Oaks Blog

If you haven't tried it yet, you are in for a treat.  Ana's Bakery at 2570 Calder, just behind the Tattered Suitcase, opened a few weeks ago.

The food is outstanding and the prices surprisingly low.

There is an terrific selection of Mexican pastries, cookies, cakes, and homemade ice cream.  They have freshly made Kolaches in the morning and will be adding sandwiches for lunch soon.

They are open 7 days a week.

Drop by and welcome them to the neighborhood.

Check out the Press Release from Rao's

(Beaumont, Texas - June 6, 2011) - Rao's Bakery will give free samples of the rarest, most expensive coffee in the world at all of their locations on June 15th and 16th in order to provide coffee connoisseurs a fun and unique experience.

Kopi Luwak, a rare and exotic coffee made famous in the movie "The Bucket List," is considered the most difficult to obtain.  If you have seen the movie, then you know the punch line - Kopi Luwak is made from coffee beans gathered from animal droppings.  Despite the coffee's origins, coffee fanatics and scientists claim that this coffee is one of the most complex and delicious brews available.    

Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an area well known for excellent coffee.  A small, cat-like animal called a luwak eats ripened coffee cherries, bean and all.  In the stomach, enzymes influence the coffee bean by removing bitterness.  The luwak then defecates, and local people collect the processed bean.  The bean is then cleaned, roasted and ground for coffee.   Coffee aficionados worldwide praise the resulting brew for its rich, earthy and bitter-free taste.

"Because of the high price and the challenge of finding certified, authentic beans, most people will never be able to experience Kopi Luwak coffee.  One pound sells for between $200-$300.  By offering free samples every year, I thought we could bring something really unique and fun to our area," says Rao's Bakery owner, Jake Tortorice.

By the way, the picture was not part of the original press release.  The webmaster, Michael, added that.

Saturday's just haven't been the same for several months since Rao's decided to close on Saturday's.  This was primarily a result of the Calder construction and the resulting drop in business.

Well, now with Calder open from downtown to 14th Street, the traffic on Calder has been building.

And so, the good news?

Starting on Saturday March 5th, Rao's will be open again on Saturdays.  Let's all stop by and show our appreciation.

While we're at it, we might show our support for all the businesses along Calder.  It has been tough on all of them.