Tucked away in the corner of Glenwood Village Shopping Center (2603 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, N.C. 27608) is a small but wonderful French-inspired bakery, Hereghty Heavenly Delicious. Opened in 2005 by the Hereghty (pronounced “har-a-tee”) brothers Chris (a Swiss-trained pastry chef) and Brian (a former architect), this little gem offers an assortment of exquisite specialty pastries, chocolates and baked treats, which go well with its excellent coffee. Or check out the Café lunch menu, which offers homemade soups, quiches, salads, flatbread pizzas and sandwiches that are served from 11:00am until one hour before closing (9:00 pm Mon.-Thur., 11:00 pm Fri.-Sat., and 6:00 pm on Sunday.) Hereghty also offers wine by the bottle and glass and a handful of decent beers.

I’ve been doing much of my grocery shopping for the past couple of years at the HarrisTeeter that is next door to Hereghty, but for some reason did not stop in until early this year and have been kicking myself that I didn’t visit sooner. What a treat, and so close to my home! I have tried some of the baked goodies and a few things from the lunch menu and I have loved it all so far. I am quickly becoming a regular customer!

Quiche Lorraine 

I recently ordered the quiche Lorraine to go one evening when I had the house to myself and didn’t want to spend my precious “alone time” in the kitchen. It came with a salad of mixed greens and house balsamic vinaigrette, both quite fresh and tasty. I baked the quiche for 7-8 minutes at 452 degrees when I got home and it was so good – nice and fluffy with a wonderful crust and plenty of cheese. I would like a tad more bacon (of course I would – I always do!) There was a great looking broccoli and cheddar version that I plan to try next time.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

The chicken salad is made with tender chicken, celery, red onions and very little mayonnaise, and comes with lettuce on toasted bread. I opted for a croissant instead, and was pleased with my choice – it was nice and buttery and flaky, and went well with the chicken salad. This also came with a salad of mixed greens and house balsamic vinaigrette, fresh as usual. I’m fairly picky about chicken salad and this one rocked!

Soup & Sandwich Combo

Hereghty’s offers a soup and sandwich combo special from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. I recently tried this with a cup of tomato basil soup and ½ of the turkey focaccia. The soup was creamy with nice tomato flavors. I thought it needed a bit more salt and would have liked more basil in it, but still thought it was good. The sandwich had sliced turkey on yummy focaccia bread and came with lettuce, tomato, asiago cheese and a creamy garlic-herb spread (which was really good!) The soup and sandwich together made a great combination.

Paste di Mandorla

These flourless Italian almond cookies rock! You can choose from chocolate-orange, lemon, chocolate or plain. I’m not sure which one was my favorite – maybe the chocolate orange. You can’t go wrong with any of these, though.

Chocolate Chewies

Wow! These are addictive and probably my most favorite thing I’ve had at Hereghty’s. Yum, yum, yum, yum yum! These bits of heaven are flourless and have gooey, gooey chocolate inside – a chocolate lover’s delight. A little pricey at $2.25 per chewie, but well worth every penny!

Hereghty is quite small and fills up quickly at lunch. Whenever I go, I get there early or wait until later to ensure I have a place to sit.

Ratings

• Price: Not bad. Not cheap, but you do get what you pay for, and in this cas that is great! Check out the daily specials. Unfortuantely, I cannot find my receipts and the online menu does not list prices, so I can’t give an exact breakdown of what I paid for most things.
• Service: 3.75. The majority of the staff is pleasant. You order at the counter and your food is brought to you.
• Food:  4.75. Fresh ingredients. Exquisite pastries. Scrumptious baked goods. Awesome quiche. Excellent!
• Recommend: Yes – expect a wait during busy lunch time hours. Sit outside when it’s not too hot or cold.
• Kid friendly:  Maybe not to dine in, but certainly for the desserts!

1= hater, 2=poor, 3=adequate, 4=above average, 5=superb

Eat, drink and be merry!