I remember driving through the town of St. Helena for the first time. There were visitors everywhere and I struggled to see the signs of the shops as I focused on the stop-and-go traffic, waving the pedestrians across the street. There are surely dozens of shops, however; in my rushed state I only noticed one: The Model Bakery. The store front window looked something of a French boulangerie–filled with rustic rounds of homemade breads.
The name “Model Bakery” sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember if I had heard or seen it in a magazine or on TV. I decided to go in the next day after breakfast to check it out and grab a coffee.
I cursed myself for already eating breakfast. Everything looked and smelled like heaven. I spotted something I’ve never seen in bake shops: homemade English muffins. They looked huge, fluffy and downright beautiful. I had to have one. I later found out that they are famous for their English muffins and Chef Michael Chiarello spoke about them on the Food Network show, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate“.
These are not your typical English Muffins. They are made with foccicia dough and griddled in butter. I bought one to make a breakfast sandwich for dinner, but then wound up going out to Tra Vigne instead. I did not want my muffin to go stale, so I toasted it the next morning. I struggled to fit the thing in my toaster, it is THAT big! I am sure the muffin tastes best fresh, but I could hear the butter sizzle as it toasted.
It smelled like a doughnut.
Butter. Jam. Coffee. Done. It was doughy and fluffy. I liked.
Not something I could eat every day, but OH so good. Next time, I plan to eat a hot fresh one while reading and sipping a cappuccino at the bakery. I will also pretend I am in France.
*Le Sigh*. Yum.
Bon Vivant,
Nora
[...] tomato, proscuitto and eggs at the grocery store anticipating using them for dinner with my Model Bakery English Muffin. I think they worked better with my sourdough. I toasted a thick slice in the oven, spread on goat [...]
I definitely want to go there!