We were in the mood for some French Toast this morning, so we decided to try the “French Toast bar” that’s offered at the Bake Shop VI in downtown Pottsville. Our crew found out about the French Toast bar earlier this week and it sounded too good to pass up. Bryan, Matt, Mike and Tonto all set out to satisfy their craving.
The Bake Shop VI is located at 22 N. Centre Street in downtown Pottsville, near the Asian Express and Sage Coffeehouse. We arrived at the Bake Shop around 8:15 a.m. and were the only customers there for a little while. Some others filtered in and out but it didn’t get too crowded. As you can see by the menu, the French Toast bar allows you to choose your own bread and topping.
All of the options sounded delicious and we wished we could’ve tried all of them! Bryan decided to try the Yuengling Porter bread French Toast, which is white bread mixed with a little wheat and sauerkraut, with the wild blueberry compote topping. Matt ordered the Stuffed Porter with Granny Smith Apple and Cream Cheese with apple cinnamon topping. A single tear rolled down his cheek when he realized he couldn’t order sausage. Mike went with the Crunchy Peanut Butter on Porter bread French Toast with Bananas Foster topping. Tonto tried the Black Russian French Toast, which is a sourdough-type bread made with vinegar and cocoa powder, with maple syrup and banana toppings.
Establishment: 4/5 – This is a neat little bakery with a relaxing atmosphere. There are six tables inside and a small two-seater in the entrance way. Since it was such a beautiful morning (no rain!) the door was left open to allow some fresh air to circulate inside. Parking is on the street, but it wasn’t an issue for us this morning.
Service: 5/5 – Service couldn’t have been better. The owners are very nice and engaged in conversation throughout our stay. They were excited that we chose to eat there! We were given a complimentary slice of banana bread as an appetizer – yum! We also tried samples of their flavored kombucha tea – they had blueberry and root beer flavors. At the end of our meal, we were given complimentary samples of their homemade sorbet. Sorbet is an ice-cream type dessert made from frozen juice and other ingredients. The owner believes he is the only business owner in the county that makes his own sorbet from scratch. Their flavors were orange, raspberry and peach. All three were amazing! It took us 27-minutes to receive our French Toasts after ordering.
Appearance: 5/5 – Our meals were neatly presented and came out hot! Everything looked top-notch! Even the complimentary sorbet looked professionally done – it was served in a carved out orange peel. Our coffees were served in a large styrofoam cup and plastic utensils were used for our meals. Mike ended up breaking his fork trying to cut his French Toast – we expect a bill in the mail! ; )
Taste: 5/5 – Where should I begin? Let’s start with the coffee – it was French-pressed and may have been the best tasting coffee we’ve had! Our French Toasts tasted as good as they looked. The Yuengling Porter bread was delicious and you couldn’t really taste the sauerkraut – we were a little nervous about that going in. The kombucha tea was good as well and we were told it is very healthy for you. The sorbet was unique and very refreshing; it made for a great dessert!
Price: 3/5 – The price wasn’t too bad. The French Toasts were $8 and the coffee was $3. We would’ve paid more!
Overall, we were highly impressed with the French Toast bar at the Bake Shop VI! If you live in the area and are craving some French Toast, we recommend stopping by this place on a Saturday morning. The variety of breads and treats that they sell looked and smelled very good as well. Matt ended up buying some bread to take home to his fiance. Like I said earlier, the owners were very accommodating and nice. This is one of those small local businesses that we hope is around for a long time!
Have a breakfast spot for us to visit? Email us your comments or suggestions at schuylkillbreakfast@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter: @SkookBreakfast.
Breakfast in the Skook 