Category Archive: Avondale

April 24th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | Closed

Bulldog Bakery in Avondale

During Thursday’s Run of the Chicas, we spotted this sign and well, we had to go check it out! And yes, all we got was that it was “OP.”

Aren’t these cupcakes a trip? For those of you who have been deprived, yes, they look like Hostess Cup Cakes, and owner Patrick said they had a creamy center. Based on the goodies in the bakery, I doubt Hostess can hold a candle to these! I left with one carrot and one chocolate cupcake, yum!

Aren’t these fun?

In a way, I am so glad that I don’t have room for another cookie jar, because these cuties were hard to resist!


One of the benefits of having eaten lunch before we visited the Bulldog Bakery in Avondale is that I had no compunction to buy up all the chocolate croissants, although I am still thinking of it. Maybe next time we go to Taqueria La Oaxaquena…
Owner Patrick took the cookies out from the counter so I could get a better photo of them, which is why they appear larger than one could imagine. I bought one with cranberries in it, and it’s very good!

The bakery has some interesting speciality items worth noting. Bulldog Bakery also carries gluten free and vegan goods, uses Certified Kosher Dairy Process, and also produces baked goods that are also sugar free.
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Among the goodies listed in their brochure are flourless chocolate cake, tortes, chocolate raspberry and lemon coconut cake, strawberry mousse torte (OMG does that sound like Heaven or what!!), cookies, cheesecakes, pies (yes, pies!!), custom cakes and they deliver!
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Also, for any of you who read the previous day’s post and wonder… no, Patrick is definitely NOT a Mr. Cranky Cupcakes type. He’s affable, helpful, friendly and we enjoyed speaking with him (Patrick, have I said enough good things???).
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Bulldog Bakery has been in business for about 8 years, 2.5 at the present Avondale location and prior to that, the bakery was in West Lakeview.
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3207 N. Elston
773 / 539-9781
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Avondale, banana oatmeal cookies, bars, Bulldog Bakery, Certified Kosher Bakery, cusom cakes, delivery, Gluten Free, lemon coconut cake, no sugar added, strawberry mousse torte, tortes
April 24th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | 2

Avondale and the Run of the Chicas (to La Oaxaquena on Milwaukee Ave)

Today was errand day, thanks to Rosa Anna’s help. For lunch we ventured to La Oaxaquena, in Avondale.

I liked their chairs:
We liked their food even more! We were brought chips and three types of salsa. The tomatillo salsa was very good and for me, it was in stiff competition with the lighter colored salsa, which had a bit of punch and smokiness to it. Rosa Anna favored the darker one, which tasted like it had a bit of mushroom in it. They were all good.
Rosa Anna ordered the enchiladas, which she said were very good.
I ordered the chile relleno. I ordered one beef and one cheese. One of the things we both noticed is that the wait for the food was a bit longer then what we are accustomed to; it was well worth it, and seemed more freshly prepared than many restaurant dishes. We both concurred the our meal was very, very good and we’d easily go back there again. My dish comes with beans but I prefer not to have them.
On our way to El Targeto, we saw a bakery called Bulldog Bakery, which I’ll talk about in another post. Well, as two girls freshly energized with good food, we were ready to rock and roll, so the parking fairies helped us out and we found a NON-metered spot, and walked over to the bakery. On the way to the bakery we saw this lovely old building:
I loved the gold door!

This of course was in sharp contrast to this house, with doors that Rosa Anna noticed “go no where!” Hmmm, I remember seeing houses like that where I grew up!

Like many Chicago neighborhoods, what was once one group’s ethnic enclave often transforms into another ethnic enclave. It isn’t difficult to discern that Avondale is less Polish and more Latino and Mexican in terms of its’ population. There were many, many Mexican restaurants and taquerias in the area, and a few decent sized grocery stores as well.

It was obvious that there was a church that no longer existed in the immediate vicinity of where Rosa Anna parked her car. On one side of the street was a sign, half covered with caked on soot and dirt:

And across the street:
We did a “small” run of purchases at El Targeto, and decided to stop off for a beverage and dessert, and we ended up at Julius Meinl on Lincoln Avenue. They do a lovely job of presentation, as you can see by Chica Rosa Anna’s Iced Latte.

Check out this red velvet cupcake! I understand the icing was quite wonderful.


I chose to have a piece of flourless chocolate cake, which also had apricot jam inside. It was very good, and I still have half of it in my refrigerator.
I did want to say that we started our Run of the Chicas with a cupcake run to Phoebe’s Cupcakes, but the bakery that the Chicago Tribune featured as just opened was obviously not ready for customers just quite yet. Apparently that is what happens when you lay off 53 employees and undoubtedly the person who should have verified the place was open was unable to followup.
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I was curious as to how they obtained investment funds when I knew there was another gourmet cupcake shop in the neighborhood. We went there after the unsuccessful attempt at cupcakes at Phoebe’s, only to see that Cupcakes on Briar had closed. I know that I was not the only person to have experienced the owner’s frequently poker-faced, personality challenged manners, but his cupcakes were sublime!
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I am always saddened to see any small business close, especially one that offered a high quality product. I will miss those cupcakes and I will certainly be looking forward to a more successful run at Phoebe’s! Because the owner at Cupcakes had an unusual way of interacting for someone who deals with the public and sells a pleasure food, the name Cranky Cupcakes came to mind. Perhaps that would have been a better name — there would have been less expectation in the consumer interaction aspect. No matter what, I will miss the high quality product that his bakery provided.
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For those of you who might have wondered, “What does Rosa Anna’s car trunk look like when the Run of the Chicas occurs?” Here’s a little hint:
Okay, to be fair, the cat litter and item in the back right part of the trunk was not mine, however, I did pick up some roasts which we already dropped off at my place so we wouldn’t have perishables while we were “on the run.” Aren’t roomy trunks the best??

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Taqueria La Oaxaquena
3382 N. Milwaukee Ave
773 545-8585
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Avondale, Crabby Cupcakes, Cupcakes on Briar, julius meinl, La Oaxaquena, Phoebe's Cupcakes, Taqueria

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