Emmaus Eatery Makes a Good Homestyle Meal

You know how sometimes, food is better the second day? That’s the feeling I had while eating at Louie’s Bakery in Emmaus. And while that sounds like a vague insult, remember that I am a dad of two, and my life is leftovers. So these are darn good.

Parking

Off street parking awaits in the back of the cheerful stand-alone building, as long as you don’t miss the turn-off. The building is essentially across from the Yocco’s on the outskirts of Emmaus, and the turn-off is before the building. Keep your eyes open. 

Family Perks

#1. The back door-Thank god for a door in the back. Don’t mock the man with the stroller. You’d be surprised how many restaurants have back parking and no way in. It’s a nice wide door leading to a nice, wide aisle into the bakery. They are my heroes.

#2. Big ‘ol aisles-You could walk a triplet stroller through the bakery/restaurant and not even brush a table. But good luck keeping three sets of hands off the goodies sprinkled around the room.

#3. The service- If I could have packed that woman into our diaper bag, I would have. She fussed over the kiddo, made sure we had plenty of hot water, and generally went out of her way to take care of us. This must be how Mick Jagger feels. 

I felt really bad for her when she had to go out back in the freezing cold to retrieve a high chair for tiny kiddo. I felt worse when the high chair she came back with was a charming antique high chair that had no restraints. Hopefully, they’ll keep the antique for decoration and grab a newer model soon.

So What Did We Eat?

Entrees: Meatloaf, Lasagna

OK, here’s where I explain the whole leftover thing. You see, as with any busy bakery that doesn’t spend the majority of it’s time as a restaurant, the food is pre-made, wrapped, and put on display in the front case. Which means…it’s reheated in the back. Not always a bad thing, but it leaves food unevenly heated.

For example, the meatloaf.  The meatloaf was the traditional style with breadcrumbs, Worchester sauce, and ketchup.  Definitely the kind that mom used to make. However the center was very, very hot and the edges…not so much. But just like I remember my mom making.

Ditto for the lasagna. Cheesy goodness with chuck, noodles, and loads of sauce. But occasionally you’d hit a cold spot while eating like an unwelcome reminder that it had made friends with the microwave. But absolutely tasty and satisfying. 

Sides: Potato salad, Pasta Fagioli soup, house salad, mac and cheese. Bread with honey butter.

The fact that you get 2 half-pound sides with each entrée shouldn’t be overlooked. The mac and cheese alone could have been a kid’s meal. The potato salad was of the picnic variety.  It was very silky with chunks of potato and egg. A welcome reminder of warm days to come.

The Greek salad was huge!  Plenty of greens to go around and share with the rest of your party. The salad was a little wet, so the homemade dressing didn’t really stick.

The homemade mac and cheese was amazing.  It was very cheesy (like, real cheese, folks) with a breadcrumb topping baked on.  Scrumptious!

 The soup was good but scalding hot. One of the many pitfalls of reheated food. 

Fresh bread of the caliber you’d expect at a bakery, and honey butter I’d marry if a dairy-human marriage was legal. Seriously. Amazing. Butter.

Kids menu

While there’s not a kid’s menu per-se, I saw at least a half-dozen options that my big kids would enjoy. Grilled cheese, mac and cheese, pasta…plenty for the kids to enjoy.

Dessert

Well, if your going to eat at a bakery…Of the many options (pies, cakes, cookies) we tried the lemon cake with the butter cream frosting.  It was a dense, yet fluffy cake with not too overpowering of a lemony flavor. 

Total Bill: 37.56 + tip = 2 adult meals 2 hot teas, and dessert

Parking/ Perks: 3 out of 4 stars. Good parking and aisles need a more modern high chair.

Grown-up Food Review: 3 out of 4 stars. Tasted amazing, spot on service, but uneven heating

Kids Food Options: 4 out of 4 stars. No menu, but good homemade options.

DAD MOSTLY DIGS IT

3.3 OUT 4 STARS!!