Ajla’s Bakery and Grocery
1206 W 9th St, Waterloo, IA 50702
Most of the clientele at Ajla’s the few times that I’ve been there have come in for the big, soft loaves and rolls that are obligatory in any good Bosnian bakery and grocery. And most of them speak Bosnian, and it’s clear this is a hub of the Bosnian community in Waterloo, sister city to Cedar Falls. They also have the requisite South Slavic fare: jars of pickled peppers and tomatoes, ajvar (red pepper and eggplant paste), cevapcici, jams and jellies, Vegeta products, various canned meats and pates, a cooler with good Bulgarian feta cheese, hilal meats, bottled water, and various fruit juices.
But the reason I go there is the cake.
Simply put, Ajla’s has the best cake in the state of Iowa, if not the Midwest. It’s worth traveling for. This is the kind of cake you see in glass display cases all over Europe–the ones you take pictures of, and wish you could order more. There’s a decent selection of double-layer flat cakes, several roulades, and some individual pastries. They’re all wonderful. I suggest you buy one of each (or more). And you should load up on some of that good bread–and other Bosnian treats, too, of course.
FoodIowa 