Serving Up the Baked Goods at The Iron Tomato
On their second anniversary as proprietors of The Iron Tomato, Michael and Stephen Berg opened a new bakery section in their-upscale café and market at 57 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains on May 17.
If there is one thing downtown White Plains had been missing, it was the scent of fresh baked goods in the air. But, no longer. The Berg brothers were looking for the next big thing to bring to their business and realizing the city’s core had no bakery, they took the plunge, hired Joe Liga, a 24-year veteran baker from Ossining, and the cakes, cookies and pastries filling the racks tell the rest of the story. It seems they made the right decision because according to Liga, the pastries are flying off the shelves.
The Bergs have about 25 years of experience in the supermarket business between them. Their family owns and operates a chain of stores on Long Island. Stephen Berg spent most of his time in the bakery, deli and catering areas of the business. “From scratch baking is our specialty,” he says. “We focus on the more old-world traditional recipes, but with a modern flair.”
Liga, who was in the midst of creating a delicious looking chocolate babka when we came to visit, does most of his preparation in the front of the store. “Tourists come by and watch through the window,” he explains.
Specializing in party cakes, both Liga and Stephen Berg insist that everything must be 100-percent edible, including the decorations. They will design any cake according to a customer’s specifications. Elmo, Spiderman and even Mini Mouse designs have been requested. Another popular item for parties is a Napoleon sheet cake.
When you enter the shop it’s difficult to take your eyes off the selection of cookies and cupcakes, which are made fresh every day. Berg says they go through at least 90 dozen eggs in a week. Nutella is a major ingredient of many of Liga’s recipes.
Character cookies line the shelf by the window, catching the eye of children as they pass by. There are also black and whites, an assortment of almond-based cookies, red velvet, carrot, and chocolate mousse cupcakes, to name just a few, and Liga has developed quite a tiramisu recipe.
The bakery at Iron Tomato tops off the food courses available in the market. There is a complete deli, sushi and salad bars, and a meat and produce section. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily, with special table-service seating from Thursday evenings into the weekend.
A coffee bar serves up great tasting fresh coffee, cappuccino, tea and iced drinks that go well with anything from the bakery. You can find out more by visiting theirontomato.com or friending them on Facebook, or better yet, stop by the café.
