2 out of 5 stars

I was particularly dissappointed in my snack at Baker’s Dozen because I had been wanting to try out this hidden bakery around the corner for quite some time. All the glowing reviews had led me to believe I’d find here a wonderful snack. The bakery selection looks great, except my brownie was more than a little bit stale, and Mom’s muffin wasn’t very fresh either. For me there is no excuse for serving day-old (or more) items at full price at a bakery!

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5 out of 5 stars

Hidden off Franklin Street down a delightful brick-laid corridor is the equally delightful Bliss Boutique Bakery. After disappointment at Raleigh’s Cupcake Shoppe I was afraid to hope… but the amazing chocolate cupcake I had today could cause me to have to make regular drives to Chapel Hill in order to repeat the experience. The cake was deliciously moist and fresh and seriously chocolately without being over-rich. The icing was amazingly smooth and decadent as well. I later told hubs that it was the best cupacke I have ever ingested! Excuse my low light photography. I barely managed to stop eating long enough to take the picture and then afterwards had to find a spoon so that I could scrape the cakey bits off the wrapper.

One of the flavors of the day, chef’s choice for today, was a Vanilla cupcake with pomegranate filling and a pomegranate buttercream icing. They also offer a vegan option each day, today’s was chocolate cake with a coconut pecan icing. Be sure to give them a shot, especially during “happy hour” where they offer half price cupcakes (limit 6) between 5:30 and 7:30pm.

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3 out of 5 stars

Coffee and Crepes is a little coffee joint (plus crepes!) in the sprawling Crossroads shopping center. On the day of our visit I decided to try a popular item, the Raspberry Chicken crepe, which contains chicken, spinach, ricotta, diced tomato, and melted cheddar. It’s topped with a drizzle of raspberry preserves and a sprinkling of walnuts. It comes with a nice spring mix salad on the side with a vinegarette dressing.

I appreciated the whole wheat option but I was left with the feeling that I would have loved my crepe a lot more had I gone straight to dessert – the banana nutella crepe sounded amazing.

Perhaps my mistake was asking the employees which crepe was the best and then ordering the one they told me was the most popular rather than the one they said was the best. Of course they were split – I heard votes for the fajita crepe and the turkey bacon tomato. I mean basically this is a glorified quesadilla, this is what you forget about until you’ve just paid $7 for it. Hubby, my designated coffee taster, ordered a cappuccino and declared it average. I applaud the use of fair-trade local roaster Larry’s Beans, but the coffee taster does not lie.

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