Living the Dolce Life

Every once in a while I come across a place that strikes my fancy. I feel lucky that I will find a place that has a pretty cool atmosphere, nice location and some great food. In the age of the internet, and Yelp, it’s easy to find a place with great food. All you have to do is look up any food type of your choosing and any general location and you’re more than likely to find something you want. But, sometimes, that isn’t the case. Sometimes, just sometimes, you’ll find a diamond in the rough.

A few years back I got a job working in the city of Upland. I didn’t know much about that town and what kind of things they had there. But, like the fatty that I am, I must (and I do stress, must) know what food options there are going to be around my work area. I mean, if I am ever going to be hungry, I like to know that there is going to be some good places to grab a bite either at lunch or for any other meal. Upland was pretty unknown to me, and for some time, I didn’t know what to think of it. My office was located close to the Cable Airport, and if you’ve ever been near that area, there’s not really much to look at. Let alone, not many places to eat at.

But, one day, after eating at El Pollo Loco and Alberto’s more times than I can remember, I thought I would take a drive with my coworkers and see what we could find. Lo and behold, there appeared a place that we had never seen before. This place was a mere two blocks away from the office, and it offered up a new place to eat that we had not seen before. This place was a gastropub. If you’ve never been to a gastropub, just imagine a restaurant with some good pub-like food and plenty of beer. I had heard about these places, but, I had never been. So, we took a chance and went to try this new place out. Needless to say, this little gastropub was friggin’ amazing. Who would have thought that a place called Dolce Bakery & Gastropub would be delicious?

I am sure that you can tell by some of the included pictures in this article, there are some really amazing looking foods at Dolce. The best thing about them looking good is that not only do they look good, but they taste good as well. I didn’t expect to find a place where I can grab a steak sandwich with chimichurri, tater tots with roasted marrow, chocolate caramel tarts and a ton of local and imported beers. Yet, here this place was, sitting on the edge of Montclair. I never expected to find this place, especially considering the location that it is at. I love surprises, and this place definitely delivered a number of those in spades.

Dolce quickly became a favorite of mine and my co-workers from that first trip onwards, and while I do not work in the same location any more I do make the occasional trip out that way. I had the chance to head by there pretty recently and I wondered if it was still as good as it was way back when. Well, if any of these wonderfully sensual, fat-inducing, sweet-smelling and taste manipulating photos doesn’t answer that question for you, then I don’t know what will. This place was, and still is superb. I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone swing on by the place and try it out. I am sure there will be something that you’ll find that you’ll like. Lord knows that I would stop by for just the pastries themselves. Ha!

Words By Daniel Navarrete

Photos by Cassidy Eileen

For more information on Dolce Bakery & Gastropub and their upcoming shows please make sure to check out their website at Dolce Bakery & Gastropub Homepage.

This article was prepared or accomplished by Daniel Navarrete in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Spektrum Magazine, or its affiliates.