Article and photos by Kathleen Walls

Everyone want to enjoy a great restaurant but sometimes being a great restaurant isn't enough. Bakeries who can provide a special cake are necessary for birthdays and special occasions but what about that hearty sandwich or special meal?  However when you combine the two you have a place you want to visit regularly. That's the case with these restaurants/bakeries that combine great food with fantastic cakes you have a sure winner. Here are some of my favorite cafe and bakery combination.

Creating a King Cake

Julie Anne's in Shreveport, Louisiana has made a reputation in over a decade of creating King Cakes for the pre-Mardi Gras season. So when I got chance to watch one actually being made I jumped at the opportunity.  It looked so artistic. The baker rolled out the dough into a rectangle about 20 by 10 inches and maybe a half inch thick.  She then spread it with cream filling and some fruit, cherries in this case. Then she rolled it up tightly and curled it into a oval shaped circlet. From the underside, she gently inserted the baby. She then places a small square of dough to seal the place where the ends met and smoothed it gently. Now it was ready to go into the oven. When it emerged and cooled, a white creamy icing was placed on the top. this was sprinkled with sugar dyed to green, gold and purple. Naturally they also make wonderful birthday, wedding or special occasion cakes too.

Julie Anne's is also a great place to stop by for a super lunch or snack. It's hard to beat their Roast Beef Po Boy made from a secret family recipe. The gravy just drips off that crusty po boy bread and your mouth can't resist that tender roast beef. If you =are health conscious you can enjoy their  grilled chicken or shrimp salad or maybe a Turkey Walnut Wrap. The menu isn't huge but it offers enough choices no one leaves disappointed.

For breakfast, you can have anything from a standard bacon, eggs and biscuits to one of their light-as-a-feather cr�pes.  Top it with your favorite flavor ice cream and it's hard to beat.

Renee explains how to create a battleship cake

Fatty Patty's in Panama City Beach, Florida is the place to go for a one-of a kind-cake. Owner, Renee Schaarschmidt, has creates some really artistic masterpieces.  She said she always loved to make cakes and wanted to go to the Wilton School in Chicago to perfect her art. Wilton School is home to the most experienced staff of cake decorating instructors in the world and has been one of the top cake schools for over 50 years.  She finally saved up enough to go to Chicago and take the courses. It paid off. Renee opened Fat Pattys  about five  years  ago and gained national recognition almost at once. She won Wedding Wire  Bride's Choice Awards™ for cake design in 2009 and again in  2010. Her cakes have been featured on Southern Wedding, The Knot and Emerald Coast Brides.

Her other cakes are just as spectacular. One that she did recreated a battleship complete with tiny frosted lifeboats and all the mechanical details. She has created a cake that looks like everything from Spiderman to college football stadiums.

The caf� side of the business is not neglected. I enjoyed one of her breakfast feasts and can vouch for that. You can have anything from simple biscuits and sausage gravy to an exquisite Eggs Benedict. Lunch will leave you feeling like you are the restaurant's namesake when you try one of her Fatty Patty Burgers. It's a half pound of beef with almost anything you can think of on it. She refers to it as "You build it. We make it."

Her muffaletta is no slouch either with generous servings of ham, mortadella, salami homemade olive tapenade, mozzarella and provolone cheeses on a huge muffaleta roll .  And then there is the Rubin.. but well, you get the picture.  You could always go for the healthy choices and try one of the delicious salads. Anything you choose, you will enjoy.

Lindsey works on a masterpiece

Our Daily Bread in Fitzgerald Georgia proves that some of the best eateries are family owned businesses located in small towns.  Carol Ball, the owner, says, " We specialize in the truly indulgent and  the sinfully decadent, all prepared in the "southern tradition"  that has taken generations to perfect!"

Judging by their delicious lunches, she is so right. I enjoyed their Sample Plate with Fruited Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad and Egg Salad and washed it down with the delectable Raspberry Sweet Tea.

Daughter, Lindsey Phillips, who had originally planned to be a math teacher, started doing the baking to help out and fell in love with cake making. Her  cakes are quite unique. One is of a couple who are obvious Harley Davidson fans. The cake is topped with a very lifelike  'cycle and the bride and groom dressed for riding perched on the side. Another is the couple's honeymoon car complete with a bunch of cans tied to the back bumper and wedding wishes written on the windows.  Lindsey has done so well that she recently opened a separate location mainly specializing in her baked goods.

The original location is right on the square in downtown Fitzgerald and the new location is nearby on Central. 

Carol sums it up perfectly. "Whether you need lunch, a loaf of bread, a wedding cake, or just a smile and a friendly "hey y'all!," Our Daily Bread is the place to go."

Patti explains the choices at Ward's

Ward's  Store and Bakery in DeSmet, South Dakota carries on the Little Town on the Prairie tradition. Located in the town where Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up, they offer not only a superb breakfast and lunch restaurant and bakery, but Ward's now carries a lot of South Dakota made items like honey and beeswax products by Lake Thompson Honey of Oldham and dried mixes for dips, cocoa and soup created by Grassland Gourmet and Gifts of Onida. Several local artists have their work available there also. Robyn Flickenger's painted feathers and pheasant feather crafts, Dale and Eileen Goreham's woodcarvings, Irene Petersen's scarves, black and white clay pottery with horsehair and feather imprints created by Dove Creek Designs and Brad Hodne's large chainsaw woodcarvings are all popular. Several books from local authors are also found there. You can even find specially made doggie treats for your best friend.

Owner, Patti Ward, tries to maintain the home town atmosphere and has created a place where locals can enjoy a cup of coffee and gather and visitors can glimpse what life on the frontier of Laura Ingalls Wilder felt like.  The food is great, I enjoyed her Chicken Pecan Wrap and the other choices looked good too. On the bakery end Patti said, "I just like to personalize cakes for people so it has real meaning for the one that is getting it! Birthday , wedding, anniversary, etc."

For more info:

http://www.julieannesbakery.com

http://www.fattypattys.com

http://www.ourdailybreadhome.com/

http://www.desmetsd.com/desmet/merchants/business-directory/?item=1244