PLG Bite Of The Day: Pumpkin Apple Walnut Muffin At Blue Sky Bakery
On a steaming, rainy Wednesday afternoon, we ventured into Prospect Lefferts Gardens’s Blue Sky Bakery, for warm muffins and conversation with Erik Goetze — a.k.a. The Muffin Man.
Blue Sky Bakery opened its second location — at 404 Rogers Avenue at Sterling Street — on June 21, the first day of summer.
Goetze chose PLG because it’s “ripe for food” with a new gems joining an exciting roster of restaurants and cafes in the neighborhood. Just across the street, we spotted brown paper covering the windows in the storefront adjacent to Oaxica Taqueria, which Goetze thinks may be a BBQ restaurant opening soon.
“It’s a very well rounded neighborhood,” Goetze told us, “with people who have been here 15 or 30 years, and a mix of newcomers. Everyone has a lot of pride the neighborhood, and we try to cater to everyone’s different tastes.”
Goetze loves Brooklyn because it’s in constant flux, which means constant adaptation. “You have to either hang on or move out of the way,” he said. The pace makes opening a new business challenging, “there’s this humility to it, because everything can change in just a few months. It’s all a matter of timing.”
But Goetze is already familiar with change. After working as an advertising director, he made a steep career shift when opening his flagship Blue Sky Bakery in Park Slope 13 years ago. “New York is about remaking yourself,” said Goetze, who has lived in Park Slope since 1994. The Bakery now has a steady wholesale business too, selling to 35 different stores.
As far as a neighborhood welcome, the customers and merchants have all been cheerful and inviting, Goetze said. And Yelp reviewers echo that sentiment back when talking about the staff and owner.
Instead of traditional advertising, the bakery is planning to partner with schools, nonprofits, fundraisers and other people “trying to make their own thing happen” in the neighborhood. In addition, they’re hiring local bakers and baristas, setting down roots and utilizing local talent.
The cafe has an expansive, clean design, with light pouring in from floor to ceiling windows. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon people-watching on Rogers Avenue while indulging in coffee and pastries. And there’s an open view into the kitchen, so you can watch the bakers working in the morning.
Blue Sky’s specialty is muffins, with a variety of fresh fruit combinations that vary from the Park Slope location. But they also make fresh croissants, cookies, coffee cakes and savory pastries.
The huge chocolate chip cookies ($1.50) and chocolate chip banana bread ($2.75) feature French, quarter-sized 60 percent chocolate nibs.
We nabbed the day’s last Pumpkin Walnut Apple Muffin ($2.75), which had a wild, explosive looking crust — which reminded me of a high, side-ponytail hairdo.
But when cut open, that crunchy crust was exactly the right size. Each layer of this muffin was perfectly orchestrated; the dense and chewy bottom, the sliced apple and walnut chunks building in the middle, then the thin, crispy top sprinkled with sugar crystals, that made us want to shout “top of the muffin to you!”
Each ingredient blend together but also retains its own flavor, like the apple pieces which are baked soft but crunchy enough to match the walnuts, and the spiced cinnamon-pumkpin bread.
Visit Blue Sky Bakery at 404 Rogers Avenue at the corner of Sterling Street, a quick trip on the B/Q to Prospect Park or the 2/5 to Sterling Street. Open 7 days a week from 7:30am to 2pm.