Beverlywood Bakery

Back in April, I alluded to an impending pastry smackdown: Diamond Bakery versus Beverlywood Bakery. Well, I actually found myself geographically between the dueling bakeries and decided to find out who really ruled.

Here you see the contenders, all classics in the bakery world, lined up nose to nose: black and whites, raspberry linzers, danish, and ragulach. Beverlywood is on the left with Diamond on the right. And, yes, I just happened to have these pink plates in my office to serve as the perfectly neutralizing background. Naturally, I switched plate positions pre-tasting so that it wasn't clear which was which.

As expected, passions and opinions flared up. Yes to the linzer's powdered sugar on one side of the aisle (Beverlywood); yes to the almond crumbles on the other. One taster insisted that flaky layers is what made this ragulach the best (Diamond), while cinnamon balance was the determining factor for another's. The black and whites had fans of the cookie base, fans of the icing, and fans of the cookie/icing proportions. And the danish were literally apples and oranges to be compared by my bunch.

Did I walk away with a clear winner? No. Do I need more research on this subject? Yes! I'll let you know when the next round of bakeries is bracketed.

Click here to go to Beverlywood Bakery's Web site.