One sunny day in LA not unlike other fabulous sunny days in LA, I received an invitation from The Corner Bakery Cafe to attend a “hot and cold” breakfast media event at one of their cafe’s in Irvine, CA.
There I would be among the first to taste the new menu items due to roll out this July 1st. They were to be prepared by Ric Scicchitano, the bakery’s first-ever employee at the original Chicago location and a graduate of New York’s Culinary Institute of America. Buttermilk pancakes with fresh strawberries and blueberries would be one of the tasting items, I was told. Low-carb-Paleo diet be damned! Count me IN!
I was so excited in fact that I left the house super early and ended up being the first person there. Eager much?
This gave me time to snap photos of the beautiful fresh ingredients while I tried to suppress my drool:
My own VIP place card had me feeling like a movie star at a red carpet event. (Doesn’t take a lot to impress this gal!):
Menu items new and old were laid out before us and Chef Ric began whipping up the ingredients:
Our first tasting item were the aforementioned buttermilk pancakes with fresh berries. Oh. My. God. I drizzled them with the Bakery’s own vanilla maple syrup and went to town:
Next up was a tried and true menu item, the Chilled Berry Almond Swiss Oatmeal. I’ve never eaten cold oatmeal before and had no idea how refreshing it could be. I practically licked the bowl clean. I have no shame when it comes to good food:
The grand finale was indeed grand: The Spicy Asian Pork Hot Toasted Sandwich. The mix of sweet and spicy was purely divine.
As a takeaway gift, we were each given a box full of pastries and $100 worth of $5 certificates which I promptly brought into work and handed out to all my fellow hungry hiking guides. Let’s just say I was loved more than usual that day. :)
**For friends and family back home and others who can’t get to a cafe to try the menu items themselves and are drooling as badly as I am, Corner Bakery kindly provided recipes so that you can make their version of the meals pictured above at home!
Click HERE for the RECIPES!
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Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with The Corner Bakery Cafe. In fact, I had never even eaten at one before this event. Being from Ohio where there are no Corner Bakeries yet, I was a Panera girl all the way. But as the title suggests, I was won over by the fresh ingredients, the kindness of all involved in the event, and most importantly, the taste! I was not paid to write this post, but perhaps I was coaxed a little by the amazing food and that place card… Coax away, Corner Bakery Cafe, and keep up the good work!