Cafe Brusco brings bagels with a seasonal edge to Berkeley

On College Avenue, the nook of Milvia Road stands out: blue double doorways stand large open, with yellow patio furnishings speckling the grey concrete sidewalk. Gentle music and the hum of a espresso grinder fill the silence between the sounds of passing visitors. A line of consumers stands on a black-and-white checkered ground, most of whom stare on the ruby ​​crimson bottles of wine lining the wall or peruse the cafe’s menu, questioning if it is a day for a sesame bagel with herbed cream cheese, or maybe it is an event for a fennel bagel draped with burrata.

Alexis Rorabaugh and Gerad Gobel, the couple behind Berkeley’s Rose Pizzeria, opened the doorways of Cafe Brusco on September 17, providing bagels with each candy and savory choices and drip espresso, espresso drinks, tea and wine.

Berkeley and Oakland have one influx of new bagel shops have emerged lately. But when Cafe Brusco’s debut and early recognition are any indication, the East Bay nonetheless has room for a brand new high-quality bagel, regardless that Cafe Brusco was by no means meant to be a bagel store.

“We thought that is truly a extremely good nook area as a result of there’s not a whole lot of espresso between the center of the college and the place Blue Bottle is,” Rorabaugh stated. “Individuals within the pizzeria are continuously asking us for espresso.”

Rorabaugh and Gobel initially envisioned a menu of typical Italian café fare: assume espresso, sandwiches and pastries. Bagels weren’t on the scene till a month earlier than the cafe was set to open, when Rorabaugh and Gobel obtained a resume from Chris Warden, a now-hired worker on the pizzeria. Warden got here to Rose Pizzeria with notable baking expertise, together with stints at Meadowlark Farm and Mill in Wisconsin, Bub & Grandma’s Bread in Los Angeles, and even working his personal sourdough microbakery whereas residing in Portland, Oregon.

“We knew we might use some assist making pizza dough, however we additionally questioned what else Chris might assist us with on the cafe. That is once we realized that pizza and bagels are an analogous course of: we have got the mixer, we have got the oven, so why not make one thing we thought can be enjoyable?” Rorabaugh stated.

Gobel, Rorabaugh and Warden put their heads collectively to transform and enhance Gobel’s bagel recipe, which Cafe Brusco now serves each day and baked recent each morning in Rose Pizzeria’s ovens.

“The method concerned a whole lot of trial and error, with Gerad primarily making bagels and having our workers attempt them out and determine what works and what would not. It took a few month, however like our pizza dough, it is continuously evolving,” says Rorabaugh. “We simply needed to make use of nice flour and bake the bagels nicely, and keep away from a giant ‘doughy’ bagel that also has some weight however would not weigh you down.”

Each the pizza dough at Rose Pizzeria and the bagel dough at Cafe Brusco use grains from Cairnspring Mills, a regenerative flour mill in Burlington, Washington that’s dedicated to sustainability and clear agricultural practices. Bagel flavors embrace plain, sesame, every little thing, and the distinctive Fennel and Orange, Gobel’s unique creation made with fennel seeds, orange peel and honey.

With Rorabaugh and Gobel’s shared admiration for Italy, they selected the title “Brusco,” each due to its ties to Lambrusco (a barely chilled, glowing crimson wine from Emiglia-Romana) and due to the interpretation of the phrase: “It means a little bit bit cheeky, a little bit bit coarse, sharp.” Nevertheless it additionally means pie with a taste profile,” Rorabaugh explains.

What units Cafe Brusco aside out of your common bagel cafe are its quite a few customization choices: For the minimalists, bagels can be found with cream cheese, butter or jam, however for these prepared to enterprise out, the open-faced bagel topping menu is the place Rorabaugh and Gobel’s penchant for taste mixtures actually shines. Take for instance the cafe’s namesake bagel, the “BRUSCO:” The bagel is topped with Calabrian chile-spiced cream cheese (a pleasant nod to Rose Pizzeria’s well-known spicy Caesar salad, additionally flavored with the warmth of Calabrian chiles), mortadella, honey and pickled peppers for a harmonious mixture of creamy, spicy, salty and candy. Seasonal choices, such because the “Flirty fig” (figs, honey and basil) and “Summer season Lady” (tomatoes and burrata), alternate relying on seasonal produce. Every open bagel can be out there as a half portion, so clients can attempt multiple open bagel on a full bagel if they like.

“We do not do a whole lot of customization at Rose Pizzeria in our area. Our pizza takes longer to bake; we restrict toppings and substitutions as a result of we would like you to have a very good pizza,” Rorabaugh stated. “However with the bagels it is principally toast. It is enjoyable to combine and match issues and I feel folks actually like that.”

The cafe additionally provides three bagel sandwiches: the Ham and Fig with ham, butter and fig jam, the Turkey Deluxe with turkey, herbed cream cheese, mustard, avocado, tomato and crimson onion, and the “Cal-Ital” with all of the fix-ins: mortadella, ham, turkey, Calabrian chili cream cheese, burrata, avocado, tomato, crimson onion, basil and even honey to complete all of it off.

For the drinks, Rorabaugh and Gobel needed to stay with the Italian theme and introduced in Sam Sobolewski, co-owner of the late Café Bartavelleas beverage director to assist create the espresso menu and develop the Italian-focused specialties: the caffe con panna (espresso with whipped cream), the shakerato (espresso shaken with ice and easy syrup) and the affogato: a scoop of vanilla bean gelato topped with a double shot of espresso. The cafe makes use of Counter Tradition espresso beans, roasted domestically in Emeryville. There are additionally wines on the market by the glass and bottles, together with Lambrusco after all.

These in want of a pastry might be blissful to know it is the one from the East Bay Good luck bakery provides their seasonal pastries to the café from Wednesday to Sunday.

Of (almost) two pizzerias and a bustling cafe, the workforce at Rose Pizzeria has their plates crammed to the brim. When requested about additional growth of the Rose Pizzeria empire, Rorabaugh appears uncertain, however open to the opportunity of extra.

“Two years in the past, I by no means thought we would be making bagels. However for now, I am sticking with pizza and a few bagels,” Rorabaugh says with a smile. “We do not plan a lot, however we’re at all times in search of new areas. If we see a chance, we seize it.”