Category Archives: Where to Eat in Bricklyn

Articles on restaurants, cafes, and other food-related matters.

“Pastries by Patsy,” a New French-Style Bakery / Café, to Open Downtown

March 5, 2023

Editor’s Note: In light of the resolution of the “Great Donut Debate,” we were especially excited to learn that Patsy, a Burlington VT Outlander, will be opening a French-style bakery / café downtown. Gloria Vanderbrick, our “People in the News” correspondent, recently interviewed Patsy to learn more about her plans.

Bricklyn Eagle: What got you interested in opening up a bakery in downtown Bricklyn, and will this be your first foray into operating a bakery?

Patsy: I have been operating the bakery as a home-based business in the Outland city of Burlington, VT, for many years. When a prime location opened up in the desirable and nearby Inland community of Bricklyn, I seized the opportunity.

Pastries by Patsy will be on the ground floor (by the brown canopy) of the historic Southeast Corner Building, also home to the Bricklyn Natural History Museum on the second floor, and around the corner from the new Space Flight Park.

Bricklyn Eagle: We’ve heard your bakery will be replacing the pizza shop in the historic Southeast Corner Building. What appealed to you about that location?

Patsy: My realtor, a certain Mr. xxxxxx (who, I might add, received a considerable commission on the transaction!) convinced me that this is the perfect location for my bakery, being near transit and on the bike-pedestrian pathway.

It’s also immediately below the Bricklyn Natural History Museum, which I heard is a very popular attraction.

Making the deal even better, I was able to purchase the pizza shop’s ovens, which are in very good condition, at a quite reasonable price.

Sal Brickfour, owner of the now closed PizzaBrick shop, showing Patsy Brickerson the inside kitchen layout of what will soon be Pastries by Patsy.

Note: As required by Bricklyn’s “Avatar” law, all Outland persons owning businesses in Bricklyn must be represented by an “avatar minifigure” — so here, the real Outland Patsy is represented by her Bricklyn avatar, Patsy Brickerson. For reasons of privacy and security, only a very few Bricklyn officials in the Office of Consular Affairs are aware of the actual identity of the Outland owner / operator of a Bricklyn business.

I should add that Mr. Tim Brickedy of the Bricklyn zoning and planning office was very helpful in facilitating the permitting process.

Bricklyn Eagle: Will you be offering sit-down service inside, and/or on your patio?

Patsy: We will have seating for 12 indoors, where patrons can watch the baking in process, and additional seating for 12 on the patio, with views of the Bricklyn bike and ped path, looking out towards the historic, tree-lined Northside Square neighborhood.

Bricklyn Eagle: Can you give us a preview of your menu, and tell our readers what they have to look forward to?

Patsy: Here is a copy of our menu, which I think will whet everyone’s appetite. You will notice that the menu includes beignets au cidre de pomme to please doughnut-loving Bricklynites!

📍Note: Patsy’s spelling of donuts as “doughnuts” indicates her north-of-the-border Canadian roots.

Bricklyn Eagle: We know you are aware of Bricklyn Eagle Editor Brickman’s unfortunate — and, I might add, completely out of character — comments about donuts and croissants. We also know that he has apologized and offered an explanation to our readers. What is your reaction to these recent events?

Patsy: Initially I was insulted and deeply wounded. However, Walt Brickman apologized and wrote a beautiful ode to croissants. It is the most beautiful poem I have ever read! I have accepted Mr. Brickman’s apology, and I am confident that he will learn to appreciate the true beauty of French pastries when he visits Pastries by Patsy.

Bricklyn Eagle: We have heard that you are a member of your home region’s chapter of the Alliance Française. Members of the Bricklyn chapter have told me they are looking forward to meeting you. Is there anything you’d like to share with our readers about the role an Alliance Française can play not just in fostering French-oriented businesses?

Patsy: Did you know that the Alliance Française has generously offered to teach Bricklyn business owners and their employees how to speak French and use the subjunctive mood correctly? The classes will be held at Pastries by Patsy.

Bricklyn Eagle: Finally, as you know there are many passionate donut lovers in Bricklyn. Do you believe that coexistence of croissants and donuts is possible?

Patsy: My beignets au cidre de pomme, which are baked rather than fried, demonstrate that croissant and doughnut lovers can more than just coexist, then can live happily together!

Bricklyn Eagle: So apparently, Just as the farmer and the cowman should be friends, so should the doughnut and the croissant lover!📍 What a delightful note to end our conversation on. Best wishes, Patsy, for your success, and we look forward to your opening this Spring. ✥

📍Note from Gloria: I just couldn’t resist that allusion to one of my favorite musical numbers. If you haven’t heard it in a while, take a listen!

➤ If readers have any questions or comments about Pastries by Patsy, please email us and we will forward them on to Patsy.

Henry Brickbelly & Jessica Tiler Jones with donuts and a croissant.

Agreement Brokered by “Gang of Four” Defuses Donut Crisis

February 11, 2023

by Bricklyn Eagle political correspondent Eric Tiler Corman

Prior articles on “The Great Donut Debate”

Summary of Article ➤ A petition calling for banning the sale and consumption of donuts in the Realm of Bricklyn has been withdrawn after successful efforts at mediating the dispute between pro and anti-donut groups.

In a series of behind-the-scenes meetings, a group of four mediators has brokered an agreement between pro-donut and pro-croissant groups.

