OT: It's All About The Bread

[batts]

The two best places for Italian Bread in my area is the A & A Deli in Lincoln Park, which purchases its bread from Brooklyn, and Calandra's bakery in Fairfield. It's a matter of taste I suppose, but I prefer the bread from A & A by a very close margin.

 

[Knightmoves]

Not a lot of bakeries or even delis in Florida outside Miami to Boca Raton.

Publix supermarkets have 1st rad bakeries and great bread. Their Chicago Italian(I know what???) is the best,,,,,,,,,and the PUBLIX SUB is the best in my area....huge,,,$6......
always some type on sale for $5

I hear you mikefla. FL is mostly a wasteland for bread, pizza and bagels. Agree that Publix is the standard for subs in SW FL where I live as well. That's kind of sad and surprised me when I first heard it. But it's true.

But recently in this area there have been a few breakthroughs that offer some hope. There is an Italian family bakery in St Petersburg ( New Yorkers) that bake and deliver fresh semolina, Italian and sub rolls to Italian delis here in the Sarasota area. The semolina bread is crispy on the outside and pretty much what we are used to getting in the NY area. Funny that many locals don't like it because it's not spongey, which is what they are used to getting. But it is the real deal.

Bagels - This one is interesting. A bakery in the Bronx now boils their bagels in NY, then ships them overnite to FL. The local guy here, Shapps Bagels, then takes the boiled bagels and bakes them in his ovens and delivers them to customers each morning at drop off restaurants and breakfast spots in the area. You go online and order what you want the night before and they are delivered near your home the next morning where you pick them up. The quality of the bagels are competitive to what we get in the NY area. IMO this is huge for this area, which has never had a decent bagel ever made locally.

 

[mikefla]

I hear you mikefla. FL is mostly a wasteland for bread, pizza and bagels. Agree that Publix is the standard for subs in SW FL where I live as well. That's kind of sad and surprised me when I first heard it. But it's true.

But recently in this area there have been a few breakthroughs that offer some hope. There is an Italian family bakery in St Petersburg ( New Yorkers) that bake and deliver fresh semolina, Italian and sub rolls to Italian delis here in the Sarasota area. The semolina bread is crispy on the outside and pretty much what we are used to getting in the NY area. Funny that many locals don't like it because it's not spongey, which is what they are used to getting. But it is the real deal.

Bagels - This one is interesting. A bakery in the Bronx now boils their bagels in NY, then ships them overnite to FL. The local guy here, Shapps Bagels, then takes the boiled bagels and bakes them in his ovens and delivers them to customers each morning at drop off restaurants and breakfast spots in the area. You go online and order what you want the night before and they are delivered near your home the next morning where you pick them up. The quality of the bagels are competitive to what we get in the NY area. IMO this is huge for this area, which has never had a decent bagel ever made locally.

In St Petersburg..... Mazaros on 22nd Ave & Fortunatos on Central....are pretty decent....both are former NYers...but thats 120mi away from me

 

[ruready4somefootball]

Whenever I make homemade subs,about once a week,I get the DeMarco bread,or if I have a lot to do, on the way back from knee rehab, I get fresh baked Italian bread from, believe it or not Best Market, in Holmdel. They bake twice a day, it's piping hot,and even though it's not baked in a brick oven, it's every good bread.It stays fresher than DeMarco's, even good to go the next day.

 

[Knightmoves]

In St Petersburg..... Mazaros on 22nd Ave & Fortunatos on Central....are pretty decent....both are former NYers...but thats 120mi away from me

Right on with Mazaros as a great Italian deli in St Pete. I have to get there soon.

The bread bakery I was referring to in St Pete is Clemente Bakery. They only sell to businesses but their Semolina, Ciallaba and sub rolls rival what we get in NJ. Almost impossible for me to believe as a FL resident but I bought it again today and it is the real deal. I am going to call them to find out what places and how far they deliver outside the Tampa area. Maybe there is hope for real bread in FL, ha !

 

[Yeah Baby]

Agreed. Had a cheesesteak recently at a dive callled Number 1 Bar on 28 in Bound Brook. I expected it to suck but the bread was great. He gets his bread from the Italian bakery across the street.

 

[RUb-it-in]

Try a few anchovies on the sub and, in lieu of oil, pour in the oil from the tin of the anchovies along with some vinegar. HEAVEN!!

 

[RUSK97]

Right on with Mazaros as a great Italian deli in St Pete. I have to get there soon.

The bread bakery I was referring to in St Pete is Clemente Bakery. They only sell to businesses but their Semolina, Ciallaba and sub rolls rival what we get in NJ. Almost impossible for me to believe as a FL resident but I bought it again today and it is the real deal. I am going to call them to find out what places and how far they deliver outside the Tampa area. Maybe there is hope for real bread in FL, ha !

My go to in Tampa for bread has always been to go Cuban with La Segunda in Ybor City. Light and airy inside with a flaky crust outside (though thinner and flakier than Italian bread).