Kitchen Table Memories
College Bakery in Cobble Hill (Closed)
When I was 16, somewhere around 1971, I lived in Fort Lauderdale and had an Italian boyfriend from Brooklyn who was incredibly exotic. He was thin as a rail, had a two-foot wide Afro, wore tight, low-cut t-shirts and elephant bell-bottoms with custom-made multi-colored platform wingtips.
My short-haired, tank-top and flip-flop wearing school chums hated him but he was too weird to beat up and who knew if he has a switchblade in that Afro or not.
He once took me home to Brooklyn to meet his 12 (or maybe it was 13) brothers and sisters and all of their names ended in “y” or “ie”: Charlie, Butchie, Dottie, Jimmmie, Margie, etc.
DiSalvo Italian Bakery in East NY
Everything about them was exotic also but one thing that stood out was a nightly ritual practiced like a religion. Each evening at 6 or 7pm we gathered at one of the sisters’ or brothers’ homes in the kitchen around a cheap, beat-up Formica table surrounded by mix-and-match chairs. A steaming pot of Chock-full-of-Nuts coffee was put on a potholder and white, string-wrapped boxes of pastries were put out.
Other family members dropped by and stories were told all night long. My family does not, and never did, “visit” unless someone got married or died. We still don’t. We forget birthdays with amazing consistency and regularly promise to remember the next time. I see my brother once a decade and when we part we cry and make more promises to see each other more. But we don’t.
Court Pastry in Cobble Hill
The feeling of closeness I felt around those tables comes back to me every time I see someone carrying a white box tied up with bakery string and it makes me ever grateful that I finally moved to Brooklyn.
The shot of College Bakery was taken right before it closed suddenly a few years ago. DiSalvo and Court Street are still open.
Please share your stories about bakeries with us and visit our 718 Brooklyn Store to see photos.
I attended school (I.S.293) across the street from College Bakery in the years 1977-78. I remember going to College Bakery at lunch time. I would buy an extra carton of chocolate milk in the school lunchroom and right after eating my lunch I would run over to the bakery with a dime in hand and buy two sugar cookies. I would sit on the stoop and just enjoy my cookies and milk. That was definitely a treat. I have since then relocated to Southern California. In 1992 I did go back to Brooklyn as an adult and re-visited the bakery with my girlfriend(now wife) Addy. I bought the same sugar cookies and went to the deli across the way and purchased a chocolate milk. We sat across the street and I shared with her my childhood memories of going to school and the bakery as we ate and enjoyed the treats. In 2006 we went back to Cobble Hill to take our three kids to the bakery as I described to them the taste and reassured them that they would enjoy them as me and their mom did some years back as we arrived and seen that they had closed, I became saddened and told my kids and wife. Oh well another one of my childhood memories has closed it’s doors.
Sent From Joan Reese
I truly miss College Bakery. This bakery was the only one I used for myself (Wedding Cake) and my daughter’s birthdays (from 1 to 16) cakes as well. I always recommended this bakery to anyone who asked. No other bakery in Brooklyn can top College Bakery, not even to this day. Those days are long gone. They are truly missed.
Will always remember College Bakery.
Sent in from Vera:
When college bakery closed, my daughters and myself were sooo sad. College Bakery had the best cakes. My favorite was the chocolate butter creme sprinkles. I used to order my children’s cakes from there on their birthdays. So sad they’re gone. Now I have to search for a cake that kinda matches College Bakery.
Vera
great story, good to hear the feelings behind the desires! Love a good bakery!
Wow this post brings a tear to my eye. I grew up in Cobble Hill and as a child my mother and I would always go to College Bakery. That’s where she would always buy cupcakes for me to bring to school on my birthday. Their cupcakes weren’t very good, but other pastries were great. For instance they had the BEST gingerbread men I have EVER had. EVER. To this day I can not find one that compares. I wish I had the recipe so I can duplicate them. I would get so excited when my mom would buy one for me. When I bit his little soft yummy head off all was right in the world. If you know where you can buy good gingerbread men let us know!!!