Retro Oven Bakery – St. Pete, FL

My friend Vimmi invited me to go check out this brand new bakery called Retro Oven that her friend Ivana opened in St. Pete.  We each invited friends who invited their own friends, so we had a nice group of girls join us to test out her treats!

Ivana has already been baking wholesale for a few years, but she decided to add a storefront just last week.  So far, the only advertising has been word of mouth, but it already seems to be very popular. 

This place is a hidden gem. I’m sure if I didn’t know it was there, I would drive right past the strip center (the outside definitely doesn’t do it justice).  It was a rainy Saturday morning with the remnants of Hurricane Hermine, but as soon as we stepped through the door, we were welcomed by the cozy, modern interior. 

There was a mix of sweet and savory pastries, cakes, and breads.  Ivana uses a lot of family recipes, and because of her Serbian background, the sweets aren’t quite as sugary as the typical American dessert (which is actually a relief – some bakeries add so much sugar to their concoctions that you get a headache afterwards). 

She gave us several samples and even had slices of all her cakes for us to test out (I loved the European Hazelnut Walnut).  We also tasted her homemade bread, which was hearty and full of all sorts of grains.  I ended up ordering a cinnamon roll and cup of coffee to dip it in.  And since Lance had to work, I picked him up a giant cookie to go. 

Wishing her lots of success! If any of you are in the area, go and visit.

We ended up spending the afternoon in St. Pete. We visited the Indie Market at the Morean Center for Clay where I stocked up on my stash of Urban Canning Company’s D’anjou pear, ginger & habanero jam, got a cup of blueberry jalapeño ginger beer from Tidal Boar, and found a cool piece of art from The Messy Painter. 

We finished with lunch at Bodega on Central – it was hot and sticky outside, but I really enjoyed my arepas and maduros.  I’d love for Tampa’s downtown to eventually become as vibrant as the St. Pete scene since I’m on this side of the bay – we’ll get there one day. 

Retro Oven Bakery is located at 2803 38th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33713.  They are open Monday – Friday 7:30am – 3:30pm and Saturday 8am – 3pm (they are closed on Sundays). 

Bodega on Central is located at 1120 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33705.  They are open Sunday – Wednesday 11am – 9pm and Thursday – Saturday 11am – 11pm. 

The Urban Canning Company – St. Pete, FL

Lance and I did our wedding registry different than most people.  We live in a tiny condo and it doesn’t have a square inch of space left for stuff.  Plus, since he works for Macy’s, he already gets a big discount on most things you’d see on a traditional registry.  So when I came across this website Zola, I was really excited!  You can register for anything you want, and even set up cash funds for experiences.  Plus, it keeps track of everyone’s addresses & what they bought you for thank-you notes which I love.

One of the things we put on our registry was money towards The Urban Canning Company.  It’s a local company that makes the BEST jams you’ll ever have.  They also have really great mustards that they sell at Green Bench Brewing, and pickled veggies (I’m not as big on pickled foods, but Lance is pretty excited about them). 

They are $10 a jar, which is a splurge for us, but it’s 1000% better than your boring Smuckers jellies.  They have unique flavor combinations and everything is natural.  They don’t use artificial preservatives, dyes, or any artificial ingredients.  Plus, you’re supporting a local business, and I’m all for that. 

My friend Lynn Pham, who runs the restaurant Bamboozle, was super sweet to contribute towards our wedding registry fund for The Urban Canning Company!  And while we aren’t getting married until next April, I didn’t wait to wait until then to redeem our gift. 

Now that I have weekends off I can actually go to our local farmers markets.  St. Pete has a fantastic one on Saturday mornings – even during the summer it draws a huge crowd.  I ended up getting a nice variety of canned goodies – Mixed Berry & Thyme Jam, Smoked Paprika Tomato & Basil Jam, Surrealist IPA Sour Beer Pickles, Strawberry Bourbon & Vanilla Jam, and Blueberry Lavender & Vanilla Jam.  I can’t wait to make the most exciting PB&J sandwich ever for work on Monday. 

 

Another thing I love about The Urban Canning Company is that they themselves support local businesses.  The beer they use in the pickles is an IPA from Green Bench Brewing (one of Lance’s favorite beers…) and the produce is locally sourced.  You can read more about them on their Etsy page. 

If you don’t live here in the Tampa Bay area, you can actually purchase some of their canned goods on Etsy.  They even give you food pairing suggestions. 

And for you local people, go buy their products at these locations:

-      Brew D Licious - 667 Central Ave. – St. Pete, FL - carries a variety of their artisan jams.

-      Green Bench Brewing Co. – 1133 Baum Ave. - St. Pete, FL – carries their mustard, and serves it in their tasting room.  Also serving Surrealist IPA Sour Beer Pickles.

