If the wonderful smell doesn't lure you into this charming Guatemalan bakery, the bright and varied colors will, like a hypnotic, neon rainbow that serves high-quality baked goods to passersby for less than dirt cheap. (Seriously—you're not likely to find another bakery in Andersonville as cheap as this one.)
Inside Isabella Bakery, the walls are equally bold and boisterous in their color, but this time they're orange like the dawn of a new day; and with each new day, there are freshly baked cookies (three miniatures for $1), muffins ($1), breads and more, all of them warm and waiting to be devoured by you and every one of the five people you know. As long as you're up, you might as well have a cappuccino to keep you going; the drinks are, to quote a friend, "to die for." And while the cream cheese-filled bread ($1) is customer-recommended, the chile relleno sandwich ($2) is locally, if not regionally, famous. Imagine a sandwich that lets you see through time and makes you come apart at the cosmic taste buds. Only better.
There is a bit of a language barrier at Isabella Bakery, but that's okay—it serves as encouragement to learn more Spanish. And though the barely broken English might bother those without patience, it's easy to look past when talking to the girl who's always at the counter, a contender for the annual World's Nicest Person competition. She's got our vote.
Centerstage Reviewer: Benjamin Andrew Moore