by: Ann Marie Awad
Making the perfect pie crust can be a very daunting task. Everyone has a slightly different method, but to make the ideal flaky, dreamy pie crust that home bakers and professionals aim for, one must endure sessions of trial and error that require the determination of most track and field meets. At Parker-Hertel Sweet Shop, not only have they done it, but they’ve wrapped it around something quite special.
Pan out to the apricot tart: a small, hand-sized pie with an all-American latticed crust. The afterthoughts of coarse ground sugar pit the top like freckles, and from underneath peeks the bright, tangy filling, reeking of moderation and care. With the right amount of sweetness, never bordering on cloying, it’s easy to taste the firmness of fresh apricots punctuated with creamy almonds. As expected, the crust flakes gracefully, tastes buttery, and complements the filling perfectly.
Owner Ruthanne Daly insists that the crust is easy to make. It’s made in large batches and frozen up until it’s filled with apricots and popped into the oven. The 38-year-old oven is another story by itself. Daly’s husband, who works in construction, salvaged it from a church and had to reassemble it entirely for their shop. The two own the building from Checker’s all the way to the sweet shop, which occupies what used to be Parker’s pharmacy five years ago. Staffed by the Dalys and their three daughters, the sweet shop is truly a family business.
Everything here is baked bright and early at seven AM. While Ruthanne is the one running around the shop greeting customers in her polka-dot apron, she gives all the confectionery credit to Maureen Torpey, who bakes most of the sweets from scratch herself.
In the future, the Dalys plan on opening later every day of the week in anticipation of the summer sugar rush. They’re also working on offering a light breakfast menu including waffles with homemade fruit topping, quiches and fruit salads, along with bagels from The Bagel Guy next door. As they help business to boom on Parker and Hertel, the sweet shop looks like it’s becoming a sweet place to meet.
Parker-Hertel Sweet Shop
1862 Hertel Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14216-3005
(716) 844-8179
—-
Guilty Pleasures is an ongoing series highlighting a special and unique offering at an independently-owned city-based bakery. Have a suggestion for a Guilty Pleasure? Email us.
Ann Marie Awad is a
senior English major at the University at Buffalo, who is also studying
journalism. Awad has been published in Artvoice, Generation Magazine
and Eat Me Daily (a food blog). She has a passion for supporting local
businesses, great coffee and Saturday mornings at the farmers market.