I had a very pleasant surprise today when my coworker decided to take me along with her to a gluten free bakery! I was practically jumping up and down in my seat with excitement!
Traveling out of Berkeley and into Oakland, we finally arrived at a rustic brick building that had all the feel of an old-time bakery. Mariposa is what I like to call a "hidden gem." Unless you're looking for it, the shop is easily hidden among the streets of Oakland. But to those making the trek there, Mariposa is definitely worth the drive.
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| Outside of Mariposa! |
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| Inside Mariposa |
Mariposa is a strictly gluten free bakery that serves freshly made bread, baguettes, pizza, pasta, cakes, and pastries. They also serve various gfree food items for breakfast and lunch as well as offer grab n' go sandwiches if you just want to pop in and get out for a quick on the go lunch. These sell quickly though, so if you're planning to stop by and grab some lunch, it's best to come early! They also have a bread schedule so if you want a particular type of bread you can either come in that day or pre-order what you want. Breads include: baguettes, sandwich rolls, sandwich bread, focaccia, multi-grain bread, hot dog buns, rosemary rolls, and cinnamon raisin bread.
We were able to try some samples, provided very generously by the owner and founder of Mariposa, and I can tell you now that the samples were so good, you can't tell it's gfree! Let me just say, their bread is INCREDIBLE! The texture is just like regular gluten filled artisan bread and the dough is soft and chewy-the way artisan bread should be. Their chocolate chip cookies are to die for. Seriously. We heard from the owner that the chocolate chip cookie recipe was being continuously tweaked for 5 years until they finally got the right balance of chewy and crunchy. That was probably the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever had!
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| The sumptuous samples! shown: whoopie pie, choco chip cookie, bread |
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| Inside the bakery! |
I will say that price wise, Mariposa has decent prices for some items while others were on the higher end. For example, pastries usually start from $3.50 up while bread is from $7 up. In contrast, ravioli and bagels were on the higher end ranging from $10.50 and up. I took home 2 bags of dinner rolls (I just couldn't resist!) and I enjoyed them mightily for my evening supper. :)
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| Mariposa dinner rolls. aka: my dinner :) |
Needless to say, I will definitely be back with my gfree buddy, T, so she can also experience the sheer awesomeness of this bakery and so we can try more of their delicious baked goods. And the best part is that because its all gfree, we can totally indulge ourselves. Maybe a bit too much!
Hope my fellow gfreers also check this place out! Trust me, you won't regret it!! :)
-Kris
More Info on Mariposa:
mariposabaking.com
tel 510 595 0955
5427 Telegraph Ave, unit d3
Oakland, CA 94609
We've also partnered with "Find Me Gluten Free" to spread awareness and share all the gfree love with everyone. Please check them out!
http://www.findmeglutenfree.com/biz/mariposa-bakeshop-and-cafe/5128307
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