Right in the middle of Hartford, at 211 Commercial St., sits the European Bake Shop, a cozy place for breakfast and lunch open Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
It is eight miles south of Interstate 35 on State Highway 130. You can’t miss it; it’s where the road ends. Hartford is nestled into a corner of the Flint Hills Wildlife Refuge, a large area of wetlands surrounding the John Redmond Reservoir, perfect for gravel biking or hiking, bird watching or just enjoying the quiet.
The proprietors are John and Evelyne O’Connor. John is a Hartford farm boy, who went to France and brought back not only a bride, but a pastry chef, “une chocolatiere,” and an incredible cook.
This October will mark their eighth year in business. The O’Connors have two grown children, and the third is a junior in high school this year.
“I enjoy it very much; there are really nice people here,” Evelyne O’Connor said. “I feel happy to be here in a small town.”
And the town, county and region appear to be happy to have her. A visit or a phone call cannot help but be interrupted by a gentle, yet steady flow of customers, some for lunch, some for a loaf of bread, some just for a quick cream puff.
Before opening the shop, O’Connor was the pastry chef at Simply Elegant Catering in Wichita, the head of the bakery/pastries department at the Topeka Country Club and worked as a chocolate-maker in a pastry shop in Luxembourg.
Even now she teaches twice a week at Flint Hills Technical College in the hospitality and culinary arts program. She also will prepare special orders, such as sandwiches for a meeting or trays of mini pastries for a party.
The European Bake Shop is not large, but can still manage a lot of people. The cozy interior has three or four tables, and the crushed gravel courtyard has two. The courtyard is framed with wooden rails and sheltered on two sides by taller buildings. A large ornamental pear tree provides some greenery and shade.
The focus is on fresh ingredients, simply prepared.
The menu, parts of which change daily, is written on a white board by the counter, on which lie the breakfast pastries and daily breads. Beside the register is the pastry case displaying what is available for the day.
“I try to always have a quiche; sometimes I will do savory crepes,” Evelyne said. “In the winter we’ll make homemade soup, and, after winter, as in June, we have fresh salads.”
Picnic take-out lunches are encouraged.
“There are some nice trails here, some for walking, some good for biking. Come and get a picnic lunch and enjoy the trails, especially when its cooler,” O’Connor said.
The European Bake Shop offers a chef salad (large or small), and other seasonal salads like fruit, cucumber, carrot and so forth.
Generally, sandwiches include chicken, egg and tuna salads, turkey, ham, roast beef and a BLT. They can be dressed with tomato, lettuce, cheese and onion. Choose a bread, a filling and a dressing and the combinations are generous. A recent special included the Italian Spring Sandwich: Salami or summer sausage, thinly sliced, layered with fresh mozzarella, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and dressed with olive oil.
The early bird gets the worm when it comes to a loaf of bread. O’Connor bakes for her sandwiches as well as to sell.
“But if I have many customers, then I have not so much bread, still, I will make more,” she said.
Daily, O’Connor bakes French baguettes, honey wheat bread, croissant and oatmeal bread. The textures are soft, yet chewy; the crusts firm without being hard on the gums.
“I make the pastries according to whatever strikes me,” O’Connor said. “I usually try to have a few slices of cake. I try to always have the cream puffs...the danish, chocolate croissant, regular croissant, almond croissant...”
Regular pastry customers will have need of the local hiking trails.
O’Connor’s favorite aspect of the restaurant is meeting people.
“We have a guest book,” she shared. “It was my husband’s idea when we started the shop to have the guest book. I look in there and see names from Holland, Japan, China — it is amazing to see all these people coming to my tiny little place”
“We had 24 red hat ladies who came one time, it was quite an experience,” she said. “One time the French professor from ESU brought some of her students and we had a little French lesson. It was very nice. And then, people will come who have traveled, and they will have been in the same town my grandparents lived in, or somewhere where I also know.”
The European Bake Shop is open Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. O’Connor welcomes advance orders as long as she has plenty of notice to ensure a quality product; call (620) 392-5611.
They accept cash and checks, but no credit or debit cards. The O’Connor’s web site is www.europeanbakeshop.com.
sail (anonymous) says...
Well worth the stop,often when we travel to KC we stop off for a fresh treat and hot coffee .
July 5, 2011 at 5:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
THIS IS A 5 STAT BAKERY AND I LIKE THIS BEAUTIFULL LADY'S ACCENT.
July 5, 2011 at 9:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
5 STAR ALL THE WAY AND MY FAVORITE IS CHERRY PIE. A few years ago, I took one home with the intention of eating one small slice, but ate the whole thing and then I was constipated for 3 days and thought I was having a heart attack. After a bunch of tests, the Doctor said, 'YOUR OK BUT YOU ARE FULL OF IT."
July 5, 2011 at 9:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cyberspace (anonymous) says...
This is the area's best kept secret. Les croissants se sont bons! And Evelyne and her assistant as such nice people.
July 6, 2011 at 11:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Peanut724 (anonymous) says...
The food is delicious!!! My only issue: The prices are too high for Hartford. I had a approx 6 oz. iced tea for $1.35 (no refill) and a wonderful sandwich for approx. $6.00. But only the sandwich - no chips, pickles, nothing. And service was a little slow. If anything, the price will hurt as the portions per price are not reasonable.
July 6, 2011 at 4:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )