Chris S.
Yelp
Only bread, pastries, maybe some quiche, and coffees/teas available here, no real food, so think "European" style cafe, not the American variety where you can find a sandwich, soup, or more on the menu. And I thought the other popular bakeries in town were expensive - if you live in Lawrence, you know which two I am thinking about - until I stopped by 1900 Barker this morning. Seating is extremely limited as well, so if you hope to sit down...take a number and wait your turn.
I had heard they were "a bit pricey", but that is an understatement! I paid $9 ($8.50+tax) for a loaf of (burnt) apple, raisin, walnut wheat bread, the most I have spent in my life in any of the 41 countries I have visited, including Switzerland where everything is overpriced, for a loaf of bread. Seems rather excessive to me. The bread was "OK", other than the obvious taste of burntness on the crust, with the inside being soft and moist, almost too moist as if it needed a couple more minutes in the oven. When paying $9 for a loaf of bread, it had better be perfect and delicious, but this bread was neither. How do you burn the outside and still leave the inside undercooked. The loaf did not hold up well to a knife either, caving and crumbling as I sliced. Makes me think the "baker" is either experimenting or inexperienced.
I saw several other reviews complaining about the bread being not cooked enough and too expensive among other things, yet 1900 Barker is consistently awarded 4 or 5 Stars. I believe "5 Stars" are given out willy-nilly by far too many reviewers, but my ratings are based on "value", hence the name of my blog: "TravelValue", what you get in terms of quality, service and price. So based on their absurd prices alone, I cannot give them more than 4 Bombs (2 Stars), especially when I take into account that the bread was burnt, even more so on the bottom than the top, too moist inside and falls apart when sliced.
I hope they succeed, I really do. I hate for any business to fail (with a couple of exceptions in Lawrence, but that's another review or two), particularly when they have large sums invested in a venture (the place used to be a run down laundromat). However, after the trendiness and novelty wear off, I believe people will require more value and better quality for their dollar. So, unless they bring their prices back down to Earth and stop burning the bread, I unfortunately do not see this venture being a long-term success. The lack of parking alone will turn many customers away because the parking lot only holds five or six cars max and Barker and 19th are far too narrow to allow too many cars on the street.
CombatCritic Gives 1900 Barker Bakery And Cafe 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!
4 Bombs (2 Stars) Equates To A Military Rating Of: "BOHICA" ... Read the translation on my blog civilians!