BY STACEY WALLACE
OPINION
As I’ve mentioned before in this column, I love to eat, but I really dislike cooking of any kind, and that includes baking. Now, I can cook a few entrees, sides and desserts, at least enough to take to church and family dinners. However, my frequent culinary mishaps clearly show that I can be a danger in the kitchen.
For instance, decades ago, when I still lived with Mama and Daddy in Alexander City, I decided to bake brownies from a mix. Unfortunately, this future English teacher failed to read the box’s instructions. Thinking the bag filled with liquid chocolate was the icing, I left the mixture out of my brownies. Wrong. That bag of liquid chocolate was supposed to go in the brownie mix.
When the brownies had cooled, I took a bite, chewed it and then kept chewing. It was as if I had invented brownie chewing gum. After that, I wasn’t too keen on baking brownies again.
Now, I go to the professionals for my baking needs. Recently, Mike and I went to Tart & Tartan Bakery at 117 S. 8th St., Suite 203 in Opelika.
When we entered the bright, welcoming bakery, we were mesmerized by the mouth-watering aroma of baked goods. My blood sugar went up, and I hadn’t eaten anything yet; therefore, Mike and I knew we were in the right place.
M.J., who waited on us, was a delight, being friendly, helpful and patient as she answered all of my questions. M.J. said that owner Mary Kathryn Whatley, who is from Opelika and lives there, opened Tart & Tartan in March of 2021.
Whatley used “Tart” in the bakery name to represent their baked goods. Also, she used “Tartan” to honor her Dad, who wore red tartan pajama pants every Christmas. Since part of our ancestry is Scottish, Mike and I admired the various Tartan patterns displayed on the wall.
Although it was hard choosing from such a delicious-looking array of goodies, Mike and I ordered one blondie, for which Whatley makes a caramel sauce to go in the middle, two thumbprints, which were shortbread sugar cookies with a little vanilla and almond-flavored icing, two brown butter snickerdoodle cookies and a brownie.
Describing the brownie, M.J. said, “They’re very fudgy. We make them with Ghirardelli chocolate, regular chocolate chips and cocoa powder.”
Oh, my three times. Unlike my chewing gum brownies, these were outstanding, as were the blondie, thumbprints and cookies. In fact, everything was slap your Grandma three times good.
Besides the amazing baked goods, Tart & Tartan Bakery also serves up special order cakes, cookie cakes and petit fours. These items can require a 48-hour notice or longer.
Tart & Tartan Bakery also offers a grab and go lunch, which consists of a sandwich and chips for $9, and you can add a cookie for $1. (Trust me — buy the cookie.)
Besides baked goods, Tart & Tartan Bakery also offers cinnamon rolls, Parker house rolls, pigs in a blanket, take and bake biscuits, sausage balls and cookies in a frozen case.
In the refrigerated case, customers may choose from three different casseroles per week, and they are ready to cook. The day Mike and I visited, the bacon cheeseburger, poppyseed chicken and shrimp and grits casseroles were available. In addition, spinach salad, pimento cheese and chicken salad were in stock.
Believe me, if you haven’t tried Tart & Tartan Bakery yet, you should. I hope to go back as soon as my blood sugar average drops a little more.
Tart & Tartan Bakery is open four days per week, Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It’s closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Tart & Tartan Bakery makes the grade with an A+ from this retired English teacher. Remember, “Pooh-sized” people NEVER lie about food. Enjoy!
Stacey Patton Wallace, who retired from teaching language arts for 30 years, is a professional diner. Her column, “Making the Grade,” appears every other week in The Observer. Stacey may be reached at retiredlangartsteacher2020@gmail.com.
