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Did you know that there are two in-store bakeries at the Broadway Market? That fresh and sweet candy products are made on-site at the Broadway Market? The place is filled with sweet stuff all year round by family-owned businesses that make the real deal.

Melanie’s Sweets opened at the Broadway Market over 25 years ago. After time, Melanie I. Kryger-LaMastra’s bakery business blossomed and she moved out of The Market and into two other WNY locations. One at Theater Place in Downtown Buffalo (which is still in operation) and the other in Cheektowaga on Harlem Road.

One day she realized that she felt a need to return to the Broadway Market. So, for the past 2 years, she has created luscious treats for her customers at the place where her career began. Melanie has her ovens, mixers and decorating paraphernalia right at her fingertips. Ovens run all day long, producing made-…

A few weeks ago Laura Sargent, a Buffalo Rising contributor, told me of her latest obsession—the peanut butter and jelly cookie from Delish. Apparently she and her beau had recently brought home one of every kind from the Elmwood bakery, and Laura found herself falling madly in love with the baked good, reminiscent of school lunches.

I’ve had a number of Delish’s cookies, but was particularly intrigued by our resident picky eater’s enthusiasm. So, on a recent stop into the Co-op, I asked the husband to run across the street and buy one. Not the best choice I've made, sending the family sweet tooth into a bakery chockablock with fresh cookies. He caught up with me in the parking lot, a sack full of half a dozen cookies or more.

I expected my peanut butter and jelly cookie to be overly sweet and, quite honestly, wasn’t very excited about the prospect having never be…

Buffalo is home to a hundred or more traditional Italian bakeries and a handful of shops that specialize in German sweets, and for that we can all be grateful. But it's nice to mix it up once in a while, and I often find myself wishing that a French or Spanish bakery would make its way onto my radar.

I was recently told about Bruni's on Grant Street, a bakery that specializes in Puerto Rican sweets. Located in a former paint store in the blocks that stretch between Amherst Street and Military, Bruni's story is a tale of passion and entrepreneurship. Brunilda Rodriguez began experimenting in her home kitchen with classic Puerto Rican pastries two years ago. Finding love for the work, she also began taking cake decorating courses. A year and a half ago she moved into 1027 Grant Street and overhauled it, redecorating and installing a kitchen and retail area.

Puerto Rican desse…

In today's calorie counting, carb fasting, waistline obsessed culture, (where good health often falls in line behind good abs) it surprises me that the donut chain has seemingly taken over the world- and Western New York is certainly no exception.

We may look like easy targets with our deep love for chicken wings and pizza, but we're not fools, we know a good donut when we see one. A least that's what I thought until I sampled some of the Nerf-textured flavorless sugar bombs people have been buying by the dozen from the Big 3. Yep, that's right, the Big 3: Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons and Krispy Kreme, the folks that have taken your dough in exchange for mechanically manufactured, coma inducing hockey pucks. For shame.

I don't want to hear about the coffee, the sandwiches, the double-whipped chilled vanilla mint “latte”, the donut conveyor belt or rolling up the rim. I'…

Whether you are in Buffalo or traveling around the country, you may find yourself being served a bread product made by Father Sam's. Since 1977, Father Sam's has been baking sumptuous breads and wraps in the Buffalo area. The bakery's reputation for quality led to national attention, and now their products are served in restaurants and supermarkets all over the country.

The company's fascinating back story begins in 1972, when Father Abuid (Albert) Sam, an Episcopalian priest with an immigrant background, started baking pocket bread for his family to ease the strain on the family budget. It was so well received that he soon asked for (and received) permission from the Diocese Bishop to use the bread in Holy Communion, in a broader attempt at trimming expenditures. The “old country” recipe had been in his family for generations upon generations, standing apart from othe…

The summer weather has put in a serious appearance, so it's time to get serious about keeping your cool.

Homemade gelato is one delicious way to stay cool. You may have heard about it and thought, Nah, I'll stick with my good old fashioned ice cream. But, once you've tried this Italian-inspired treat, you'll never turn back. That is, if you've had real, honest-to-goodness homemade gelato.

How can you tell when you've had the real thing? It's one of those times when you just know you've found it. Homemade gelato is more dense, has less air than ice cream and is creamy beyond words. It's more pudding-like than ice cream, but a bit healthier, because it's made with milk instead of cream.

And there's no better place to satisfy your taste buds than at Dolci in the heart of the Elmwood Village. If you can manage to make your way past the sparkling cases of out-o…

There isn't a single item at Sweet Tooth that doesn't tempt the taste buds, regardless of the time of day. The other morning I was in the area and decided to pop in despite the early hour.

I have been to Sweet Tooth a number of times, and though I miss them at their former site near West Utica, I am thrilled to see the difference that they have made in their new location. Not only is the shop itself quaint, but in the evening it has introduced a family friendly element to the once slightly foreboding intersection of Allen and Elmwood. When I first moved to Elmwood 14 years ago, I never pictured a day when I would take young children to the center of Allentown for ice cream at 9pm on a Friday night.

Despite my previous visits and the exposure I have had to their wide selection of sweets, since taking this position at Buffalo Rising, I have learned that one of the best things …

At this time of year, Gary and Sandy Whitt of Ko-Ed Candies are making some of Buffalo’s favorite chocolates virtually around the clock. They've pretty much got it down to a science after 21 years. They're readying the store for Valentines Day, a day that will ring in as their 4th busiest day of the year. Their website (www.spongecandy.com) adds to the mix.

Ko-Ed offers little chocolate hearts and big ones, too. Red valentine-shaped boxes loaded with chocolate goodness come sized to suit- will you need a 4 oz. token or a 5 lb. offering? Maybe you’d prefer a pound of Charlie Chaplins, wrapped prettily in red, white and pink?

But what Ko-Ed does best is sponge candy. Buffalonians love the stuff. A sheath of thick, rich chocolate (milk or dark) encases a crisp, airy, molasses-flavored center. Describing this confection to the …

Dolci's selection of treats and sweets is always impressive, and these little 4" cakes confirm that notion. Designed to serve between 2-4 lucky people (depending on portion size), they are a fine finish to a generous meal. Better yet, serve this delectable nosh aside a nice espresso.

Dolci serves a variety of amazing traditional and not-so-traditional cakes. These diminutive beauties are no exception, and are only $9.95 each. Every day customers have an array of eight or nine flavors to choose from. Dolci offers sixteen different specialty cakes, and every possible combination of filling, icing and chocolate or yellow cake that you can imagine. They will also customize both full-size and miniature cakes to your liking.

I took a ride over to the West Side yesterday and was lucky enough (thanks to Bob Franke) to discover one of the Grant-Ferry district's true remaining gems. A walk inside Russ's Pastry Shoppe, in its 36th year, takes you back a few years to a time when Grant Street was a destination bustling with business. Now, the charming shop may be the only coffee shop in the area, but a look around the place reminds you there needn't be another.

The long blue-and-white counters at the front of the shop regularly host the crew of morning customers grabbing their coffee and pastry, in true Italian style. While I was enjoying my tea, some local patrons struck up friendly conversation, reminiscing about the good times gone by in the once lively neighborhood.

When translated, La Dolce Vita means ithe sweet lifei. Our local version of La Dolce Vita carries plenty of sweet and savory treats. Upon entering the Hertel Avenue eatery, you will find a tempting display of homemade gelato, cakes from Sweet Tooth and delicate Italian cookies from Mamma Maria's. Mamma Mariais cookies are baked in a Colvin Avenue home by the prev…