On September 25, Bovine Bakery opened in Petaluma at 23 Kentucky St. Within just a few days, there were lines out the door as people queued up for cinnamon-spiked morning buns and enormous ham and cheese croissants, the most popular item during the bakery’s first week or so.
The ham and cheese croissant ($4.75) has been the most popular item at the new Bovine Bakery in Petaluma. It is enormous, easily big enough to share with a friend
It is a pretty place, with persimmon colored walls defining the retail space, where two small bars are available if you’d like to enjoy your coffee, scone or muffin immediately. A white board lists the day’s pizzas, which are available starting at 11 a.m., and a second white board, hanging high above the counters, lists daily specials, which included sweet potato soup and potato mushroom soup the day I visited.
A sign announces the day's pizza specials
Although the Petaluma location is brand new, the bakery is not. Bovine Bakery and its sister business, Brickmaiden Breads, are mainstays of the downtown Point Reyes Station food scene. The new Petaluma store carries Brickmaiden Breads, which are traditional hearth breads baked in a wood-fired oven. I bought a loaf of sourdough, brought it home and enjoyed delicious BLTs for the next three days.
It is great to have another excellent bakery in Petaluma but I am puzzled by posts I’ve read on line, especially one that claimed people were desperate for a decent bakery and that it was about time the town finally had one. Yet little more than a block away is Della Fattoria Downtown, (141 Petaluma Blvd. North, 763-0161) a full-service cafe and bakery with some of the best breads ever made in Northern California. Their Meyer Lemon Rosemary Boule is legendary. Is it really necessary to dismiss one great place simply because another has opened? Good bread is good bread and from my vantage point, Petaluma is lucky to have two excellent sources. Bovine Bakery opens at 6:30 a.m.Wednesday through Friday and at 7 a.m. every other day. It closes at 5 p.m. every day but Sunday, when it closes at 3 p.m. The phone number is 789-9556.
Brickmaiden's sourdough
