The Bakery Phx features organic, local ingredients
It’s said that the word delicious has its root in the Old French delicious and the more modern French term delicieux, so it is only fitting that one of the most mouth-watering places you will ever stumble upon, The Bakery Phx, took root in a Montreal kitchen.
Lisa Levinson used to spend hours watching her grandmother “go to town” near an oven. The end result of those marathon cooking sessions was Levinson’s love of baking, which led to a lifelong dream of owning her own bakery. That dream came true Aug. 4, when she opened the doors to The Bakery Phx, a one-of-a-kind confection operation.
Levinson grew up in Arizona, but it was trips back to Montreal – where 56% of residents have French origins and where French cooking is evident everywhere – that proved fruitful for this “mad scientist” of baking. Instead of just conjuring up your favorite pies, cookies or cakes, Levinson would get busy trying to create her own magic, oftentimes with disastrous results.
“When I first starting trying to create things with my Bubbie, it is safe to say it was quite an adventure,” says Levinson with a laugh.
But eventually the creative juices that flowed through Levinson’s veins began to turn out masterpiece after masterpiece. Whether it is her simple favorite, apple cake, or a more complicated, delectable pastry, Levinson has a flair to her work that is enchanting.
“I love to be able to express myself through food,” says Levinson. “I want it to be more than just sweet. I want it to tastes good.”
That is The Bakery Phx’s M.O. They aren’t into fancy designs or elaborate presentations. Instead, they have one goal – for their product to taste amazing in your mouth.
“I like it to be pleasing to the eye, but that isn’t my focus. My focus is on the taste,” Levinson says.
Levinson was 10 years old when she first took to baking. As a child, she used to have fun around her grandmother’s place with her brother, who had trouble pronouncing Bubbie, so he quickly turned the name into Budsy. Needless to say, this made for plenty of laughter at home and in the kitchen.
Growing up in Phoenix landed Levinson in Montreal a few times a year for family gatherings. Besides Bubbie’s kitchen, Montreal is one of the more eclectic places in the world for food. The aspiring bakery chef fell in love with food while visiting Montreal.
Back in Phoenix, Levinson and her family attended Har Zion Congregation (now Congregation Or Tzion). It was no accident that Levinson learned the art of making Jewish delicacies. “Growing up, it is really true that I learned so many traditional dishes from traditional Jewish women,” says Levinson.
As a young woman, Levinson changed her focus, getting into fashion marketing, so she attended The Art Institute of Phoenix to see where that would take her. Though she graduated with flying colors, she describes her experience as less than enjoyable. “I don’t think you could print what I have to say about that experience,” jokes Levinson.
The fashion industry’s loss was the baking industry’s gain.
Her first gig was a family affair when she went to work for her brother and sister-in-law at Classic Cakes and Confections, a wedding cake bakery in Old Town Scottsdale. Though the place made fabulous cakes, Levinson, who is 34, eventually got the itch to do her own thing. So she started baking her own goodies and selling them at the Old Town Scottsdale Farmer’s Market.
For five years, she cut her teeth selling product at the farmer’s market while she experimented with different recipes, specializing in selling old-fashioned cakes and pies. During that time, she invented her own recipes or fell back on her staple, Bubbie’s recipes, which she tweaked to her liking. Along the way, customers responded to her personality and her ability to create fabulous food. It was only natural for her to grow and expand, so she started her own place a little over a year ago.
When she sees people eating her concoctions at parties, Levinson admits she gets nervous to see how people will respond. But the reason for her success is undeniable – the flavors in her baked goods are simply fantastic. The phrase “melts in your mouth” takes on real meaning if Levinson is standing next to an oven.
Her formula is a simple one. She believes messing it up is basically OK because it is how you learn to bake – how you learn to get the flavor you want or are looking for. Of course, there are principles Levinson stands by, too. She doesn’t use any corn syrups or box mixes, and she always uses real butter, real sugar, and organic eggs and milk.
“That is really how you learn to bake,” says Levinson, “by the mistakes you make. It is a fun challenge to make everything from scratch and see what you come up with.”
She likes the surprise factor in baking, too. Unlike cooking, where you can get a good feel for the taste of, say, pasta sauce before it is done, that isn’t necessarily the case when baking. The taste, texture, feel and whether it rises or goes flat all take place as the item is being baked. So you really don’t know what you are going to get until it is completely done.
“That is why people are intimidated by baking,” says Levinson. “They really can’t tell the flavor until it is done or completed.”
Jewish delights such as rugelach – both cherry almond and chocolate almond – take center stage at The Bakery Phx. Levinson says that her mother, Carla, makes what is considered by many to be the best potato knishes in the western United States. On a regular basis, they sell out as soon as customers hit the counter.
Of course, you can walk into The Bakery Phx to get something traditional as well. Levinson takes great pride in making a killer caramel-pecan sticky bun from her own challah recipe, which you can only get on Saturdays.
Moving forward for Levinson, the future looks bright. With the main location of The Bakery Phx on Bethany Home Road, Levinson still hits up the grassroots effort by selling baked goods on Saturdays at the Uptown Farmer’s Market. Chocolate cake, carrot cake and cherry pie are her best sellers. This quaint bakery has a loyal clientele and a dedicated owner.
Levinson, who says Tartine Bakery in San Francisco is the inspiration for her place, wants to turn her success into something big. While call-in orders are their main business, 40 cakes here, another 1,000-cookie order there has Levinson thinking about expanding her operation.
“We were busy a month after we opened, easily meeting our expectations. This neighborhood has shown us a lot of love,” Levinson says proudly. “I see myself doing this forever, but with many more stores.”
