Alpha Delights

Alpha Delights

Rating: ****
(Five stars is a perfect score.)

I am a raving maniac about fresh food, good presentation and customer service. Anyone who knows me will verify that when disappointed, I can go from raving maniac to raging maniac. Fortunately Alpha Delights offers much to rave about. I hardly know where to begin.

The moment you walk in and see the dessert case full of elegant cakes, tarts and tortes, you know you’ll never go back to Sara Lee. A second case is loaded with dainty cookies, mini almond tea cakes, baklava, Corinthian apple pita, numerous varieties of elegant pastries and sweet rolls. The offerings seem endless. It’s agony to choose, but it’s the kind of agony I fantasize about daily. Everything is beautifully presented and somehow you get the feeling the pastries are bubbling over with high self esteem…Trust me, they seem to enjoy being noticed. Did you ever read Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris, the woman who wrote Chocolat? Ms. Harris has the gift of making food sound magically alive. The bakers at Alpha Delights have the gift of making food look and taste magically alive. I almost can’t go on…but I will.

The counters are piled high with crinkly little parcels of cookies and crackers. The owner and her staff have mastered the appeal of abundance. One cannot help but feel secure on all levels when you see beautifully decorated cookies in elegant packages of four ready to be plucked up and handed out to co-workers, baked ham and cheese croissants heaped in a basket reminiscent of cafés in Europe, and stacked by the register are more cookies in white paper sacks, their cellophane windows giving full view of the self-assured contents. A look behind the counter reveals the kitchen and its racks piled high with more delights in the making. Even the most restrained crane their necks for glimpses. The baked goods range in price from $2.75 to $3.75 a slice for cakes and from .50 to $3.50 for various cookies and pastries. The prices are surprisingly reasonable for the quality.

One look at the wedding cakes (particularly the Grand Gretchen with ladyfingers and fruit) and even the most devoted of spouses may ponder annulment, an ad in the personals and a second chance at happiness beginning with the right cake this time around.

Move along and you’ll find yourself at a rack loaded with jars of pesto and Iliada olive oil. “Iliada olive oil?” my husband asked as I was listing all I had discovered, “What’s the big deal?” Hmm. What’s the big deal? Not wanting to break my enthusiastic ramble, I gave an especially exasperated sigh and confidently said “It’s only one of the most high quality olive oils ever! Jeez, get with the program!” Then, when he wasn’t looking, I crept to my computer to look it up and see if I knew what I was talking about. It looks like my guess was good, “Extra virgin olive oil, harvested from Koroneiki olives in Kalamata Greece. The perfect salad oil coveted by chefs everywhere and considered a premium find.” Whew, saved by the truth! The important part is that Alpha Delights not only sells Iliada olive oil, it, they use it in their wonderful salads. Wait, salads you ask? How did we move from cookies to salads? That’s the best part! This café that already had me at the taste of the first torte also serves breakfast and lunch!

The menu changes weekly and is published on their website. Lunch can include spanikopita, a Greek tradition of spinach and cheese baked with phyllo, roast pork panini served on their own focaccia, salad Nicoise (a tuna salad made with green beans, red potatoes, olives, hard boiled eggs, tuna, anchovies and tossed in a light vinaigrette instead of the usual mayonnaise.), and always on the menu is their chicken salad…which is promoted as “The Best Chicken Salad Around.” Now, I’m very picky about chicken salad and consider my own to be the “best around”, so that, my friends, is a bold statement.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use a chit from my “lunch out” budget for something I could easily make myself. Fortunately, the Alpha Delights stars must have been in alignment because I chose the chicken salad and it’s more than the best around…it’s better than mine and that’s saying something (if I do say so myself!). With perfectly cooked chicken breast, herbed mayonnaise, pine nuts and cranberries…you cannot go wrong. It should be mentioned that the cranberries are soft…not the hard red pellets that pass themselves off as cranberries at many salad bars. Even my husband, who isn’t big on fruit in salads, said it, “did the job”. You must understand this is his version of high culinary praise. The entrees are reasonably priced from $5.95 to $7.95.

Ok, now for the best part…the staff is fantastic. The other day I visited and was marveling aloud how clever an idea the single petite black and white pinwheel cookies in a cellophane envelope are. At .50 cents each, they’re the perfect token present to leave on a friend’s desk. You cannot help but think up people to give one to. As I was raving, the woman behind the counter joined in and said enthusiastically, “Aren’t they the best? I’ve only been here two and a half months and I can’t wait to see what we do for the holidays.” I love this! It’s so refreshing to hear an employee marvel with you! These days, when it seems clerks act bored and sort of casually disinterested about what they’re selling, it’s fun to see someone actually as enthusiastic and as enchanted by the offerings as you are. Everyone at Alpha Delights is pleasant and accommodating. Even their catering menu accommodates while gently reminding us that ordering early means “more choices for you.”

My only advice for those who choose to visit, is to expect it to feel a little closed in during lunch…there is ample seating room, but it can get a tad cramped and noisy. Though, this takes little away from the upbeat pleasant atmosphere. Mid morning is my favorite time to visit and when the service is best.

If you visit the website, you will read the following:

“Alpha Delights is a locally owned business that's brought together people with a passion for treating customers right and for creating exceptionally good bakery and cafe' foods.”

I could not agree more. The owners at Alpha Delights do exactly what they have a passion for and it shows.

Alpha Delights
143 N. Wisconsin St.
De Pere WI 54115
(920) 339-9144http://www.alphadelights.com/