Are there any pastries in Venice bakery in Vrazhdebna, Sofia, Bulgaria?
“There is no such creature!” is what I thought when I entered Venice bakery.
It’s not a bakery like any other, and it has nothing to do with Venice. I go there for breakfast to clear my head after the rum at Custom Rum&Music the previous night and cocktails at my favorite speakeasy bar 5L. As I enter, the door welcomes me like the Ali Baba’s cave of alcohol – high-quality and rare whiskey bottles, an abundance of various cigars, all enclosed in large humidors.
I weave through the rising queue, deciding that I must have made a mistake due to the parting the previous night. After navigating through the labyrinth of alcohol and cigars a la after 8 pm, I turn left towards the ‘before 8 pm’ section with displays of pastries and desserts. There is the kingdom of breakfast: banitsa, other cheese pies, hot dogs, including eclairs, cakes, and pizzas. They are all delicious! Everything is baked and prepared right there in front of you.
The girls are brisk, looking serious, trying not to delay the queue. They smile immediately when you compliment the delicious food and the interesting place they work. Customers from the neighbourhood can’t pretend they are in Venice they don’t linger for pleasant conversations and Italian smiles, they eat, drink, and march back to work.
There is also good coffee, boza, ayran, and soft drinks. I couldn’t capture the breakfast I bought – the alcoholic hunger took over before I could remember. But I did manage to photograph the shelves with whiskey and cigars.
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If you don’t know what boza and ayran are, just try them some time.
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