The Bakers At Red Lion

 

If your weekend travels take you down the bucolic backroads where Kennett Square and West Chester rub elbows, then you've probably seen these bright French flags fluttering in the breeze and the friendly sign inviting you inside with promises of fresh-baked bread. If you've stopped, then you're a convert and I'm preaching to the choir...but if you haven't yet tasted the wares from the Bakers at Red Lion, I urge you, IMPEL you, to do so at the earliest weekend convenience.

Two mature ladies, one bespeckled in adorable Ben Franklinesque frames, got together and purchased the lovely home on the corner of Doe Run and Folly Hill, and then in their retirement decided to put their esteemed baking talents to good use and crank out loaves for the local folk at their leisure. This weekend hobby has gone on for years and years and they have built up a considerable following, yours truly included. They bake the 4 dollar French loaves per the sign, but they also bake smaller French loaves, little boules cracked open with a pat of butter slipped inside (my favorite), brownies, cheesebread, and more. All cranked out over the most quaint-looking stove by the bespeckled Miss, who usually has a batch going when you stop in during the A.M. The smell wafting through the air in the charming kitchen beyond the door marked "open" is divine, truly one of the greatest scents ever to pass by the nostril's vibrissae. Prices range from a dollar to the aforementioned boules 'n brownies to six or seven for specialty loaves, and payment is by the honor system and deposited into a coffee can on the table. Check 'em out on Fridays and Saturdays (and maybe Sundays? I work on Sundays, so never have the luxury of driving down then).

The Kennett/West Chester border is dotted with a number of other such glittering gems, which I'll surely note in posts to come. I adore this area and am happy to share its wonders with others! If you the reader know of any other special nooks in this neck o' the woods, do let the secret slip.