-      Duckweed Urban Market – 803 N Tampa Street - Downtown Tampa, FL – carries a variety of their artisan jams, mustards and pickles.

-      Squeeze Juice Works – 675 30 Ave. N - St. Pete, FL – serves their pickles on their grab-n-go menu items, carries a variety of their artisanal jams and pickles.

-      Rare Hues – 10005 N Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa 33618 – carries a variety of their artisanal jams.

-      Local Public House + Provisions – 32750 Pennsylvania Ave. San Antonio, FL – http://www.sanannlocal.com/ - carries a variety of their artisanal jams.

FARMERS MARKET SCHEDULE: (check their websites for updated information)

-      SATURDAY MORNING MARKET
AL Lang Stadium Parking Lot 1 Ave. S + 1 Street - St. Pete, FL
9am-2pm every Saturday October – May, moved to Williams Park June – August (this is where I picked up the jams this morning)

-       

-      ST. PETE INDIE MARKET AT THE LOCAL 662
662 Central Ave. - St. Pete, FL
12-6pm First Saturday of every month.

-      HYDE PARK FRESH MARKET
742 South Village Circle - Tampa, FL
10am-3pm First Sunday of every month.

-      FRESH MARKET AT WIREGRASS
28211 Paseo Dr. - Wesley Chapel, FL
10am-2pm First Saturday of every month.

-     SEMINOLE HEIGHTS SUNDAY MORNING MARKET
The front lawn of Hillsborough High School
5000 N. Central Ave. Tampa, FL 33603
9am - 2pm The second Sunday of every month (this summer through September it’s actually 11am – 4pm at Southern Brewing & Wine Making on Nebraska Ave)

Localtopia 2015

 

I was really excited to have off work on February 7^th because two of my best friends, Tony & Katie, got married!  Since I work most Saturdays, I wanted to make the most of it.  So that morning, I headed to St. Pete with my friend Vimmi for the 2^nd Annual Localtopia. 

 

It’s an event run by Keep Saint Petersburg Local featuring all sorts of local businesses.  It took place in Williams Park in downtown St. Pete.  Since I wanted plenty of time to get ready for Tony & Katie’s wedding, we went right at 10am when the event started. 

I was especially excited because The Hole Donuts teamed up with The Urban Canning Company to create the Glazey Susan – a glazed donut filled with strawberry balsamic & cracked pepper jam and topped with pecans and pretzels!  I love it when local companies collaborate together. 

Vimmi and I were looking for the donuts, but couldn’t find them anywhere.  Then we realized we were at the wrong park (the St. Pete Saturday Morning Market takes place a few blocks away at Progress Energy Park).  That market runs every Saturday 9am – 2pm from October to May.  While we were there, we picked up some coffees at Bay Coffee and Tea Company (I had an Almond Joy latte), and Vimmi found some gluten-free goodies at one of the local stands. 

 

 

While the Saturday Morning Market was big, the Localtopia event was huge!  It had over 100 vendors with all sorts of products, arts & crafts, food, and drinks.  There was live music on the stage and the park was packed!

 

I managed to score the last two Glazey Susan donuts (brought one home for Lance since he was working…but I could have easily eaten both myself). 

The filling was so good that I bought a jar of the Strawberry Balsamic & Cracked Pepper Jam too. 

Vimmi found some gluten-free cupcakes that looked amazing!

 

And we both purchased some awesome soaps from Bodhi Basics.  Their soaps are all organic with no artificial ingredients.  The company is named after their dog, Bodhi, so a portion of their profits goes to local no-kill animal shelters.  They’ll be opening a retail location on 1^st Avenue next month.  I got the Moroccan Clay soap which smells fantastic – with a variety of oils, shea butter, Moroccan rhassoul clay, and spices like cloves, cinnamon, and turmeric.  They even have a soap that’s made with local pork fat from Bodega on Central!

 

 

 

O’Berry’s (which was featured at Green Bench’s Brew Brunch) had some really pretty arrangements of cacti and succulents in fun containers. 

I was also excited for the Drink Like A Local truck – which had about 2 dozen different beers from local breweries, some of which aren’t even officially opened yet.  I tried the Kumquat Hefeweizen from Urban Comfort, which opens soon on Central Ave.  It was sweet, but not too sweet.  I’m looking forward to checking their brewery out soon!  My only complaint about the truck was that the people pouring the beers didn't seem to know much about the different breweries...I was hoping there would be a representative from Green Bench, 3 Daughters, Urban Comfort, etc. 

 

 

We grabbed some lunch before heading back to Tampa.  I had a meatball hoagie from Mazzaro’s which was huge. 

It was certainly a popular event, so I’m sure there will be a Localtopia 2016 to look forward to!