Butter Cream Bakery - American, Napa

2297 Jefferson St, Napa CA 94559
(707) 255-6700
Parking: in parking lot or street parking
Hours: Cafe open daily for breakfast and lunch only, Bakery open daily

http://buttercreambakery.com/

Last Visited: February 4, 2007

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

I stumbled across Butter Cream Bakery as I was driving on Jefferson Street. The light pink and dark pink paint alternating in a vertically striped design on the sign and on the outside of the building drew me in immediately. Enter Butter Cream and smell the sweet aroma of baked goods. The glass display cases house napoleons, donuts, cakes, pies, Danish, and more. On the counter sit a plate of donut holes to try.

From the outside, you can see the soup special of the day, and at least one other special to note. The front windows stream in natural light and against one wall are a counter and counter stools facing the open kitchen. Along the other side of the wall is a long bench and above it are windows allowing you to view the bakery within. Funny signs on the wall entertain guests. There was ample seating today, but on a busy day, you probably would need to wait for a table.

The colors are fairly bright, but the focus is the pastries. It’s an old fashioned style place with great food – diner style. Hamburgers, sandwiches, soups, and breakfast items fill the menu. And with the bread baked fresh, it’s no wonder everything is a treat.

- Reuben Sandwich – Corned beef is sliced thin and placed within two slices of white bread along with sauerkraut and a slice of cheese. Choice of French fries or potato salad available. The texture of the corned beef is perfect and the melty cheese gives the sandwich extra flavor. It wasn’t too salty or too soggy, a problem found with many Reuben sandwiches. This was just right, although, the portion may be a bit small, but still excellent for the price. The potato salad is light and available for sale on its own. Yummy. A great Reuben. $6.90

- 1/3 Pounder – A ground beef patty is grilled and served on a toasted bun with tomatoes and lettuce. Pickles are on the side. Fresh hot French fries or potato salad are your choices for a side. It was a delicious and juicy burger and the fries were fabulous – crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Terrific. 4 stars. The second time I had this, I ended up forgetting to ask for no mustard, and this time, the burger was not as moist as the last – I suspect because our rather large party required more wait time between cooking and distribution. Only three stars this time and many places could rival them. $6.95

- Clam Chowder – Available in cup or mug, the clam chowder is hearty. It’s a bit on the starchy side for me, not because of flour, but because the potatoes have been in the soup a while and the consistency has changed. Accompanying the soup are four packages of crackers. Good, but not the best I’ve had. Ample medium sized pieces of clam. This is the main reason for the 3 to 4 star range as opposed to 4 stars.

- Club Sandwich – This triple decker contains a layer of bacon, lettuce and tomato and a layer of turkey, ham, tomato, cheddar, and lettuce. All of the bread is slathered with mayo. The sandwich is then cut in quarters, held together by a long toothpick and served with fries or potato salad. Fresh and good. $7.25

- Éclair – The éclair is available filled with custard or whipped cream. I opted for custard. It’s generously filled with custard and topped with a squiggle of chocolate cream. The pastry is light and delicious. For me, the size was perfect to be shared and leave you content. The chocolate can be a bit sweeet, but the combination of the custard with the pastry has just the perfect blend of sweet and a touch of salt. $3

- Apple Turnover – A large puff pastry filled with chopped chunks of apple. It’s the real deal. Delicious. If you can’t eat it there, buy one to take home. $1.40

- Croissant – I took this home and found it good. Not the best I’ve had, but better than store bought from the grocery store. The butter flavor could be stronger, but still quite enjoyable.

- Coffee $1.75

I have to lower the service from three stars down to the two to three range because the last two times, the service has been mediocre - not just fair, but mediocre. Today, I went for lunch, and they forgot silverware for half the table, and though they brought the drinks that were made to order, they forgot to bring water. They also didn’t come back to refill water. When we asked for it, which is the same time the food came, the waitress said, of course I’ll bring you water in a way that seemed to indicate she was planning on it, but by no means should patrons need to wait more than 20 minutes for water to arrive. Also, the last time I ordered the burger, despite my asking for fries, the same waitress forgot and brought me chips. I overheard her telling the short order cook that she didn’t know you could get fries with the burger, but the menu clearly says fries or potato salad. How I ended up with chips, I don’t understand. Finally, when taking our order and going around the table, she stopped asking what we wanted to drink after the second person. So I had to make my request at the end, and then she asked me if I had ordered yet. With a memory like this, it’s a wonder our dishes arrived at all. During my 2007 visit, the wait time also exceeded 20 minutes. My waitress this time was much more pleasant and on top of things, but wait time was still quite long. For an unknown reason, the food also made me very thirsty several hours after. This is atypical, especially since I have ordered these dishes before, but noted.

The burgers are huge and they have a great selection of desserts and pastries. Their apple turnovers are quite yummy. Sit behind the counter and watch the person at the grill – entertaining, a bit stressful, and a lot of action. A great find and a local hot spot.

This is still a terrific place to stop for a pastry ring though - I've had a number of them and they're always great.