Batter Bowl Bakery, Ethiopian Bakery Next Door to Ethiopic on 4th and H Street NE

[DaRiv18]

I haven't been to Ethiopic in a while, so it may be that it has declined. Maybe their opening a bakery next door depleted their resources. I haven't been to the bakery yet, though it's been open a few months.

The Batter Bowl Bakery. Keep in mind I am but one voice, and all of my neighbors publicly drool over it, but I am not a fan. Croissants made of phyllo dough, not flakey or buttery, but weirdly dense in the middle. illy coffee, eh. I am a big fan of the illy espresso cups, have a set at home, but we have better options in DC for coffee.

Frenchie's during the H Street Farmer's Market is sooooo much better. Better isn't even the right word, the product is totally different.

[Pat]

Good timing! I finally stopped here last Friday on my way home from Giant and had been planning to make a thread but hadn't yet.

I was hot and in somewhat of a hurry so I decided not to get coffee. Instead I bought two of the pastry twists (one chocolate and one cranberry). They would have have been better had they not cost $2.10 a piece. They were fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way for them. After the cashier/clerk had given me my total, I saw a sourdough boule on the shelf behind the counter and remembered I needed one for something. My vision isn't too good and it wasn't until later that I realized how very small it was and especially for (I think) $2.99. It was decent but not great bread, at least not compared to the sourdough boule I ended up later buying at Marvelous Market/Silver Spork for my original purpose. The small one was fairly hard and dense in the center, rather than crusty on the outside and softer on the inside, even on the day of purchase.

Also when I got home, I realized that I had been overcharged by almost $2.00. I paid $9.71 and it almost certainly should have been $7.91. I was a bit scattered when I was in the store and, so too, apparently, was the employee who waited on me. And he didn't give me a receipt either, so there wasn't much I could have done if I wanted to schlep back there for a refund.

I can't really see why I'd be going back there any time soon. There were two customers when I was there and both were sitting at tables drinking coffee.