarian, but I love the food and the pastries are quite yummy.
http://www.avantinatural.com/

[karynx78]

JJ Bakery on Irvine Ctr Dr and Culver. In the Asian plaza with 99 ranch. The have the fruit tarts, mocha cake logs, chinese steamed buns. They also have a cafe next door that serves hot snacks and rice dishes.

Another Chinese Bakery in the Asian plaza on Walnut and Jeffrey. Dont remember the name but it's right next to the Korean Tofu house.

[arisu]

"Another Chinese Bakery in the Asian plaza on Walnut and Jeffrey. Dont remember the name but it's right next to the Korean Tofu house."

I believe you're talking about DIHO Bakery. They surprisingly have a website (but it's under construction) http://www.dihobakery.com/ I love this bakery, I get their soft fluffy bread all the time.

http://arisuland.blogspot.com/

[mikester]

Also, let's not forget Cafe Blanc in Costa Mesa - outstanding !

http://cafeblanc.us/

[Frank_Santa_Monica]

Wow. They (Costa Mesa residents) are so lucky to have a little place like that.

[mikester]

It's true ! By rights, this place should be mobbed by discerning OC foodies seeking sophisticated desserts (gelato, tarts, fancy cakes etc), but the few times I've gone, it's usually just me or maybe one other customer. I hope more people discover this place.

[groover808]

Hmm been in Costa Mesa awhile and never been here, must check it out!

[missholmes]

how freaky, i'm just back from cafe blanc, still have the chocolate stains on my shirt from their delicious, soft and very melty truffles. the gelato is pretty good, had honey and mandarin orange half an hour ago. generally i think the creamy ones (hazelnut, caramel, oreo, choc etc) are better than the fruity ones.

pascal's near john wayne airport do nice cakes and tarts, the raspberry and lemon are the best. if you get there for breakfast the croissants, chocolate and plain, are very nice, tho the pain au raisin is weird, too bread-like for my taste. macarons pretty good but check to see when they were made as the older ones can go hard and brittle.

[stormin norman]

fantastic stuff..exquisite pastries by a talented chef.

[Curt the Soi Hound]

Cream Pan, in Tustin, has some interesting selections.

[lilygirl]

Highly recommend the scones ... ordered a great birthday cake here for my little one also ... they did a great job: (I think they are closed sun/mon)
Beverly's Best Bakery
3020 N Brea Blvd
Full CA
Phone: [phone]

[Vegasbuff]

I had a brownie covered with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups from here. Nice crunchy brownie, slathered in peanut butter with huge peanut butter cup chunks to boot. Pretty tasty.

[Grubber]

If you're looking for eclairs and napoleons, try the good ol' La Palma Chicken Pie shop in Anaheim on Euclid. The cakes were also good as I recall.

[JAB]

http://savoiefare.com/

[dagrassroots]

Zov's in tustin has a very good bakery. The tarts are amazing.

[Just Cid]

Two that I frequent are:

Judy Lynn Bakery
113 E Commonwealth Ave
Fullerton, California 92832

Poul's Danish-American Bakery
770 N Tustin St, Orange, CA

I've heard they're both owned by the same family, but don't
know that for a fact.

Both have very good rolls, danish and breads.

[Das Ubergeek]

I went to Poul's today... the pastry selection looked very, very tempting, but I had to limit myself. I will have to go back when we need bread, their breads look very good. It reminds me of Berolina, but bigger, Danish rather than Swedish, and much more industrial-looking.

[aklectic]

I second Zov's great tarts!

http://www.zovs.com

[notmartha]

Have you checked out Sarkis Pastry next to the Zankou at Anaheim? I can't resist those sugar syrup laden middle eastern goodies, as well as their European cakes/cookies.

Also a branch of JJ Bakery at Irvine if you are into the really light type of asian style pastries: 15333 Culver Dr Ste 660

[BruinEric]

I have been very pleased with Cakes and Brownies I have tried from Rockwell's Bakery in Villa Park. It has a good reputation with locals (of which I am no longer) and is typically crowded on weekends for breakfast. They have a restaurant in addition to the bakery.

Whether this translates to the types of baked goods you crave, I can't confirm. But their cakes are a significant leap beyond many others I've had in OC. Cake texture is good and I have found the frosting/filling amounts to be appropriate.

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If you'll be in that area, maybe try the bakery which is in the small side building at Moreno's? This is the historic Mexican restaurant in the El Modena area of Orange on Chapman Ave. I attended a party there yesterday and had never seen the bakery before, but they had a nice LOOKING (didn't TASTE, so no sponsorship here!) selection of Mexican pastries and were very crowded early in the morning when I stopped in to drop off a cake.

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When I was young, I always enjoyed pastries from Katella Deli's bakery. We're going back a good 15 years or so here, so that might be a good try. Located on Katella near the border of Los Alamitos and Cypress.

[missholmes]

Village Bakery in costa mesa was good, excellent pain au chocolate and a nice fennel & raisin loaf. so naturally it shut down. :(

[Evan G]

Haven't tried any of them for myself, but Katella Deli is supposedly very good--they look great, at least.

[MeAndroo]

Katella isn't bad. My mom always grabs an eclair and a pastry when we hit a deli of any kind and Katella was no exception. The sandwiches aren't on par with some of the stuff in LA (but when comparing to Langer's, is it really fair?) but she enjoyed her treats and I had a tasty chocolate chip scone-ish pastry. Sorry for the poor description, but she's a much bigger dessert person than me.

[mikester]

It did ? That's too bad - though it makes sense, as it's main purpose seems to have been as the baking arm of the Goodell's restaurant group, and they've mainly decamped to LA. Sad, at least for those of us behind the Orange Curtain.