Do you remember the sense of awe that Harry Potter felt when Hagrid told him he was a wizard? That’s how I feel every single time I find a gluten free bakery that is truly gluten free. And if it’s a cafe on top of that? Even more amazing.
There is 1 (wonderful) gluten free bakery about 2 hours from where I live, but no restaurants, so I generally just get to go out to eat when visiting family (and mostly out of state). They’re usually out of the way from anyone I visit, but going out to eat isn’t something I get to do at home at all, so it’s always worth the trip.
A few months ago, in the very helpful WNY Gluten Free Facebook group, someone posted about a place called Suzea’s, and said it was near Letchworth State Park. That caught my eye, because when my Mom and I get together to go visit her family in WNY, we pass right by there. So I immediately looked it up to see if it was close enough to our route to convince my Mom to stop (she doesn’t like to make a lot of stops on the way up/back).
It wasn’t out of the way at all. It was right on 36, a route we almost always take, although in the past few years, I’d pushed for taking 390 right up to the 90 to save time from the backroads. No more! As long as Suzea’s is open, I am happy to take the small roads through the towns peppered along 36, 63, 20, and so forth. And I hope it will be open a long, long time.
Now, onto the review! Suzea’s is a bakery and cafe. My favorite! Not only were we able to get amazing baked goods there, we were able to have dinner! Mom & I don’t pack much when we travel, and so by the time we get into Mt. Morris, NY, we’re pretty hungry! And there’s nothing like getting to eat a fully gluten free meal, and a hot meal at that, which you didn’t have to prepare yourself. Especially on a road trip where options are typically limited.
The food was fantastic.
When we first went in, we were offered a sample of their plain sandwich bread. Soft. Fresh. Delicious. We took a loaf to go. It was good toasted — but it didn’t need to be toasted to be edible. Which meant I could have it with poached eggs later that week and not have to get out my GF toaster.
Then we sat down to peruse the menu and decide what we wanted for dinner. I went gluten free in 2008. Not once since then have Mom and I been able to stop for an actual meal on the way to Buffalo. Having the option, now, to do that, and knowing that as long as we back our departure day up from our usual Sunday, to Friday or Saturday, we can always have dinner coming, and breakfast going, is amazing. Thrilling. It makes me ridiculously happy.
And the food? Totally worth it. Even if you’re not as lucky as we are, and the bakery is out of your way? Go anyway. You won’t be sorry!
Here’s what we had for dinner on our first visit:
Here’s a look at the bakery:
And then on the way back, we stopped for breakfast, which was also delicious. (Oh, and cookies, which, again, delicious. I only wished I had bought more than 2!)
~~~
Can’t wait for my next visit, which, if we don’t run into too much traffic, will be tonight! I’m so excited! If you’re anywhere near Mt. Morris, NY, and you’re gluten free, or have a gluten free friend or family member, or even if you aren’t gluten free at all, but you just love really good food, be sure you take the time to stop by. You will not be sorry.
Hours:
- Sunday – Wednesday: Closed
- Thursday – Saturday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Parking: Parking lot / off street (note: small lot)
