Let them eat crepes: 4 new dishes are joining the menu at Diletto Bakery
Mar. 14—The already difficult choice of what to eat at a downtown bakery is about to get even harder. Diletto Bakery is set to debut four new menu items Thursday, March 16: soup and salad options, avocado toast, croissant sandwiches and crepes.
"The crepes are the star of the whole thing," owner James Velez said of the pancake-like dish. "They are going to be both savory and sweet."
Diletto Bakery
Where: 528 Bradford St. SW, Gainesville
Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday
More info: dilettobakery.com
The crepes will be available in sweeter fillings such as Nutella and strawberry, which can be served with ice cream, as well as more savory fillings such as chicken, shrimp and vegetable.
Crepes are an item Velez believes is missing, not only from his menu, but among the bakery's competitors in town.
"There are no crepes in Gainesville, so we are trying to bring to Gainesville what is missing," he said.
Velez added that having the French and German delicacy on the menu at Diletto will also be attractive to visitors to Gainesville from overseas.
"We get a lot of people from Europe that come here," he explained.
Customer demands led Velez to add the menu items, he said.
"We have been telling our customers about (it) and now it's here," Velez said.
The avocado toast will be served on house-made wheat focaccia bread with cherry tomatoes and balsamic vinegar drizzle.
Adding a soup and salad option to the menu was also high on the list of customer demands. The soups will change from day to day, as will the salad. The dressing for the house salad will be made in house, as will the creamy chicken soup, for example.
"We try to make our (own) stuff as much as we can," Velez said.
Croissant sandwiches will give Velez and his kitchen staff the opportunity to showcase the flaky bread.
"The beauty of our croissants is that they are so buttery you won't need any condiments for the sandwiches," Velez said.
The sandwiches will be available in ham and cheese, ham, egg and cheese and ham, bacon and cheese combinations.
The food isn't the only thing undergoing a change at Diletto Bakery. Velez is extending the brunch hours an extra 90 minutes.
Starting Thursday, March 16, the brunch menu will now be available from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The crepes will be available during brunch, but not afterwards, says Velez.
"We are working on that, but for now, it's just brunch," he said. "We have more surprises coming in the next couple of months."
