DeluxeVille Visits Dreamville Retro Bake Shop

Recently, Sgt and I where out exploring the back roads of Pa, (on a mission to score some bamboo plants that were listed for sale on craigslist) when we ran across a very cool little retro roadside bakery called Dreamville.  I don't know about you, but MaryDeluxe could not pass up the opportunity to check out a retro bakery called Dreamville!  And of course as long as food is involved, Sgt is completely in.  I asked Sgt to snap some pictures with his phone since I unfortunately left mine at home, and he also agreed to do a little write up of Dreamville for my blog post!  Perhaps "Sgt's Roadside Eats" will become a regular feature here on DeluxeVille?

~Dreamville Retro Bake Shop~

 

Road food.  Sometimes you’re hungry and just want a little ‘something-something’ in the belly (the other ‘something-something’ comes at the end of the ride….  wink,wink).  If you’re ever riding around the back roads between Tatamy and Bath, PA (the beautiful, small town countryside north of 22), be sure to check out Dreamville.  If you’re hungry it’s the place to be (especially if you have a sweet tooth!), and if you’re not, you can grab something to go for later!

Anchored in the middle of a 3-store strip mall it provides a haven to hungry travelers.  The interior has more in common with the farmland that surrounds the small strip mall then the empty store to either side.  It’s interior will provide some sustenance to the soul for those of us who hanker for ‘when times were simpler’ and the food matches the décor.  Everything is retro-fun!  This is more than road food… this is a deliciously simple lunch menu that packs a wallop to the taste buds, and a dream-come-true for those of us who are looking for that ‘special-awesome’ bakery. 

Make no bones about it: a serious look past the old-school candy laden shelves, vintage wall decorations and mid-century aprons lined up and for-sale, and one sees a ‘Rather-Serious-Bakery’.  Owned by Jess, we were lucky to stop in when she was running the place that day, on her own, while watching her 3 boys, too.  Despite taking an order for a wedding cake, selling the last of her cherry turnovers (that I had my eye on …. rats…), and stopping to run back and disentangle the boys from each other she whipped up a grilled cheese sandwich platter for the Mrs. and an ‘Elvis’ platter for me.

So here’s where the serious part starts.  Food.  Specifically, Retro Lunch Food.  If you have gone camping you know that a simple bowl of soup followed by a cup of camp coffee and a peach cobbler that’s baked in the coals all night is pure heaven-on-Earth.  Something about that menu is better than if it was made at home.  The same is true for ‘Road Food’.   Except this isn’t your ‘typical Road Food though…. It’s definitely a few cuts above the ‘Old Hot Dawg Stand’…..  This is a Road Side Sweet Shack that delivers the goods, in Retro-style.  We’re not looking for something complicated.  We’re not looking to get overwhelmed by 14 pages of selections like the typical Jersey Diner Menu.  We want a few choices of good, easy, delicious, munchable fares to bring that wonderful fullness to our belly, a smile to our mouth and still leave enough room for a dessert.  There is a breakfast menu which includes waffles and is served all day, a short and simple lunch menu, a fun selection of retro soft drinks and shakes (and malts and egg creams) and desserts.   Dreamville fits the bill.  Especially when it comes to the deserts!  I would almost say that there is too much to choose from…. Almost.  And it’s all baked daily.  It was clear to me that when we stopped in Saturday afternoon, Jess had already put in a full day’s work!  She looked a bit tired, but then, she had shelves of fresh baked bread, turnovers, donuts, cupcakes, assorted cookies, chocolate covered bacon (yes, I said, chocolate covered bacon… dark chocolate!) other desserts, more desserts and desserts I had never seen, nor heard of before!  Oh, and did I mention she had her 3 sons in the back office? 

While Dreamville is first and foremost a dessert bakery, Jess has the foresight to offer a little bit more.  We were there for some lunch and I was glad to have a cup of freshly brewed coffee.  The Mrs. Munched on a grilled cheese made with homemade garlic bread and I  noshed on the Elvis: two, thick carved slabs of homemade white bread holding just the right amount of peanut butter (your choice of 4 types), bananas, and bacon.  All the above is grilled in butter (maybe pressed with a Panini, or an iron griddle weight… can’t tell Jess is like the Wizard of Oz, the magic takes place behind the curtain) and served with a small elephant ear pastry and several types of chips in a metal platter draped with wax paper. 

Don’t get me started.  I know that if I attempt to make this at home it just won’t be the same.  It’ll be different, just like a bowl of soup, coffee and cobbler at home is not the same as eating around the campfire while stretching out sore muscles from sleeping on the ground all night.  Dreamville offers more than road food, Jess offers good food that makes the road something to remember.  There’s not a lot on the lunch menu…. But there shouldn’t.  It should be simple, creative, and delicious.  And it is.  One could argue that offering a ‘main entree menu’ with 14 pages of desserts, entrees, and side dishes hides the fact that the food is ‘So-So’ at best.  My experience would prove that to be true.  Check out the menu selection on line (see at bottom).  While you might think you want more, think quality over quantity.  If you think that everything on the dessert menu online will be there, think again.  You might want to call ahead to see if she can make something special for you, or maybe just to see if she isn’t sold out (I have to go back for the cherry turnovers and rumor has it the apple turnovers sell out even faster!) There are specials, too: coffee for a nickel between 8 and 9 AM.  This summer there will be fresh pies and ice cream.  All the fruit used in the desserts are fresh, not canned filling!  It’s clear the best ingredients are used by the Wizard of Dreamville, behind her curtain!  All of this and I haven’t even mentioned how reasonable the prices are!  They’re reasonable.  So much that I wonder how she stays in business!  There is a rumor that she is starting a Farmer’s / Flea Market on Wednesdays, too!  Congratulations Jess, it’s clear that it takes a TON of hard work to make something beautiful happen and to do it well.  Also, for reminding us, that if you do something well, stick to it. And most of all, thanks for the awesome Retro Lunch that made my road trip something to remember!  I’ll be stopping by again this summer.     Here are four ways to checkout Dreamville Retro Bake Shop!  For my long distance readers, you can even order some yummy Dreamville cookies through Etsy!  How awesome is that!  For my local readers, Dreamville offers a huge variety of cupcake choices, see their website, I would definetly call ahead to see what varieties they have available that day.  You also might want to checkout their facebook page for daily specials! The Shop: Dreamville Retro Bake Shop 5753 Nor-Bath Blvd Bath PA 18014 610-837-7717 Website: Dreamville Baked On Etsy: DreamvilleBaked On Facebook: Dreamville Retro Bake Shop *Thanks to Sgt for the photos and the great blog post about Dreamville! Oh and thanks to Sgt for stopping at that yard sale on the way home for me too! :) Happy Travels! ~MaryDeluxe