Photograph by Paul Myers

Mama's Bakery in Los Gatos, owned and operated by Ali Shemirani, specializes in cookies and cakes.

Mama's Bakery adding fresh coffee and ice cream to menu

By Suzanne Cristallo

In case Los Gatos strollers north of Highway 9 haven't noticed, it's tough to find a cup of coffee before 10 a.m. That fact hasn't escaped Ali Shemirani at Mama's Bakery. The tiny take-out shop is tucked in a mini-mall across from Safeway on N. Santa Cruz Avenue. Customers who come for early-morning scones and cinnamon crumb cakes hurry away to eat them at home or in their cars, leaving Shemirani to drink his coffee alone. This has given him an idea.

He's going to put chairs and a little table in front of his shop. "I'll make coffee for you fresh if you want to sit awhile," he invites with a smile, opening a cupboard filled with Styrofoam cups, napkins and paper plates that spill toward him.

"I have plenty of stuff, and I buy good coffee." To accommodate his idea, he plans to open at 6 a.m.--two hours earlier than his regular time. To help out a little, his neighbor Mike McBride down the street at recently redecorated Sweet Pea's is providing the table and chairs.

Shemirani works alone, 12 hours per day, in the 400-square-foot space he has leased for his bakery for the past 3 ¹/2 years. The walls are crowded with two big freezers and a refrigerator, two large, five-shelf baking ovens, a double sink, a well-used Hobart mixer and storage. An 8-foot stainless-steel table fills the center of the room--the hub of all the baking preparations. A box on a shelf holds memorabilia, like batter-spattered photos of special birthday cakes, chocolate-smudged fliers promoting school fundraisers, and "best student" awards using his bakery goods. He winks, then chuckles. "Everybody always shows up for the free stuff."

Shemirani has baked for a half-century, first as one of 18 children reared in their father's shop to follow in his trade--a Persian tradition--and then on his own, starting in Los Angeles in 1977 with his wife, Minoo. The couple baked for restaurants in their home while rearing their three sons. Today, Minoo operates a breakfast catering business for local offices, while shops and restaurants like Double D's and Dolce Spazio in Los Gatos and Rose International Market in Saratoga use baked goods from Mama's.

Although small in area, the bakery accommodates the walk-in trade with a wide array of cookies, cakes and muffins. Shemirani specializes in Napoleons--desserts made with crisp layers of puff pastry spread with creme patissiere (egg custard) and dusted with confectioners' sugar. One bite leaves a chest-full of sugar dustings. Also popular are biscotti, either plain or chocolate-dipped. Some fans like to dunk the hard, twice-baked biscuit in hot coffee, watching it absorb the brew, which softens the crunch.

A constant parade of Shemirani's cakes go through the oven all day. Aromas that drift toward the street hint at lemon, honey and cinnamon. Cheesecakes come in chocolate swirl, raspberry and espresso. The biggest wedding cake he has made was seven layers with a fountain.

And, surprise! Shemirani makes ice cream. He uses the big mixer to blend pistachio, whipping cream, sugar and saffron to create a special Persian flavor that Rose International Market sells by the pint. Swensen's Ice Cream Parlor in Los Gatos offers his ice cream cakes, like chocolate and chocolate chip, which sell for $25.

Another of his frozen desserts is called fallodhe. Rice sticks are combined with a sweetened syrup, then frozen to create a light and unusual taste. They might be just the thing to enjoy on an early spring morning, accompanied by a steaming cup of coffee while seated at a cozy table in front of Mama's. The entertainment is watching Shemirani bake.

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Mama's Bakery, 473 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Call 408.395.5254 for more information.

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