Bonaparte Breads: Where Baltimore goes French
Here's a bakery you can smell from blocks away. The fresh baking bread scent floats above and out the door from both front and back of Bonaparte Breads, leading Baltimorians to its shop. Inside they'll discover there's more than just bread – there are French sandwiches and quiches, salads, petit fours, French pastries and fresh coffee that are so irresistible. Situated next to the water, the bakery is almost a cliché enough that you could pretend the harbor is the Seine flowing by on the Left Bank.
Stepping inside Bonaparte Bakery almost feels like you've left the US and gone to France. For anyone who ever spent prolonged time in France, you'll recognize the casual atmosphere and smell of coffee and bread. The cafe's interior is decorated with French posters and tributes to Napoleon, and feels like a European living room. Dark wood tables and cushiony chairs, a fireplace and a giant roman numeral clock fill the space with warmth, while large windows let in bright light and views of the harbor. You could even brush up your high school language skills and try them out on the staff, and they may laugh but reply back to you. There's a comforting, welcoming and sunny disposition inside the bakery, and a welcoming display case of breads and pastries. Customers can order at the counter and then eat inside the cozy cafe or outside with water views. Food is relatively inexpensive for a quick and delicious lunch, and a fruit tart is a must to start a happy afternoon.
Bonaparte is a daytime kind of place; start early with a coffee and pain au chocolat, or a croissant, and then stop back for some lunch. The croque monsieur is always a winner, and so is the onion soup. All come with a side salad, very French-style. In mid-afternoon tea-time there are pastries to select, but then the cafe closes at 6. If you intend to bring home a baguette for dinner, hurry before the bakery closes for the day. If you work from home, you can think about selecting a table and working from the bakery instead and be within close proximity to delicious baked goods.
TIP: If you're out and about in the wee hours of the morning in Fells Point and you stumble past the bakers preparing the morning's breads, you can sometimes purchase fresh-from-the-oven baked goods from the back entrance.
Posted by Rin-rin Yu