Federal Council President Hilma Plater-Zybrick announced last night that a petition to ban the sale and consumption of donuts has been withdrawn, and that the Council will endorse both foods as “vital to the Realm,” and take steps to ensure that both are readily available for sale and consumption in Bricklyn.

Hilma Plater-Zybrick
Federal Council President Hilma Plater-Zybrick. Will her key role in resolving the donut crisis make it more likely she will decide to seek another term as Council President?

Plater-Zybrick showed her skill by leading the Council through this latest crisis. Plater-Zybrick was instrumental in bringing together the “Gang of Four,” the unofficial name given to the mediation team, comprised of two Bricklyn mediators, joined by two from the Outland city of South Burlington, Vermont.

As is required by the ethics of their profession, none of the mediators would offer any comments to the press. However, after speaking to some of the interested parties, we can report on how the parties reached an agreement, an agreement unanimously endorsed by the Federal Council last night.

Pro-croissant Henry Brickbelly and pro-donut Jessica Tiler Jones, celebrate the end of the “Great Bricklyn Donut Debate” by sharing a table outside The Exchange Building.

Henry Brickbelly, leader of “NoDos,” the anti-donut, pro-croissant advocacy group acknowledged that banning donuts “might have been a step too far.”

As Brickbelly explained, “the Gang of Four reminded us of the American experience with Prohibition in the 1920s and early ‘30s and how that led to higher levels of organized crime and bootlegging, the loss of thousands of jobs, and then the ultimate repeal of Prohibition. … We didn’t want to go down that road.”

Anti-donut forces also apparently realized that their petition’s prospects looked dim once news began circulating that the Council might request that the League of Inland Cities enshrine the donut’s status as an object of “intangible cultural heritage in Bricklyn.”

Outland Friends of Bricklyn also weighed in against the donut ban, and in favor of reaching some accommodation between those favoring donuts, and those favoring croissants.

Tom Brickorti of the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce
Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce President Tom Brickorti

Chamber of Commerce President Tom Brickorti, noted that: “The mediation process with the Gang of Four worked well. The Chamber and various business interests reminded everyone of the continued economic benefits to Bricklyn from its donut shops and related enterprises, and the importance of keeping the Simpson clan here.

At the same time we were able to point to the increase in tourism from francophone nations already resulting from the new Le Bricklyn Hotel, and the fact that a French patisserie is planning to open here soon.”

As Brickorti added, “our pro-croissant friends are great people, who came to see that banning donuts was not needed in order to promote croissants. From the Chamber’s perspective valuing both donuts and croissants was a win-win outcome.“

Dave Tiler Broffman , CEO of Dunk Them Donuts, on upper North Street this morning — eyeing his donut, not the road.

Dave Tiler Broffman , CEO of Dunk Them Donuts, the Bricklyn-based donut distribution enterprise, echoed Brickorti’s sentiments, commenting that “we were all ultimately on the same page, in wanting to keep Bricklyn’s donut traditions alive, while also allowing for a new diversity of food cultures.”  

Chief Clancy Wiggum, head of the pro-donut Bricklyn Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (BPBA) pointed out that “our members look forward to learning to appreciate the taste of croissants, especially,” he grinned, “when they’ll be delivered fresh out of the oven to the station house every morning, at no cost to our officers!” ✥

➤ For more on the use of mediation in resolving conflicts, see Building Consensus, by Lawrence Susskind & Patrick Field, from our companion publication, the Planning Commissioners Journal.

Homer Simpson with a donut

The Donut Capital of America

  • by Amanda B. Starr, The Bricklyn Eagle Metro correspondent
  • October 20, 2021

Summary of Article ➤ Bricklyn, Vermont, has long been known for its donuts — but the demand for donuts increased exponentially with the arrival of the Simpson family.

Bricklyn, VT has long been called the Donut Capital of America! — at least by the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce.

But to be honest, the demand for donuts in Bricklyn skyrocketed only after the November 2020 arrival of the Simpson family in Bricklyn, after leaving Springfield (more on their move & the resulting impact on Bricklyn in a future post).

When it comes to donuts, Homer Simpson sets the pace to which others can only aspire!

The Bricklyn North Rail Station, now home to the Tasty Brick Donut Shoppe.

There’s also been a donut shop that recently opened after the renovations of the Central Rail Station terminal downtown. Donuts for sweet-toothed commuters have been flying out of their oversized bins.

Local police often use donut shops as their neighborhood HQ, while it’s hard to find a politician who hasn’t handed out plump jelly donuts at campaign rallies.

Coffee Clutch Goes Bankrupt

There’s been a scare recently with the unexpected bankruptcy of Coffee Clutch. However, a Canadian buyer has struck a deal to take over the business, including resuming donut and soft bread production at the Brickside Avenue facility. So word to the Simpsons and all you other Bricklyn donut lovers — no need to put up your homes for sale. Donuts will still reign in Bricklyn, Vermont! ✥

📌 News Update — June 12, 2021: Shock waves rippled across Bricklyn as the Canadian deal has fallen through. Instead the maker of Blunder Bread swooped in at the last minute to purchase the facility from Coffee Clutch, without any immediate plans to reopen it. Over 100 Bricklynites who thought they would soon be returning to work will not. A spokesman for the new buyer told the press: “We have no immediate plans to reopen the bakeries, but will be assessing how they may fit our strategic network optimization efforts in the future.”