Category Archives: Bakeries

Flying in for Breakfast, and Maybe Some Pie at Courtyard Cafe in Fallon, Nevada

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Owner Deborah Nelson displays breakfast plates at Courtyard Cafe & Bakery in Fallon, Nevada

Owner Deborah Nelson displays breakfast plates at Courtyard Cafe & Bakery in Fallon, Nevada

I’m at the Courtyard Cafe & Bakery, in Fallon, Nevada for breakfast. But they’re already tempting me with dessert. That’s because inches in front of my counter seat is a thick apple crumble pie, elevated on a pedestal, calling my name. Only the protective lid is preventing me from reaching over for an unobserved nibble or two.

Tempting deep-dish pies line the counter

Tempting deep-dish pies line the counter

My simple breakfast sandwich quickly returns me to mid-morning reality. It’s just fried eggs, crispy bacon and melted cheddar, enveloped in wonderful sourdough toast. Ironically, the sourdough is one of the few breads, baked goods or pretty much anything else that owner Deborah Nelson and her friendly staff don’t make themselves.

As I’m chatting with Deborah, the cook, Anna, keeps putting delectable egg scrambles, Benedicts and other breakfast treats up on the deck. It’s almost enough to keep my mind off deep-dish pie.

"Order up!"

“Order up!”

Note: Fallon is a sprawling city (a half-hour detour off the I-80 northeast of Reno), noted for the naval base where “Top Gun” pilots train.

The Courtyard Cafe & Bakery
55 East Williams Avenue, Fallon, Nevada
Daily 7:30 am-2:30 pm
The Courtyard Cafe & Bakery on Urbanspoon

A Bread Trail Leads to Fabulous Crumb Brothers in Logan, Utah

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Fresh-from-the-oven bread at Crumb Brothers Artisan Bakery in Logan, Utah

Fresh-from-the-oven bread at Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread & Cafe in Logan, Utah

How do you build the perfect breakfast sandwich? You start, as you must, with fabulous, fresh-baked bread.

Obviously, *Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread & Cafe, in Logan, Utah, has this covered with an ethereal, slightly chewy ciabatta bun. But then chef Robert kicks things up a notch with two airy, pan-fried local eggs and some good bacon. For a creamy touch, he adds avocado slices, melted provolone cheese and a swipe of lemon aioli. The final, artistic note is a stacked swirl of thinly sliced apple on the side.

Breakfast sandwiches don't get any better than this

Breakfast sandwiches don’t get any better than this

It’s simple, and simply the best breakfast sandwich I’ve perhaps ever eaten, on bended knee, and for a token $6.50. (It’s a perfect comeuppance to people who suggest you have to spend a small fortune to experience the divine).

Indeed, it’s more souffle than sandwich, something to make you consider giving up the same-old egg-and-bacon breakfast forever. The only thing missing is a better name than Ciabatta Fried Egg Bun.

Of course, Crumb Brothers has a lot more to offer, including all-day sandwiches (try the artichoke tapenade with fresh mozza) and a savoury bread pudding. Most important is a baker’s dozen roster of rotating breads, highlighted by the five-seed Decker loaf, named after the California breadmaker who taught bakery founder and co-owner Bill Oblock many of his yeasty tricks.

The daily bread and food menu

The daily bread and food menu

Crumb Brothers has a nice indoor cafe, with a lovely jazzy playlist chosen by a local musician. But the patio is where you want to be on a sunny day, surrounded by a fantastic garden of drought-tolerant plants. You may never want to leave.

Crumb Brothers' fabulous garden patio

Crumb Brothers’ fabulous garden patio

Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread & Cafe
291 South 300 West, Logan, Utah
Weekdays 7 am-3 pm, Saturday 8 am-3 pm. Closed Sunday
Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread on Urbanspoon

Edmonton’s Duchess Bake Shop is the Sweet Bomb

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Sinfully delicious confections at Duchess Bake Shop in Edmonton

Sinfully delicious confections at Duchess Bake Shop in Edmonton

If I had to choose just one affordable Edmonton eatery, my pound-for-pound champion would have to be Duchess Bake Shop, on increasingly trendy 124 Street. Yes, there is a smattering of fine quiches and open-faced sandwiches called tartines and batards, the latter topped with such things as roasted eggplant spread and hazelnuts.

But this five-year-old shop is the place to go for baked sweets and a pot of tea or French-press coffee. Even the names are decadent: apricot bourbon pecan Danish, rhubarb galette or a raspberry-studded confection aptly called l’amour.

These bombes are to die for

These bombes are to die for

Everything is fantastic looking and even better tasting. Indeed, I haven’t seen its equal in my extensive food forays throughout western North America. As owners Giselle, Garner and Jacob note on their website, everything is made daily from scratch, “using no mixes, no preservatives and no shortcuts.”

A nice touch is the elegantly dressed and solicitous young servers. And when was the last time you saw a barista wearing a tie?

Maybe it was a bow tie. In any event, Duchess, it’s time to take a bow, or curtsy. You’re my number one hit in all of Edmonton.

