flourish bakery

Hi,
I have been debating whether or not I should write about this place, as it was all bad, and I don't like to do that to owners of little shops. But, here I am because I emailed the owner about my disappointment and never heard back.

I was picking up lunch for myself and a friend. The sandwiches sounded so good! Alas, they were awful. The 'thinly sliced beef, caramelized onions, and crumbled blue cheese' was deli meat (ie. spongy & shiny); the onions tasted like they had sat in a butter bath overnight and were barely warmed up, let alone caramelized, and the blue cheese were these huge blobs of blue cheese that seemed to have been fished from a bottle of dressing. Plus, the bread was bad - like cotton batting. The 'shaved ham & swiss' was also deli ham, NOT ham off the bone as shaved ham should be. It was watery and inedible - when I got home and took a bite of each, I almost cried and threw them both away

For two sandwiches and two cookies (which were okay, not great, I didn't finish those either which is unheard of for me, as cookies are my favorite food of all time) it was 18$. I should have spent that on groceries and made my own damn lunch and cookies!

It's too bad, because Flourish is a cute, clean shop and could do well in that area....I don't mind spending money for good food, but this was clearly not the case and I won't ever be back.

Flourish
1138 W. Bryn Mawr

Sorry to hear of your bad sandwiches especially at the price. It's a shame they didn't respond to your e-mail, that just makes them seem like they don't care.

I've never had anything other than breakfast type stuff there and have always come away pleased. Scones, muffins and cookies have been pretty well recieved by my family. I really liked the mini-quiches too.

They probably need to focus on making fewer items and better.

Can't find the mini-review I did some time ago but, sad to say, I agree with messycook. All that and less. We live walking distance and haven't been back. It's a real pity. And although admittedly Pasticceria Natalina isn't a direct competitor, that's where I find myself ending up over and over. If Flourish got its act together, we'd probably be regulars there too.

Sorry to say but we also had a horrible lunch there one afternoon. The place was completely dead and it was the noonish hour. My husband and I had such a bad feeling about the menu/place that we chose to just share the one salad. I ordered the southwestern chicken salad. The greens were limp and sad and the chicken salad tasted a little old too. Plus there was very little southwestern about it, except for a couple corn kernals and some wilted cilantro. My child had a cupcake and found it acceptable, but he's never met a cupcake he didn't like.

I've always wanted to stop by and check out Flourish since the curb appeal really is a nice addition to that section of Bryn Mawr. However after reading these reviews, I may have to visit for breakfast treats and skip out on lunch items. I hope that you'll receive an email response from the owner, at least to acknowledge your concerns.

I think Flourish really is improving their service and quality in the recent months. I had stopped going there after a couple times where the girl behind the counter was incredibly rude and demeaning. Another time, I was made to feel like an idiot for asking for macaroni salad to go with nothing else (is that unheard of? I think not).

However, on late visits, I have been pleased with the service, the crowds have been present, even on weekdays, and pastries have been quite delicious. I LOVE any cake here that has cream cheese frosting, i.e. the red velvet and the carrot. However, the buttercream frosted cakes have an extremely bland flavor. With the coconut cake, I had to really concentrate to taste any real coconut flavor at all. The morning goods like scones, croissants, and pecan buns are all good. (I don't care for the dry cinnamon roll).

All in all, I hope this is a good turn around from what I have read originally.

The Lovely Dining Companion stopped by the bakery a few days ago in hopes that quality had, indeed, improved. She brought home a few things, including a blueberry scone. Sad to say it was probably one of the worst scones either of us have ever had: dry, heavy, and flavorless. And, very sadly, I do not exaggerate.

I mistakenly stopped in here last week on my way to the train. And i had read the previous posts about it more than once! i had a memory lapse, though, and ordered a sandwich. It had turkey, guacamole, lettuce, tomato and cream cheese. Horrible horrible sandwich on their generic quality in house baked multi grain bread. To make things worse, it completely fell a part when i tried to eat it. poorly made. no flavor in any of the crappy ingredients. and it cost NINE dollars, w/ tax. Came with a spoonfull of some whatever pasta salad that had peas and mayo and peppers, i think. This was a very upsetting experience.

The things people are saying about this place are not exaggerations. It's really really bad.

They may not know how to make good food, but I will say this for them, they seem to know how to make good money.

Thanks for saving me the trouble.I too live in the neighborhood and go by there all the time. I'll continue to do that, go by.

I've often gone into Flourish when my car is being serviced at a nearby dealership. Coffee is from Metropolis, which is excellent. The limited weekday breakfast items seem to be made way way far in advance and must be nuked before serving. Usually there is a quiche and a breakfast croissant of some sort available. They serve the purpose at the moment, but are far from memorable. And, perhaps most disappointing to my coffee shop experience, no free wi-fi.

I think next time I'm staying in the dealership waiting room - at least they have free wi-fi and free, palatable coffee.

I think next time I'm staying in the dealership waiting room - at least they have free wi-fi and free, palatable coffee.

