Did Bonaparte Close In Savage? Bakery Down?

The Bonaparte Bread in Baltimore closed and had a sign saying that the owner had gone to France to avoid money owed to the government, reports the Baltimore City Paper.

The City Paper said the sign -- which was later removed -- said the Savage location closed as well.

Does anyone know if the Savage store is open?  Anyone know if they're closed temporarily or forever?

Hat tip to Anonymous who left a comment on an old Bonaparte post linking to the City Paper.  Thanks.

Go Big Or Get Sent Home: Bonaparte Is A Great Place When You Need To Bring Dessert

Flan and apple pastries from Bonaparate in Savage

It's a tough call when you need to bring dessert to a Friday dinner and you know the host is really putting heart into a grilled extravaganza.

For the short-ribs-and-shrimp feast that the '34 Act Gourmet put on, I had to find something that could hold its own on the table -- and I had to do it on the way home.

That's how I ended up among Bonaparte Bakery's pastries in the Savage Mill.  The bakery does spectacular breads, but I focused on the display case where I passed on several cream-and-pastry creations to buy slices of flan and individual-sized apple pastries.

These are high-end desserts.  For $5 each, I got substantial desserts.  Two of you could split one.  To sample for the blog, the four of us split four.  Dense, lightly-sweet flan slices -- almost more like a sweet-potato pie than a Spanish custard.  Perfectly-tender apple slices with a sweet gel, baked onto a complex pastry crust that managed to be light and crisp without being dry.

Bonaparte does all kinds of intricate French desserts.  The chocolate croissants and the breads make it worth visiting any time, but keep Savage in mind when you want something sweet to make a special dinner.

If you check out Laurel Meat Market from Howard County, then Bonaparte can be a quick detour on the way home.  If you want more bakeries, check out my post about the revolution in bread in Howard County.  If you want more intricate pastries, stop at Touche Touchet in Columbia, especially for the chocolate croissants, fruit tarts and cookies.

Rosemary Lemon Bread At Bonaparte Bakery

Rosemary lemon bread at Bonaparte

With all the sweets bakeries opening, it just doubles the impressiveness of Bonaparte Bread in Savage, which turns out French pastries and some of the best bread around.

Imagine rosemary lemon bread done perfectly.  A flavor so strong that you can smell herbs and lemon when you slice into the loaf, but gentle enough that the bread goes well with vegetable soup.

That's talent.  That's bread that I couldn't bake at home.  It's a bread that I might have been dubious about if I'd known the lemon and rosemary would bubble out so strongly.  But it was exceptional and would pair with all kinds of foods.  Worth every penny of almost $5.

The Bonaparte bakery is a fun little place in the Savage Mill development.  Go for breads.  Go for pastries like coconut macaroons.  They had a yule log that looked like fun for Christmas.  Go for a lunch of quiche or sandwiches.

Fruit Tarts From Bonaparte Bread

The '34 Act Gourmet can bring home the bacon and roast it up in a pan.  But he also knows how to buy himself a gourmet dish -- especially a nice dessert.

Twice over the last months, he has picked up fruit tarts at Bonaparte Bread in Savage, and they've been hits both on his table and when he brought them to our friend's house for dinner:

Generally speaking, I hate most fruit. I will eat it, but only reluctantly and after much nagging from the wife. The problem I have with fruit is not the taste but the texture; I just don't like it regardless of how organic or fresh the fruit may be.

Obviously, I'm not the first person you would think to rush out and buy a fruit tart. However, when I was short on ideas of what to bring for dessert to a dinner party, at the suggestion of a friend, that's exactly what I did.

The fruit tart came from Bonaparte Bread, which has locations in Baltimore and in the Savage Mills shopping center. The day before I needed the tart, I called to place the order. The staff was friendly and helped me select an appropriate size for the tart based on the number of guests at the party. The tart was ready when I went to pick it up after work the next day and looked wonderful.

Despite my aversion to most fruit, I thoroughly enjoyed the tart. The custard was firm and not too sweet. The crust was delicious, almost cookie-like, and the bakers had applied a thin layer of dark chocolate to the crust to prevent the custard from making it soggy. The fruit on the tart also were firmer than fresh fruit and didn't have the texture I normally dislike about fresh fruit. The only negative to the tart was figuring out how to cut it given the freshness and strength of the crust but trust me this is a very small negative. I've gotten the tart for a second dinner party since the first time and it was a big hit again.

It's the chocolate crust that makes Bonparte's tart such a smart dessert.  It's delicious, and the crust stays crisp.  It's like a shortbread and still crisp hours after it has been picked up, carried home, and sliced up.

Coconut Macaroon at Bonaparte in Savage

Among the intricate French pastries at Bonaparte Bread, I picked out the coconut macaroon because it looked so simple.

