Barrington’s newest bakery, Ella Bonella, is open on weekends and serving their innovative Breakfast Pies. Get the Breakfast Pie with either sweet or savory fillings. A cross between a quiche and a pie, this savory Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Pie is wonderful hot or room temperature. The 6-inch size is perfect to eat right out of the disposable pie pan with a fork or spoon. You can eat a hot bacon and egg pie sitting in your car, or a berry & oats pie while sitting on the train. Grab an assortment for Sunday brunch and save a few for on-the-go meals during the week.
If you prefer fruit and granola in the morning, the tart cherry or triple-berry pie with an oatmeal streusel topping is scrumptious. Add a side of homemade yogurt and your breakfast is complete. Instead of cereal in the morning, try the Cornflake Pie with a glass of milk. Think of it as a pecan pie with cornflakes. Whether on-the-go or as a special treat, these breakfast pies will make you rethink breakfast.
Owners Andrew Mansour and Cliff Mulnix ran the beloved Frank’s Karma Cafe in Wauconda for over a decade. Andrew, whose mission in life is baking and cooking, needed a bigger and more functional commercial kitchen to test his recipe creations and expand the menu. Ultimately, they found a great new retail location that offered the space and function he required while staying accessible to their strong Wauconda and Barrington-area following. Ella Bonella opened its doors on May 12. The new bakery is located in a strip mall next to the Garlands on Northwest Highway near another Barrington favorite, Frantonio’s Deli & Cafe. The name Ella Bonella is a tribute to their late dog.
Ella Bonnella offers another great local food find – amazing croissants MADE BY HAND! The time consuming and back-breaking task of incorporating cold butter slabs into the pastry dough requires great strength and patience. I joined Andrew one early morning and watched the “laminating” (create 81 layers of flaky goodness) process. Each batch yields 20 croissants. Andrew wasn’t surprised to sell out all the croissants at their grand opening last weekend. He plans to greatly increase the number of croissants made each week.
The finished product is a flaky, buttery and delicious croissant. A French foodie friend of mine said they were among the best croissants he had in the U.S. Coming from him, that is a great compliment!
Andrew brought some customer lunch favorites from Frank’s Karma Cafe to Ella Bonnella, including the popular Frank Sinatra, a tribute to the famous singer. Capicola, salami, pepperoni, home-made red sauce, provolone cheese and sautéed mushrooms, banana peppers and onions are served on freshly baked focaccia bread. Another lunch favorite is the Siracha Focaccia Club Sandwich – Turkey, Bacon, Avocado, lettuce, tomato and a tangy homemade Siracha Aioil.
Ella Bonella is rising star in the growing list of hand-crafted, artisan foods that can be found in Barrington.
Ella Bonnella is located at 421 N Northwest Highway, Barrington, Illinois. They are open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 7:30am to 2:30pm for breakfast and lunch. Follow Ella Bonella on Facebook, Instagram and on their website ellabonella.com. For special orders and catering call Andrew at (847) 560-1523.
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