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Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Surge of retail on Lodi's horizon

• Out of the classroom, but with lesson plan

• James Morris has raised six times as much as Phil Urie in race for San Joaquin judge

• Horse racing comes to Stockton next week

• Lodi man helps with trout rescue

• Regional Roundup

• Labor Day closures

• Corrections

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

February 2nd, 2010

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Jumpers across California

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

• Public Meetings

• Patients can expect faster, better service when Lodi Memorial Hospital's new emergency room opens

• Man killed by Amtrak train in Lodi

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Only the best ingredients at family bakery and cafe

Toot Sweets in Stockton has that comfortable feeling you get when you sit around a table of homecooking at grandma's house. But it's not just the friendly staff and warm environment that is comfortable, it's the peace of mind in knowing that nothing is made from a box and the ingredients are as best and pure as possible.

Kim and Monique Kelso opened the March Lane café in the early 1990s. But it has been in business even longer. Kim Kelso's brother and sister opened the first Toot Sweets in Berkeley in 1975, where it became a well-known family operation.

When the Kelso's opened the Stockton location, it didn't take long for customers to come. And, they kept coming back.

"We have a very strong customer base," Kim Kelso said. He said he and the rest of his staff see their customers pull and they know to "start on Tom's mocha."

The dining area is large and filled with tables that wrap around the restaurant. To one side of the café is a boutique, where you can purchase items for yourself, or have Toot Sweets prepare a gift basket for a friend or client.

It's easy to get distracted by the beautiful case of fresh, homemade sweets. Choose between sweet bars, an array of cookies, pies with homemade crust, cakes, made-to-perfection cinnamon rolls.

Toot Sweets Bakery Cafe owner Kim Kelso. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

While it may be hard to get past the sweet case, Toot Sweets offers homemade sandwiches, salads and soups. And, they've taken homemade to a whole new level. Most of the breads — with the exception of rolls from Genova Bakery and wheat bread — are made on the premises. Even the meats are hand-selected by Toot Sweets and roasted there.

One of the most popular sandwiches is called the Macintosh because it's made with apple slices, honey-glazed ham, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and Dijon mayonnaise.

There are about a dozen sandwiches to choose: Roasted chicken with roasted red peppers; honey-glazed ham; roast beef with havarti cheese; pesto chicken; peanut butter and raspberry preserves; curried chicken with sliced almonds and raisins, lettuce, tomato and red onion; Toot's tuna, and cheese to the max (Havarti, jack, cheddar, Emmenthaler, lettuce, tomato, roasted red peppers, aioli or Dijon mustard).

There are dozens of cookies to choose from at Toot Sweets Bakery Cafe. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

The salads are also fresh and topped with the best ingredients. The Toot's executive chef includes fresh roasted chicken, honey-glazed ham, smoked bacon, cheese, croutons, mixed lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, red onions, tomatoes and marinated beans. For something a little different, try the curried chicken salad. The curry is all homemade. The salad is a piling of sliced almonds, raisings, croutons, carrots, cucumbers, red onions on a bed of lettuces. You can also choose from Toot's turkey salad, pesto chicken salad, tuna salad or a garden salad. Potato, pasta or 5-Bean salads come with most sandwiches.

Toot Sweets is also a full-service coffee bar. They serve Five Brothers coffee, which Kim Kelso says is the most consistent and best coffee he's served in his years of working in the restaurant industry.

Striving to offer customers great service, food made from scratch and a clean, welcoming environment has the Kelso family business well on their way to the ultimate goal: perfection.