Art's Bakery and Cafe — Restaurant in Norcross

My Food Spotting app certainly came in handy today! I flew into ATL and don't have a car at my disposal, so I needed to find some yummy food that was within walking distance. Art's Bakery was actually the very first thing to pop up. The pictures of their beautiful pastries won my heart immediately! So I was very happy to see that this bakery was an easy 1.5 mile away - the perfect walk for me!

First let me say that the one guy working there was absolutely amazing! He was very friendly, very helpful and when he learned that it was my first time, he insisted that I try two of the smaller cookies to sample! They were both absolutely delicious! But I have to say that I had far richer, creamier treats in mind.....but it was so hard to choose! Everything looked divine! I eventually decided to go with two items I'd never seen anywhere else that seemed to be pretty popular based on other reviews I'd read - Chocolate Rat and Almond Success.

As many pictures show, the rat is covered in a layer of dark chocolate. But what's inside?!? I needed to know and no one could tell me in their reviews. Well, I'm happy to tell you. According to the man at the counter it's white cake and chocolate cake mixed with almonds, which led me to believe there were layers of cake inside. Wrong. The inside of the rat was very much like the inside of a cake ball as far as consistency goes, but with some chopped almonds thrown in there for texture. The flavor was light and mild compared the sometimes disgustingly sweet cake balls you taste nowadays. This was a particularly good thing because it provided a perfect balance to the Almond Success.

The Almond Success was another dessert I wanted to discover because, again, none of the reviews could tell me what in the heck it was! Not only did I post a picture of the inside, but I will also explain what's going' on in there. There are two layers of "cake". But this cake has the same chewy texture as a macaron. In between these cake-macaron things is a THICK layer of creamy icing. It had the flavor of almond, the intense sweetness of marshmallow fluff and the texture of the smoothest, creamiest butter ever. The whole thing is topped off with another layer of this icing. The sides are rolled in sliced almonds and the top is covered in white chocolate shavings. Put all these layers together and you have a spectacular treat - the chew from the cake, slight crunch from the almonds and light, melting creaminess.

Lastly, their prices are crazy low!!! I'm pretty sure that...

I recently ordered a birthday cake from Art's Bakery and Cafe for my daughter 's 5th birthday, and it was absolutely phenomenal! The cake was a stunning chocolate ganache and vanilla , beautifully decorated with vibrant colors that perfectly matched our party theme. The rich, moist layers were a hit with both kids and adults alike, and the flavor was simply divine. The staff were incredibly helpful throughout the ordering process, ensuring that all my customization requests were met. They even suggested some creative touches that made the cake even more special. Overall, I couldn't be happier with my experience at Art's Bakery and Cafe . I highly recommend them for any special occasion!" Special Note for the Chef: Thank you for your incredible work on the birthday cake for my daughter 's celebration. Your attention to detail and creativity truly made the day special. The flavors were outstanding, and everyone raved about it! I appreciate the effort you put into making our cake perfect. Looking forward to ordering again for...

Admittedly, there are a lot of cafés and tea salons in Duluth, but most of them don't really have anything to do with genuine coffee and tea... Art's Bakery and Café, however, is truly unpretentious: fresh-pressed (every cup), normal-sized coffees, fresh bakhlava and other pastries and delights (European and Middle-Eastern style—not U.S./Korean XXL beverages drowning in sugar and cream). He's even got great ice cream (again, reasonable sweetness rather than gobs of it like you'll find at Bruster's and other ice cream sellers). Finally, unlike other places with noisy traffic and ugly parking lots, it's in a shopping center that invites you for a short walk afterward....