Lucy J's Bakery — Restaurant in Memphis

I've been trying out pastries from bakeries throughout Memphis this year. There's some tasty stuff around Memphis, however I've been quite impressed by Lucy J's.

The strawberry cream and lemon blueberry croissant pockets took me by surprise.

A lot of strawberry fillings used in pastries are sweet, almost like jam or candy, or lack a depth of flavor by having a one-dimensional flavor profile that is as exciting as a monotone announcer at a sporting event; 'this is a strawberry flavor'.

Lucy J's strawberry filling has big chunks of strawberry that weren't cooked down. Instead it had this flavor that is between fresh and cooked down, with the juices from it mixing into the cream, tasting akin to how when you have strawberry shortcake with cream the strawberry juices can absorb into the cake; it was like strawberry flavors and acids we're infused into the filling. The filling has a sweetness that enhances that infused strawberry flavor as opposed to how quite often added sweetness can distract ones taste buds. The strawberry flavor is strong without being bold, the creaminess present without being too rich. It is well balanced, with a taste of 'real' food that reminds me of fresh strawberries rather than the sick sweetness one usually gets with most strawberry fillings. I've not found anything like it elsewhere in Memphis, and despite having spent some time cooking at home do not know how to replicate the recipe.

I can offer similar praise for the lemon blueberry filling. Though I think the strawberry cream croissant pocket is better done.

The cinnamon croissant has just enough sweetness to make it a sweet cinnamon treat, but keeps it in check to avoid being a sweet roll.

Croissants are browned on the outside, soft on the inside, and chewy. The butter flavor is there but not strong. I'd have liked more butteriness. I added a homemade blueberry-ginger-honey compote to one, and homemade banana-vanilla-maple syrup mash topped to another, each topped with whipped cream. The croissants were a wonderful vehicle for those toppings.

I enjoyed the pinwheel creamcheese croissant , ripping off a pin and dipping it in real maple syrup. Enjoying it alongside some especially tasty milk from Working Cows Dairy.

What brought me to find Lucy J's Bakery was cinnamon rolls, which I ate after the croissants. A strong cinnamon flavor, moist, fluffy, goey after reheating, a slight tang to the icing and layers, and sweet like a cinnamon roll should be, but not too sweet. The cinnamon croissant was a good lead into the cinnamon roll. The cinnamon roll finishing off the craving for cinnamon I began my meal with.

I tried some of Lucy J's cookies; The brown sugar cookie and snickerdoodle weren't notable. The oatmeal cream pie was very good..the oatmeal cookie had this shiny glazed like coat to it. It was interesting and different than most oatmeal raisin cookies. Which is noteworthy as too often oatmeal raisin cookies tend to taste so similar to one another that they become unremarkable.

Lucy J's oatmeal cookie distinguishes. It's like the raisin part didn't distract from the oatmeal part and vice versa. The Oatmeal and the raisin and spices seemed more like a flavor melody, whereas with most cookies each flavor is popping out with its own voice preventing a unified chorus.

What really won me over with the cookies was the cream filling. I've tried many of the oatmeal cream pies from bakeries across Memphis. I'd say Lucy J's cream filling just took first place in my books.

I also had a chocolate chip cream pie. I usually don't like chocolate chip cookies but I try them when I'm at a new shop because sometimes they do them right. They didn't have plain chocolate chip cookies today so the chocolate chip cookie cream pie was a substitution. I didn't expect the combination of chocolate chip cookie and cream filling to agree with me, but...

Given it was not my first time visiting this establishment. I really think they should reconsider some of the young black girls they have working here. I visited one day with my grandmother and the girl that was working was so rude and disrespectful, she acted as if she couldn’t hear me when I requested treats and asked for them to be warmed up. She had a very nonchalant attitude as she pointed me to the register as if I didn’t know where it was and I was done ordering. When I looked at my grandmother and gave her a look as to say “idk what her problem is” the girl mimicked me and proceeded to look dumb. When we paid for the food, my grandmother being the kind woman she is still left a tip for the ungrateful girl and we then had a staring match where she later rolled her neck at me as I walked out. Never had this experience to prior visits there and it’s sad that my grandmother and I had to deal with this behavior. Also, when we got to the car the treats were still cold, meaning she didn’t even care to listen to clear instructions. She was too busy carrying her attitude on...

Snagged a very tasty breakfast (egg, ham, and cheese) pocket while here. Quick and super tasty breakfast for today! I highly recommend both the ham, egg, and cheese; and the turkey and cheese that I snagged on my last visit. Both were delicious! Their strawberry cream cheese pocket is amazing with a cup of coffee too, and I can't recommend their other baked pastries enough! Some fun flavors and tasty treats! UPDATE again: They are back to making plenty of breakfast and cinnamon rolls in the morning! Stopped by this morning and snagged a breakfast pocket for my breakfast; and a cinnamon roll, strawberry pocket, and a French baguette for later. Only downside is, most of my stops by Crosstown are on Monday, and they're not open on Mondays. So I don't get to stop by often. Probably better for my waistline...