The elegant space is matched by the servers

The elegant space is matched by the chic servers

Duchess Bake Shop
10720 124 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta
Tuesday to Friday 9 am-8 pm, Saturday 10 am-6 pm, Sunday 10 am-5 pm. Closed Monday
Duchess Bake Shop on Urbanspoon

Fantastic Falafels at Thirsty Camel in Nanaimo, B.C.

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Ilan Goldenblatt makes his fantastic falafels to order at The Thirsty Camel in Nanaimo, B.C.

Ilan Goldenblatt makes his fantastic falafels to order at The Thirsty Camel in Nanaimo, B.C. Photo: Helen Corbett

Customers sometimes tell Ilan Goldenblatt about the best falafels they’ve ever eaten… elsewhere. But once they’ve sunk their teeth into the tender falafel pitas he painstakingly makes from scratch at little The Thirsty Camel Cafe, in Nanaimo, B.C., they invariably revise their opinions.

It starts with the oil. Most falafel-frying joints change their cooking oil every now and then, perhaps filtering it more frequently. But Ilan begins each day with new oil. He wants it this fresh because his chickpea-based balls are only formed (with a custom, Israeli-made device) when ordered. Into the virgin oil they are briefly plunged, emerging slightly green, from the parsley and cilantro, and with just enough surface crunch to mask the silky tenderness inside. No dry, stale falafel balls these. No siree.

The Thirsty Camel's falafels are smothered in house-made tahini

The Thirsty Camel’s falafels are smothered in house-made tahini and sauce

The six warm falafel balls are then stuffed into a thick pita fold, along with cool cucumber, house-made tahini and a sauce that’s got a camel’s kick if you think medium heat is just that. Ilan and his staff have been pouring love into their falafels and other Middle Eastern fare for 10 years. You can taste it with every mouthful.

The Thirsty Camel Cafe
14 Victoria Crescent, Nanaimo, B.C.
Monday to Wednesday 11 am-3 pm, Thursday-Friday 11 am-7 pm, Saturday noon-4 pm. Closed Sunday
Thirsty Camel on Urbanspoon

If you have a hankering for sourdough bread, best make a beeline for Bodhi’s Artisan Bakery, on a leafy Nanaimo street. They make a good half-dozen varieties of sourdough, including a garlic asiago and an olive. They also produce fine cheese scones, pumpkin muffins and dripping cinnamon buns, if you’d like a sumptuous treat to go with an excellent espresso, crafted from Cowichan Valley Peaks Coffee beans. It’s all best enjoyed on a shady patio, where a half hour slips by as smoothly as the coffee goes down.

The cinnamon buns go down nicely with excellent coffee at Bodhi's Artisan Bakery

The cinnamon buns go down nicely with excellent coffee at Bodhi’s Artisan Bakery

Bodhi’s Artisan Bakery
5299 Rutherford Road, Nanaimo, B.C.
Tuesday to Friday 8 am-4:30 pm, Saturday 8 am-6:30 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday
Bodhi's Artisan Bakery on Urbanspoon

 

Of course, no Nanaimo food review would be complete without the iconic Nanaimo bar

Of course, no Nanaimo food review would be complete without the iconic Nanaimo bar, this delectable one served by Bistro at Westwood Lake

Purebread Baking Up a Storm From Whistler, B.C.

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Amazing fig loaf studded with hazelnut slices from pure bread

Amazing fig loaf studded with hazelnut slices from Whistler-based purebread

At the Sunday farmers’ market in Vancouver’s fashionable Kitsilano neighbourhood, there are short lines for various produce, like plump raspberries and blueberries and crisp beans. But the longest queue is for the baked goods at purebread. I figure people know superior stuff when they see, and taste, it. And purebread’s “lineup” is exceptional. Shoppers can choose from some 16 types of bread, including a fig loaf studded with hazelnuts, a rosemary lavender, a touted sour cherry chocolate and, just for fun, a disfunction ale.

purebread's star-studded lineup at the weekly Kitsilano Market in Vancouver

purebread’s star-studded lineup at the weekly Kitsilano Market in Vancouver

But who can stop there? A cinnamon brioche tempts, a cherry scone beckons, a dense slice of crumbly cornbread melts in the mouth. These treats have vanished down throats, with only a small trail of crumbs, by the time we reach the leafy side street. Usually, success stories like this start in the big city and then perhaps migrate into the surrounding hinterlands. But purebread was launched at a market in the nearby resort town of Whistler. It’s a family enterprise that required the use of eight ovens in a high school home-economics classroom to produce the initial baked offerings. But for five years, the prized goods have been transported to weekly markets in the Vancouver area, with a city bakery set to open this fall.

Yeasty folks serving up breads and baked treats at the Kitsilano Market

Yeasty folks serving up breads and baked treats at the Kitsilano Market

purebread
1040 Millar Creek Road, Whistler, B.C. and nine Vancouver-area markets from spring to fall (Note: Purebread’s Whistler Village location has been closed because of a late 2013 fire) Daily 8:30 am-5 pm (Whistler location)

Purebread on Urbanspoon