Red Bird Bakery

My family was back in Hastings, Nebraska for a few days to be with my in-laws for the last day of my father-in-law who was on hospice. No doubt, a sad time. In life, we learn how to take advantage of the small things because they can ultimately make a big impact. Food is one of those things and Red Bird Bakery (102 E. Plum Street) in Doniphan, Nebraska played a role in our visit.

I was on the search for donuts, but interesting enough, there don’t seem to be any donut bakeries in Hastings. My mother-in-law told me that they always get their donuts from Russ’s Market. I wanted a legit local place though and it made for a nice treasure hunt which led to Paradise Donuts in Grand Island. I should say that it led me to their web site via a Google Search because we didn’t have enough time to make it there before they closed for the day. I am happy to add that to my list of places that we will visit in the future.

No Donuts for You! That is how it felt since I struck out and would have to result to another option for a sweet baked fix. That is where Red Bird Bakery comes into play. I saw that they had Cinnamon Rolls on the menu. Doniphan was not far away from Hastings and you pass the small town on your way to and from I-80. I knew exactly where the town was. I did have to find directions for the actual bakery though and it was hard to find. It is located right on the corner of Plum & First Streets.

The location had a walk-up window which was convenient for getting your order placed. There were a handful of customers that walked up and ordered as we decided and waited to place our order. We got to the window and went over our order and the young lady helping us told us about their specials. Not only did they have Cinnamon Rolls, but they also had Pecan Rolls, Cherry Crumble Buns, and cakes. One particular cake caught my eye; Oreo Cake. Yes, Oreo Cake! I decided to go with an assortment of the rolls and let the young lady decide what we go for our 8 items. We also got a Rice Krispie Treat for my daughter and I decided that we had enough sweets after that. I didn’t get a slice of cake.

During our conversation they told us that we would have to come back for pizza sometime and I mentioned that we weren’t from town. We were visiting from Omaha. At this point, the mother of the owner overheard me say that and she stepped outside to chat with me. Turns out that she has another daughter that also lives in Omaha. We talked for about 10-15 minutes about food and Omaha Fattie. Food is a great connector! It was a pleasure to spend a few moments chatting.

I went back to window to snap a couple of photos and the owner came to the window for the opp. They also thanked me for our business and gave us a slice of the Oreo Cake since they knew I was eying it. That was so nice of them to do for a complete stranger. I had a feeling that the items were going to be good and that confirmed it for me. I’m excited at this point.

Let us skip ahead to when we ate the rolls. People brought so much food that we didn’t eat any that day and decided that we would eat them for breakfast the next morning. I went to cut them for sharing and they were HUGE! Cinnamon Rolls have been a hot topic recently and these things looked like they were ready to be in the conversation for best around. I ate a piece of a cinnamon and a piece of the cherry. Oh man…Heaven. That’s right, they were so good. Thick, but soft. The perfect amount of sweetness throughout each bite. I think everyone agreed that they were tasty.

The Oreo Cake was OUTSTANDING! I didn’t dare eat the slice myself. It was plenty big enough to share and after my first bite I knew that it would be a crime not to. You know that food is good when you cannot bring yourself to eat it all because you want other people to witness the greatness of it. That is exactly what happened. “Do you want to try a piece? How about you? Did you try a piece of that Oreo Cake yet?” All questions that I asked. It was so good that my daughter asked if we could go back in September for her birthday. Lol.

As if the food wasn’t enough, the prices were sweet as well. Only $2/each for Cinnamon Rolls and only $3/each for the Pecan Rolls and Cherry Crumble Buns. This was a great experience at a great price. This will be something that we can do from time to time on our trips back to Hastings in the future. This small experience provided an escape from our situation; even if only temporarily and is something that I won’t forget. Remember that time when we went to Doniphan and had Red Bird Bakery?

I give Red Bird Bakery 5 Fatties. Have you been? If so, what do you think?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my thoughts on food. You are amazing!

Please Share With Your Friends!