bella moto bakery arlington

[groz]

We finally got to try some cookies etc from Bella Moto bakery in Arlington (Next to Blue Ribbon) after having some tasty pho at Lady Siam. I especially enjoyed the Mexican chocolate cookies and the lemon cornmeal bar. We'll be going back for more. I'm surprised I couldn't find info on Bella Moto on Chowhound. Any thoughts?

[grant.cook]

I am surprised you gave a good review to Lady Siam.. I haven't heard much positive about the Pho there

[Allstonian]

It might have been better in 2008 - this is a very old post bumped up by someone reporting that Bella Moto has closed.

[RollingDoughnuts]

Bella Moto made wonderful croissants and cookies and beyond-fabulous cakes for special occasions. Sadly, they have closed.

[makonna]

The vanilla cupcakes are good, but very similar to ones that I would make at home. The chocolate cupcakes are very good light yet not dry, but it's the canoli's that I like the most.

[Bri]

I'm helping a friend with wedding planning and we recently did a cake tasting at both Bella Moto and Cake. Bella Moto's cake and, especially, the frosting was phenomenal. Its an Italian meringue buttercream and incredibly good. We sampled several cakes - chocolate w/vanilla frosting, red velvet, one with apricot jam and one with an orange caramel. All were delicious and my friend and Frances (the baker/owner) are now working on designs for her wedding cake.

The only problem is, every time I visit my friend in Arlington (I live in VT), I MUST have a Bella Moto cupcake. I can't be in the area and not get my fix...

[rlh]

The red velvet at Bella Moto is a delicious cake, but I don't think it's the authentic thing - the texture is moist and wonderful, but the red color is not nearly vivid enough and the cake doesn't taste like the memorable red velvets I have had further south - the cream cheese frosting, however, is spot on and amazing.

[grant.cook]

Maybe the ambiance of being the in South helped.. I can't see enjoying clam chowder in Atlanta the way I do in Rhode Island

[robertlf]

I'm glad you posted. I've driven by Bella Moto's many times and often wonder what it's like. Care to elaborate on the menu/style?

[groz]

I've only been there once, but am planning to go today to bring some pastries to a friend. You walk in, there are two cases: one with cookies etc and one with cakes and maybe cannoli shells. The baking takes place right behind the cases. She has thermoses of coffee, sells some notecards and that's all I can remember after one visit.. There is no place to sit. The cakes look special. We tried some cookies(macaroons, harvest-type, mexican chocolate) and bar cookies (linzer, lemon cornmeal, brownies). The only one I would pass on next time is the macaroon. It also looked like there were some breakfast type pastries, but we got there in the afternoon and didn't try them. I read that the baker (cannot recall her name) used to work at Nashoba Brooks and maybe a more high-end bakery. I hope that she will stay in business, since we really don't have anything "on location" bakery this good in the area (Lex/Arl).

[GretchenS]

Will be interested to hear more about Bella Moto but I was a bit surprised to that you say the area is lacking in good bakeries, seeing as how Lakota Bakery is right on the Arlington/Lexington line and it's hard to beat their cookies.

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Lakota Bakery
1373 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02476

[Allstonian]

I agree that Lakota's cookies are fantastic, but that's all they offer except for special-order cakes. I can see that it would be nice to have another bakery with a wider - or just somewhat different - inventory.

Much as I love Clear Flour Bread and Yi Soon Bakery, for instance (both of which are about ten minutes walk from my house), I often wish there were a "regular" bakery in the neighborhood, where I could buy lemon squares or cupcakes or a nice birthday cake.

[trishaluna]

Well, its not really in the Heights/Lexington area but not too far is Quebrada in East Arlington (next to Capitol Theatre on mass Ave)]. I've gotten many birthday cakes from them and excellent muffins and croissants (mushroom is my fav.)

[opinionatedchef]

hmmmm,trish, thank you for mentioning that croissant. quebrada does a once-a-week cardamom bread(or they did, a few yrs ago) that I need to re-acquaint myself with, and those mushroom croissants sound very promising!

[greygarious]

I used to go to Quebrada once or twice a year, for a variety of croissants, most of which would get carefully wrapped and frozen, to be rationed out over the course of a few months. They've changed; IMO, not for the better. They no longer make whole wheat croissants, which had more depth of flavor than regular, especially the filled savory ones. The style of the almond croissant is different; it's been a year but IIRC they no longer have almond paste filling. And I think the apricot/almond is no more.

[Misterie]

Actually Quebrada does still have the almond paste croissant - I passed on it last weekend - it's called the "Classic Almond" as opposed to the "Almond & Cinnamon" that they also serve. The apricot was still there a month ago when I brought in pastries for my office. Personally, I find the chocolate to-die for...dare I say almost too much *gasp* chocolate in them.