It’s a Snackdown! Southcoast bakeries battle it out to see who makes the best sweet bread
By Lauren Daley Globe Correspondent,Updated January 30, 2024
Guatemalan sweet bread from Sara's Bakery in New Bedford.COURTESY OF NEW BEDFORD FOOD TOURS
Sweet bread lovers, it’s go time.
Last February, sister cities Fall River and New Bedford competed in a month-long “Pastéis de Nata Throw-down” to see who made the best Portuguese egg tart.
(For the record: Goulart Square Bakery in New Bedford won; Fall River’s Europa Coffee Shop & Pastries placed second, organizers report.)
The sister cities’ friendly food fight went so well, organizers said, they’re doing another — this time, with the whole Southcoast family.
The 2024 Southcoast Snackdown seeks to crown the best sweet bread on the Southcoast. Voting runs Feb. 1- 29. Vote up to once per day. (Thanks to it being a leap year, you get an extra chance to vote for your favorite.)
“Based on the success of last year’s throw-down, we said, let’s ask people what the next [food] should be,” said Patti Rego, executive director of Viva Fall River. “The overwhelming majority” of pollsters wanted sweet bread.
Most of the 20+ bakeries on the group’s online map are in Fall River and New Bedford. But know of a hole-in-the-wall in Westport or Mattapoisett? Write it in. Rego says you can vote for any Southcoast spot as long as they make their own sweet bread (no outsourcing) and are an actual store (“You can’t write-in your grandmother’s sweet bread”).
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