The bakery in Savage Mill sells terrific breads and a line of sweets like tarts, opera cake and scones.  They're wonderful, and the macaroon lived up to the reputation -- dense and sweet, but with coconut way out in front.  The flavor overcomes the sugar, and the moist texture closer to a marizipan than cake.

Bonaparte and Touche Touchet in Columbia fulfil everything that you would want from a bakery.  Settle at a table for a sweet and an escape from the cold outside.  Or carry out a special dessert to enjoy at home.

The coconut macaroon is large enough to split.  You could buy a few for a dinner party -- or mix it up with selections from the case.  You also eat one alone in your car -- but that's a big dessert.  Get a cup of coffee to go along.

Delicious: Opera Cake at Bonaparte Bread

Ornate desserts aren't my forte, so I love to carry home delicacies like Bonaparte Bread's opera cake.  

Chocolate ganache and coffee butter cream, layered with sponge cake and frosting with a thin layer of that ganache.  Perfect with cold glasses of South Mountain Creamery milk.

It's delicious.  It's so rich that it was almost too much for Mrs. HowChow.  If you don't want chocolate, Bonaparte in Savage sells a whole variety of French pastries.  Try the mini-tartes like the "Tarte Citron Meringue" -- a lemon custard tart topped with little squirts of meringue toasted brown.

One or two of Bonaparte's desserts are the storybook end to a romantic dinner.  A collection -- maybe sliced in half or quarters -- could create a dessert buffet to sample at the end of a dinner party.  Any single pastry is the perfect treat if you stop at the Savage bakery for a cup of coffee or to pick up bread.  One doesn't even count.  You don't have to tell.  I certainly don't!

Bonaparte Bread

8600 Foundry Street
Savage, MD 20763
410-880-0858
Bonaparte Web site

NEAR: This is just north of Gorman Road and just west of Rte 1 in Savage. It's the Savage Mill complex that is two minutes from Rte 32. Just exit Rte 32 south onto Rte 1. Turn right at the light for Gorman Road, then right on Foundry Road where there are signs for Savage Mill. Bonaparte's Bread is in the central courtyard in sight of the entrance for the Ram's Head Tavern.

Bonaparte Bread in Savage (and the Columbia farmer's market)

Bonaparte Bread sells the best bread in Howard County. What else do you want to know? Crusty baguettes that have the look and crumb of a champion. Speciality breads with olives or chopped fruit. French pastries that make every carbohydrate worthwhile.

These are luxuries at a small price. Three dollars for a baguette is expensive compared to a loaf at Safeway. But there is no comparison between supermarket bread, and the Bonaparte baguette with its crisp crust and an inside that tastes like bread. They're slightly chewy with a taste of the oven on the dark crust. This is worth a drive to pick up loaves for yourself or for a party. This weekend's loaf made exquisite sandwiches topped with tomato, basil and cheese. The next morning, it toasted for breakfast with peanut butter and jam.

Bonaparte Bread sells seven-days-a-week from its store in Savage, where you can also get coffee, pastries, soup and sandwiches. The coffee is delicious, and it's a great place for either a weekend breakfast or for a weekday break with pastries. With its brick walls and black iron tables, the small shop has the kind of low-key class that the best stores and galleries in the Savage Mill want to foster. Bonaparte also sells at the Columbia farmer's market at Oakland Mills that runs Sundays through the summer.

At Savage Mill, Bonaparte lists its hours as 10 am to 6 pm weekdays and 9 am to 6 pm weekends. Watch out for early arrivals. I came at 9 am one Sunday to find the door locked. When I knocked on the glass, the workers said that they planned on opening at 10, but they still sold me a baguette.

If you visit Savage Mill, check out the walking trail that runs along the river.  In good weather, you can take lunch for a picnic.  The I'm Not Dead Yet blog posted about the trail, picnic tables, and photographing small waterfalls.

Bonaparte Bread

8600 Foundry Street

Savage, MD 20763

410-880-0858

Bonaparte Web site

NEAR: This is just north of Gorman Road and just west of Rte 1 in Savage. It's the Savage Mill complex that is two minutes from Rte 32. Just exit Rte 32 south onto Rte 1. Turn right at the light for Gorman Road, then right on Foundry Road where there are signs for Savage Mill. Bonaparte's Bread is in the central courtyard in sight of the entrance for the Ram's Head Tavern.

The Sunday Farmers' Market at Oakland Mills
9 am to 1 pm, May to November (May 4-Nov. 23, 2008)
Oakland Mills Village Center
5851 Robert Oliver Place
Columbia, MD 21045
NEAR: Just east of Rte 29 and south of Rte 175. The village center is off Stevens Forest Road.