Thursday, December 22, 2011
Food & Life Sugar-glazed blast from the past
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 3:14 PM
Whatever else you can say about the place, it's a true blast from the past. There's not a single drop of cozy ambiance unless you find fluorescent lighting pleasant. And the pastry cases are filled with the kinds of stuff associated with "old school" bakeries.
That's not "old school" in the sense that it's a pâtisserie on the banks of the Seine. It's more like a bakery from the days when Betty Crocker ruled the ovens of America.
Rhodes is 30 years old and has been famous from the start for its cheese straws, once an omnipresent snack anywhere people gathered in the South. Just in case you have no intention to buy any when you visit the bakery, there's always a tray on the counter for sampling. You'll be instantly hooked.
I also bought a cinnamon roll and a couple of other pastries. The cinnamon roll in particular sent me careening back to the past. It was drenched in that white, sugar glaze that is almost crispy on first bite and then melts into tooth-tingling, cloying sweetness. I hated that kind of glaze or icing when I was a kid and I still find it obnoxious.
But Rhodes is an intensely nostalgic icon for many native Atlantans — just like the long-gone Rich's bakeries were.
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
like
dislike
I was told a few years ago about Rhodes cheese straws. Finally tried some and had a nice crunch, but not a lot of cheese flavor. To top it off, margarine was listed among the ingredients. any self-respecting southerner KNOWS that cheese straws are made with BUTTER!!! bummer....
Latest in Omnivore
-
Willy Wonka & the Tapas Factory: a meal at é by José Andrés
What happens in Vegas may blow your mind
-
Would you eat a test-tube burger? 4
The time of in vitro meat is (almost) now
-
King & I changes hands
Tyson Wong Ophaso is part of the change
- More »
Author Archives
-
I'd rather be set on fire 4
Make a donation, rub elbows with the Prez.
-
Homer told the truth
Eat off the tailgate and split
- More »
