Here in Lakewood Ohio it is snowing as I write this post. In the winter time the primal urges become stronger and the need for comfort and food can become intense. So here I am in, as my friend Phone Rat calls it, my Manhut. While doing a Google search I came upon something which reminded me of what used to be one of my favorite food places. Weby's Bakery in Studio City. Sadly it closed many years ago but I can still remember their unique onion rolls. Like the picture on the left they were light and airy with bits of onion inside the roll. I usually just spread some butter on them and sat back to pick the onion and poppy seeds off my chest.
Somewhere in my closet I have an old business card from Weby's. I remember the owner Norm was often behind the counter and would serve us. When I first discovered Weby's I asked Norm if he had once been at another location and he told me he had. As a child we used to frequent a bakery on Laurel Canyon in North Hollywood that sold these same onion rolls. It was good to find them again after all those years. I have not found another bakery that serves a similar onion roll except for a bakery in New York. Maybe when summer returns I should go take a bite out of the Big Apple.
Behind Weby's there was a small newsstand that used to be a hot spot for celebrity sightings. The last celebrity I recall seeing was John Goodman. As I recall the Rosanne show used to shoot up the road at the CBS Radford Studios. He had a newspaper and maybe a magazine but I didn't see any onion rolls. More for me.
14 comments:
You should be able to find similar onion rolls at any Jewish bakery. I just had one for breakfast.
Where's Norm? Let's find this guy, and figure out where we gets his bread.
I wish I knew where Norm is. I can still taste those rolls and haven't found any around here that are close.
"At any Jewish bakery?" Anonymous is an idiot. Anyway... I read a few years ago that, after Weby's went out of business, the head baker (Norm Neiman I believe) went to work for Jerry's Famous Deli's main bakery. The next time I was in Los Angeles I purchased an egg bread, loaf style, at the JFD in Westwood. I believe this egg bread to be from the same recipe that was used at Weby's.
I had not heard that about Norm. I had been in Jerry's from time to time but only ever had a pastrami sandwich. I have had other onion rolls in the meantime but nothing like the ones I got at Weby's. Thank you for your comment.
Actually, I know for sure that Weby's didn't go out of business. Bur rather Norm sold Weby's bakery. The new owners could not keep up with demand and closed shop. Norm helped build Jerry's bakery, but they do not have the exact Weby's recipe for anything. Jerry's could not keep up with the quality Weby's had. Jerry's is too cheap to ever purchase the quality ingredients Weby's did. I miss Weby's so much! Their chocolate mousse cake was to die for!
Hi, my name is Jo-e and I am the grandaughter and niece of the original owners of Weby's bakery. They were Eddie and Rubin Weber. I was just writing in my newsletter about comfort foods based on our youth. (Now I'm a holistic health coach who steers away from refined flours and sugars as it was largely the contributor to what killed them both and hence, the bakery was sold.) The new owners had the recipes, and the same workers, what they may have compromised were the stellar ingredients and the love that was in every dish. The logo on the door underneath Weby's was, "Everything Prepared With Love." People noticed its absence.
I was looking for pictures of Weby's to put in my Newsletter and found your blog. Just sharing a moment of white flour and white sugar bliss with you for a moment. If you're interested in reading my newsletter this month all about the inside of Weby's, please subscribe for free if you feel for it. Thanks for bringing me back to the rolls. My Papa used to wear fresh white t-shirts and roll the dough against his chest and slap them down on a pan to bake. Such amazing memories for me. On my website, there is a pink bar in the right column of my newsletter that says, Join our List, if you're interested. Thank you again... Jo-e http://www.jo-esutton.com
My name is Ray Sutton, the brother of the above, Jo-e. Thanks for your comments, but Norm was far from the original owner that created the Weby's legacy. As a fifth generation baker and the holder of the domain WebysBakery.com, I plan to create a nostalgic site with photos, recipes, stories and memories. Please stay tuned as I gather this data. Kindly, RAY
Great, Ray. You've had over two years to "gather this data." Where are these photos, recipes, etc. you bragged about?
I remember many of the baked goods at Weby's. There was a rich chocolate cake covered with a shiny fudge icing that was a highlight on birthdays. One had to have a glass of warm water at hand to dip the cutting knife after each cut, because the icing was so thick and sticky no knife could cut cleanly through.
It was a bakery to remember, and I wish it were still open. I would love the recipes ... maybe someone could put together a book. I'd buy it.
Oh how I miss that fabulous magical place. The cookies and the cheesecake and the icing in the cakes were my favorite. I have lived in Europe and traveled to many places and the closest I ever came to the most delish cheesecake ever was a little cafe in Paris. Your grandfather's bakery and deli will forever be etched in my memories. I would do anything to taste that cheesecake again, it was like heaven on your tongue
Ray, you and your sister should put all the recipes together along with heartfelt and fun anecdotes and make a cook book. There are so many of us who grew up and loved Webys that it would probably be a best seller. Even for those who didn’t get to enjoy Webys, the cakes were so good that it would have to be a hit. I know I’d buy it!
In 1969 I worked at the Security Pacific Bank on Ventura Blvd., a few doors from Webys. I still remember the chocolate croissants.
Does anyone have the recipe for the almost translucent chocolate chip sugar cookies they used to sell? They were my absolute favorite and I can't find anything similar.
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