Near golf-loving Pinehurst, Aberdeen is home to an unlikely bakery/cafe that’s a big hit with customers in and out of the golf set. At The Bakehouse, Martin Brunner, an Austrian-born pastry chef in a tall, white chef’s hat, creates éclairs, truffles, chocolate Sacher Tortes with apricot preserves, and rounds of black forest cake topped with curls of dark Swiss chocolate. The foundation of everything in the bakery, Brunner says, is the custard-filled napoleon. “It’s the way to a woman’s heart.” Thanks to a glass window in the dining area, customers order from a menu that includes fresh-made soups, salads, and “Barcelona” burgers, while they watch Brunner and his staff assemble the pastries and cakes. The Bakehouse traces its beginnings to a family bakery opened in Austria in 1948 by Brunner’s grandfather. (Coincidentally, the Aberdeen store is now housed in a brick, North Poplar Street building that was built in 1948.) European influences at The Bakehouse also come from Brunner’s father, who is the bread maker, and from Brunner’s Spanish wife and mother-in-law, who both work in the cafe.
The Bakehouse
120 North Poplar Street, Aberdeen, N.C. 28315
(910) 944-9204
thebakehouse.biz
Visit the rest of the delectable independent, local bakeries in Our State‘s North Carolina dessert tour:
The Sisters McMullen
Mountain Pie Company
Jimmie’s Sweets
Rosebriar
Hayes Barton Café & Dessertery
Bread of Heaven Bakery
Cheesecakes by Alex
Paul’s Pastry Shop
Seaside Cheesecake Dessert Shoppe
Savannah Red
Bailey Café
Sugar on Front Street
Across the globe from Vietnam, effects of the war reverberate through the state, where social and political perspectives are shifting quickly and dramatically.
These places are the stewards of some very special items: Doc Watson’s first recording, the desk Virginia Woolf used to redefine the novel, and Elisha Mitchell’s pocket watch are just some of the cherished pieces that teach us about our state’s history and the people who preserve it.
From burgers to comfort food to elegant entrées, the range of plant-based dining in North Carolina is growing. Restaurants on this list are exclusively vegetarian and/or vegan.
