This weeks restaurant Aria Bakery in Murphys.
So I'm pretty sure the best thing about birthdays - seeing as how it can't be that we are getting older - is that people love to feed you! You get morning coffees, lunches, dinners and sometimes even lovely cocktails and cakes!
So if you can follow this line of thinking...I got stuffed the other day and as my daughter tells me I am now of a respectable Grandmother age...whatever THAT means!
Back to Aria Bakery.
So I had wandered past this heavenly smelling bakery in the past and worried that the mere inhaling of the delicious scents would cause me to somehow consume calorie infused air so chose to walk by briskly. I was told that I had made a mistake by not at least poking my head inside. So with this said, my buddy and partner in crime for the day, took me to Aria for lunch. Yes, lunch.
After I pulled my eyes from the display case of divine pastries from tarts to croissants, and key lime pies to macaroons - all freshly made that morning- I found myself pleasantly surprised by their eclectic and full menu of lunch fare. All sandwiches were offered with Aria's own little twists and tweaks to make them more scrumptious.
I opted for the spinach ricotta quiche. This was the fluffiest quiche I had ever consumed...and I have consumed a lot of quiche. It was almost three inches high and filled with just the right amount of ingredients. The shell was not like a pie pastry but more of a light croissant pastry. Delectable. My partner in crime had the soup of the day - black bean soup. Seeing as how our conversation died after it was delivered I would have to say it must have been delicious. Now she also ordered something I thought to be questionable... the Elvis panini. A peanut butter, banana, and bacon panini. Again conversation stopped and every last piece of that panini was gone. She swears it was interestingly delicious, a great combination of sweet and savory. I will take her word for it.
Each day Aria has a soup and sandwich of the day and apparently culinary creativity is their forte.
The area to dine is tight and a bit cramped. The outside dining in minimal but very pleasant. The best to do would be to grab it to go and head to the park.
The staff was cheerful and knowledgeable. The prices were a tad on the high side but well worth the quality of the ingredients used.
The key lime pie is calling me....I will be back.
by,
Charity Maness
Aria Bakery is located in downtown Murphys across from the Murphys Hotel.
(My little disclaimer: 'To dine or not to dine' is meant to be a
helpful - and humorous - informational piece only. I receive no monetary
compensation for this column nor do I endorse any one eatery. This
is simply my opinion. My tastes will be different from others and I
readily admit that I have no culinary background, but I am pretty
confident I know when food is cooked correctly or not, whether a drink
is poured well or not and especially whether wait staff is
first-rate or in need of a career change.)
