Utica Bread — Restaurant in Town of New Hartford

Hello Folks, My name is Mike Grimaldi, I am an Italian American in my sixties originally from Queens, NY who relocated my family while serving my country in the Air Force at Griffiss AFB many years ago, I liked the area so much that I stayed. I take pride in knowing great Italian food. My parents came from East NY and grandparents from Italy. I know most all the finest Italian dishes and can even cook some of them. The one thing that is common to all Italian food dishes is the BREAD no matter what you eat for dinner there is always Italian Bread. Now I have had Italian Bread in all five boroughs of NY and in Italy too when I was a GI and I know my Italian Bread. Anyway two Saturday's ago my wife and I went down to the Oneida County Public Market at the Train Station in Utica and bought a few things, but the one thing that caught my eye was this loaf of Italian Bread. It was a dark crispy brown crust with sesame seeds all over it, oval shaped measured about a foot long by a half a foot wide. As I moved closer I could smell the freshness so I asked the lady if I could wrap my hand in a plastic bag and squeeze the bread a little, she said ok, so I did and I knew right then that this might be one of the great ones! I could not wait to get home to try this loaf of Italian bread. WELL I'm telling you that this Italian Bread was so outstandingly delicious I ate it all that day and I don't care because it was one of the finest Italian breads. The crust was amazingly brittle when I bit into it (without hurting the inside of your mouth) and it had a slightly nutty, wheat and sesame taste accompanied by a fresh soft inside of airy mid-weight dough. MAN what a delight, it was pure joy all by itself, so just imagine dipping it into sauce or with Greens & Beans, Pasta Fa Zool, even having a Salami or an Eggplant sandwich. I was wondering why I never found or heard about the Utica Bread in the forty years I have lived here, because its practically new, opened around 2015, wow how can something this new taste so old school delicious, Utica...

I was killing some time in the area waiting for a doctors appointment and I stumbled upon Utica Bread! Such a cute bakery. The two Italian ladies were so nice to me. They helped me pick out a brioche loaf and a pastry. We get to talking and they insist I try some of their tomato pie and a croissant. When I tried giving them more money they refused and told me to keep it and just made me promise I would come back and visit them. I wish I would have gotten their names but you'll know them by their sweet faces. Besides the service, the bread is so delicious! I just made some french toast out of it and oh my gosh, it is so thick and not too airy like grocery store bread. This is...

My daughter and I had been wanting to check out this little shop and swung in a couple minutes before closing. We were trying to rush as not to keep the employees held up. The women were so inviting and kind and told us not to worry and to take our time. Everything we got was AMAZING, and the women were the absolute sweetest! Their generosity and caring spirits made it feel like we had "come home" for Sunday dinner. It made us so proud that this little local shop reflects the incredible heritage and kindness of our community. Will definitely be going back and telling others about this...