Thanksgiving reminds us of what we’re grateful for: dessert

Story and photos by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, November 18, 2006

Jim Maloni (left) shares DiCamillo doughnuts at Resurrection Life Fellowship
with Milt Eberle (middle) and Conrad Szefel.

While Lewiston has many fine dining establishments, residents traditionally spend Thanksgiving at home, with homemade stuffing, potatoes and bread pudding complementing oversized turkeys. And yet, even the finest domestic cooks traditionally leave one main course to the pros: dessert. Whether its pies, cakes, cookies or doughnuts, most Americans purchase the holiday dinner’s final course from a bakery or farm market.

Lewiston has three of Niagara County’s most popular bakeries, and each offers unique pastries perfect for this time of year.

DiCamillo Bakery,
535 Center St., Lewiston

More than two years ago, Lynn and Jim Maloni of Lewiston started bringing DiCamillo doughnuts to Resurrection Life Fellowship, the church they attend in Cheektowaga. They started with a dozen, purchased because, “Most of my life, I’ve always known they have high quality products,” Lynn says. “I think their doughnuts are better than anyone else.”

Every third Sunday, with the Malonis running the church’s Hospitality Room, visitors, mainly from southern Erie County, would wander in and inquire about these light-tasting doughnuts that came from a bakery they’d never heard of.

“People say they haven’t had any doughnut like that,” Lynn says. She found herself giving directions to the store almost as often as she said “Welcome.” “That was the biggest thing: They wanted to know where they could get them.”

Today, the second Sunday, the Maloni’s new greeting slot, has become the month’s most popular for Res Life guests. One box of doughnuts has turned into three, and more may be required.

“They don’t taste like they’ve been processed,” says Res Life member Alex Markowski. “They remind me of the old times. The way they’re supposed to taste.

“They just taste better.”

Pat Weston of Marilla had her first DiCamillo doughnut in the Hospitality Room.

“These are out of this world,” she says. “They’re the best doughnuts I’ve ever had in my life.”

Skip DiCamillo says the secret to good doughnut making is twofold. You have to have the right equipment; oil and fryers – not to mention high-quality ingredients. More importantly, you need a staff with a keen eye for proofing yeast-based doughnuts and leavening cake doughnuts.

“It’s a fine art,” he says, adding, “Doughnuts are not a thing that everybody can make.”

DiCamillo says between 20 and 30 varieties of doughnuts are made fresh at the Linwood Avenue branch in Niagara Falls and shipped daily to the Lewiston store. The most popular, for both regulars and rookies, is the hand-rolled peanut stick.

Not to be outdone, the bakery’s bread makers are equally busy this time of year. DiCamillo says customers come for day-old Italian bread, which makes a mean turkey stuffing.

DiCamillo’s recently opened its first Erie County store, at 5329 Main St., Williamsville. Skip says the new location has been a success, “We’re real happy,” he notes, and says additional Western New York locations may rise up in the future.

The Village Bake Shoppe
417 Center St., Lewiston

The Village Bake Shoppe will prepare 700 pies for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is often seen as the most relaxing holiday; a time for most of us to kick back, eat some turkey and Christmas shop. But if you’re a baker, this time of year is akin to the Iron Man Triathlon.

Between now and Turkey Day, the eight gourmands at The Village Bake Shoppe will spend 20 hours each day preparing and baking pies. How many pies? Owner Bridget Schroeder says her store will create upwards of 700 pies for happy families throughout the country.

“That’s a lot of pies – especially for a store our size,” Schroeder says.

While the process is demanding, the Bake Shoppe bakers are dedicated to making top-notch pastries.

“All of my bakers truly love to bake,” Schroeder says. “They’re naturals in the kitchen.”

The top-selling pies are the apple streusel – a delicacy made with caramel, and pecans or walnuts – and the triple-berry pie, made with flash-frozen berries, which are iced up to remain right-off-the-vine good all winter.

“The quality of all the pastries and the baking goods – it’s all high quality,” said Jim Level of Lewiston. “They don’t skimp on anything.”

“They’re all so good,” he said.

Schroeder and her staff only bake with fresh ingredients and avoid artificial syrups and pre-processed products.

“Our philosophy is we bake the old-fashioned way: from scratch and with plenty of TLC,” she says.

Mangia Cakes Bakery,
781 Cayuga St., Lewiston

Beck Poletti of Mangia Cakes says, “Life is tough enough – you might as well enjoy your cake.”

Or cheesecake, pecan pie or frangipan tarts, for that matter.

The Cayuga Street Plaza bakery specializes in cakes, but for Thanksgiving also offers more exotic items, like the frangipan. It boasts a creamy almond filling topped with fresh fruits including apple and almond; plum; and pear and pomegranate.

“They’re the most popular items,” Poletti says. “You can’t get them anywhere (besides here) except driving to Buffalo.”

Poletti credits television with broadening consumer’s palettes.

“The Food Network brought food to the forefront of people’s lives,” she says. “People want to try different things.”