Wow! When an auto-dealership waiting room is preferred to a cafe/bakery for breakfast and lounging, need anything more be said about the latter?

Next time you need a sandwich in that area, head directly over to Bryn Mawr Deli. Much better food and even greater value.

i live in the "hood" and i like to support our local business owners however after several visits i can't jusify the dollar amount spent for the value and freshness of the products.
perhaps they are doing well as they seem to be busy.
i too hear good things regarding the nearby bryn mawr deli .

tapler wrote:Next time you need a sandwich in that area, head directly over to Bryn Mawr Deli. Much better food and even greater value.

But do they have dessert?

Boy, am I sad to hear about Flourish. I don't live anywhere near there but I was going to go anyway. I think I'll find another sweetery instead. Sigh.

The two things I would really recommend from Flourish is the multi-grain bread, and the croissants. Anyone else have opinions on those two items?

It has been longer than I thought since this thread was active. In any event, I'm pleased to report that things seem to be turning around. The Lovely Dining Companion has brought home cookies and smaller baked items (rolls, etc.) for a few months now--no bread yet--and things have definitely taken a turn for the better. Cookies have been very good; nothing exceptional but a clear and definite improvement on days of old. We have not had their sandwiches again but have heard from someone who works nearby that those have not yet turned around. It seems there is a new baker in the house and we've been pleased the last few times with what LDC has brought home. We hope it's a good sign and look forward to hearing other positive reports. It's walking distance for us and we'd like to have a(nother) great bakery to turn to.

I had meant to post about the bacon-cheddar bread Flourish has by special order. We had a loaf that we served to guests on New Year's Day. It was fantastic. We've had a few other items (cupcakes, monkey bread, scones) and have been pleased. They are now doing a family dinner every Tuesday. The first one was $6 for a spaghetti dinner. We did not partake, but I like the concept. I think GB is correct that there is a new baker or two at Flourish. Definitly a good option in the neighborhood.

Flourish Bakery
1138 West Bryn Mawr Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60660
773-271-CAKE (2253)
http://www.flourishbakerycafe.com/

The GP wrote:I think GB is correct that there is a new baker or two at Flourish.

You are correct. Some details are in this piece by Anne Ford, which appears in this week's issue of The Reader . . .

Anne Ford @ The Reader wrote:So bad that since then, he's [Ehsan Ganji] been bouncing around the country perfecting his craft at big-name bread places such as New York's Tom Cat, Bouley, Balthazar, and Sullivan Street bakeries, as well as at San Francisco's 54 Mint restaurant. When he moved to Chicago last February to be with his fiancee (now wife), Kate Koss, he wasn't sure how he'd make a living in a town with a less vibrant bread-baking scene. Thinking he might be able to sell his loaves at farmers' markets, he went to Edgewater's Flourish Bakery Cafe to inquire about renting kitchen space. As it happened, the bakery was about to be purchased by new owners, Allison and Ed Madel, who tried his wares and promptly hired him as chief bread baker.

An Artisan Baker Brings Commercial No-knead Bread to Chicago

=R=

Not only is there a new baker, Flourish has new owners -- and the owners hired the baker. Allison and Ed, the owners, live near us and they've been working really hard to turn the business around and shed the bad rep that's hanging around. And they are trying to make it more of a community place. They started a bread delivery service, a Tuesday evening Family Supper series and have held seasonal events like Valentine's Cookie Decorating. If you went back in 2008 and had a bad experience (I know I did) you might consider stopping by to give the bakery a second chance.

bjt

I sometimes stop in to Flourish when I'm picking up takeout across the street at Ben's. I'm a big fan of the Cherry Rosemary and Orange Pecan cookies.

After a rather disappointing dinner at La Bocca della Verita, I needed a good dessert, so I turned to Flourish. After hearing about the new owner and baker, I wanted to give them a try. I was immediately drawn to the cute little minicakes - bigger than a cupcake, but still small enough that I can devour an entire one myself.



I gravitated toward the Chocolate Raspberry minicake...it's a flavor combo I just can't get enough of, and Flourish did not disappoint. There was the perfect balance between sweet raspberry frosting and rich chocolate cake, so the two flavors worked together in harmony quite nicely. I will be back to try the Flourless chocolate cake soon, I'm sure.



Although I got my minicake to go, the decor and atmosphere at Flourish seemed really warm and friendly, conducive to studying, although I'm afraid I might go through a few too many pastries if I made it a regular study destination.

I received an email tonight that Flourish will be closing their doors for good next Sunday, September 11. An excerpt from the email:

Flourish Bakery spent the last year and a half trying to re-invent itself and revive passion and patronage of the homemade and handmade baked goods business. Flourish hired the absolute best baking, cooking and customer service talents around....Unfortunately, due to growing food costs and ongoing economic realities, we were unable to ... well, Flourish.

We had only been a few times, but I liked what they were doing and how they were becoming an active part of the neighborhood. Sad.

Mary, I received the same email and I feel the same way. I wish I lived in the neighborhood so I could have stopped by more often. I will do my best to stop in one last time before they close