Grace’s Pastries

I bought a loaf of spinach and feta bread yesterday from the Del Ray Farmer’s Market and it was dry as the Sahara and didn’t have any taste. I liked all the ingredients and had great hopes, I won’t try anything from here again…

Grace is a sweet woman that makes tasty treats. We stopped by her newer store in Herndon (she moved across the shopping center). The selection wasn’t the largest, but I imagine that is also due to the move.
She had AMAZING marble cheesecake, i would highly recommend it. I’ve read she has amazing breads but none were available when we went, so can’t say.
I would give it a 4 star if there were more choices!

I think the store is a front! I have walked by it for 2+ years and have never seen anyone inside. And no displayed food. It’s sometimes closed during business hours. All very strange. Bought 2 of their tea breads from the Reston Farmers Market for a luncheon party — no one liked them.

After hearing about their wonderful sweet breads I couldn’t wait to try their products which are sold at the Sherwood Hall Library Farmers’ Market (say that three times!) on Wednesday. I purchased zuchinni bread and a sour dough loaf. The service (by two people) was not very friendly. They don’t seem to want to be there at all. If I were selling a 16oz loaf of zuchinni bread for $ 6.50 and sour dough for $ 5.00 I think I would be pretty darn happy, but I digress.
This zuchinni bread is dry, slightly stale and severly lacks flavor. The sour dough is ok.
For me I think I will try another vendor next time, actually I know I will.

Not only do they sell these at the Del Ray Farmer’s Market — they have a stand at the farmer’s market in Old Town as well. It’s a bit tucked away — if you’re facing the city hall (with the fountain behind you), it’ll be to your right when you go down the brick stairs leading to the street. Can’t really miss it – as of this morning, I counted about 12 or so people milling around the sample trays trying out the pieces of bread!
Like MacRae O., am a total bread-​aholic. Ever since my fiancé and I started going to the Old Town farmer’s market every Saturday (we buy all our perishables here instead of the grocery store), we make it a point to buy a loaf at the Grace’s Pastries stand. The banana bread’s very moist and heavy — tasty with a good cup of coffee and some peaches. Will try the zucchini bread next — granted, the stand sells the loaves at $ 5.75 each. But for two people, it covers our weekend breakfast and snack, so it works out.
They also carry a few pies, breads (sliced and whole), and tarts. Their raspberry tarts look fantastic, but haven’t tried that yet. Though I did see a couple getting all excited and bought three of them. So they must that good. If I can get a couple of my friends on board to eating it with me, I’ll do that and come back with a report.
Giving this place my thumbs up… after I finish devouring my huge slice of banana bread of course. :)

I love bread! All kinds! Any kind! Wait, no – not bread with raisins. Raisins ruin anything they touch.
Grace’s Pastries comes to the Del Ray Farmers Market on Saturdays. I had no idea they had a storefront, too. Some of these reviews (filtered included) mention the terrible service at the Herndon store. I wonder what’s up with that, because I always find the peeps working Grace’s booth to be really helpful and on-​point.
Their bread is pretty good, too. It doesn’t come pre-​sliced, so you can cut yourself a big, giant hunk of it to gnaw on. Our favorite is the Seven Grain. It’s chocolate-​colored, dense, and sweet. It almost takes like cake, especially if you toast it up nice and smear butter all over that bad boy. So good! Some of the other breads we haven’t liked as much — like the wheat, which is too crumbly to be much good for anything other than… well, crumbling. And the focaccia, which *looks* like it’d kick some serious ass what with its browned onions and wilted spinach and tomato rounds, is disappointingly bland. Wah.
But the Seven Grain, oh that cakey, yummy Seven Grain, and the nice employees kick this stand up a notch. Sometimes there’s this adorable little boy with some enviable dreds hanging on his dad’s (I assume he’s dad) pantleg. I want to pinch his cheeks off. And one of these days I’m gonna drive out to Herndon and scope the service at Grace’s storefront…
…who am I kidding? I’m not gonna drive out to Herndon.

Grace’s Pastries comes to the weekly farmer’s market near where I work and I’m always excited because I love their empanadas! When I first started buying them, they had chicken in it and they were so yummy. Then a few weeks later they stopped brining chicken and had rice empanadas… at first I was like ‘eh…rice.in a pastry bread. how good can that be?’ Apparently pretty darn good! :) THEN, one week they brought salmon empanadas and they were INCREDIBLE! I went back and bought more, but since that day they haven’t brought them back :(It’s ok though, I still have the rice and as of today, chicken empanadas. Unfortunately, next week will be the last week they come to this farmer’s market until next year :(

Looks Ok from the curb walked into the place after eating at the great value of 3 thai sushi nobody was here though (a very loud doorbell rang which should of got the attention of everybody in the place). We stood for about 4 or 5 minutes in the front looking into the back kitchen area when two ‘foreign language’ speaking employees glazed at us from the back and continued talking but did not come to the front to help us. Left without purchasing anything where again the loud doorbell range. Guess this place does not need any business. The bakery looked like it had minimal variety of sweets. Can not speak for the taste of things here but from the looks of the items in the dingy display cases they were unevenly cooked and not finished with care, i.e. the cakes look like the icing was applied with a large mouth bass. Sure the place is Ok but chalk this up as Minimum-​Wage-​Effect (MWE) goto Safeway, am i saying this?, or a grocery store where you will certainly get better service and surprisingly better looking products.