Signe's Heaven Bound Bakery & Café

Description:

• Sometime in the early '70s, Signe Gardo, a refugee from the snows of Connecticut, opted to open this bakery. Almost 3,000 wedding cakes and countless danishes later, it's the oldest eatery under a single ownership on Hilton Head, with a roster of loyal clients. It lies in a relatively underpopulated neighborhood of private homes way, way off the island's beaten touristic track. Many come for breakfast, oohing and aahing over Signe's signature deep-dish French toast, her breakfast polenta, and her waffles. (Rachel Ray came here to film a feature story in 2007.) Lunches focus on a half-dozen salads, a spinach-and-feta spanikopita pie that might have been inspired by Zorba himself, tomato or crab-cake tarts, and a steaming ration of shrimp and grits. Simple tables on an outdoor deck (no view of the sea, alas) provide a place setting for your meal. Few clients can resist carting off any of the dozen-or-so homemade breads including Swiss pear, French oat and apricot, and Hilton Head sourdough bread. Equivalent cakes include a Forever Valentine and a version flavored with piña coladas, coconut, and pineapple cream.

• © Frommer's 2012