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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 2009)
CHOW! FALL 2009 Sweet Talk I n the 2000 film Chocolat, Juliette Binoche soothes the pain of the residents of a provincial French town with a single magic potion: chocolate, the movie’s namesake. And while the current worldwide economic recession presents a different set of problems than the 1950s conformity and heavy-handed demagoguery of the film, eating one’s way to happiness still sounds like a tempting quick-fix cure for depression … both the emotional and economic varieties. With a disheartening 12.5 percent unemployment rate in Lane County, more than three full percentage points higher than the national average, belts are tight- ening across the Southern Willamette Valley, and extras like sweets seem like a natural place to start trimming the fat. But if the thought of foregoing dessert due to a limited budget makes you want to toss your cookies, some local sugar-slingers are taking steps to ensure their customers can have their cake and eat it, too. Adam Bernstein, proprietor of eateries Café Maroc and Adam’s Sustainable Table, recently changed the name and menu of the latter from Adam’s Place, a mea- sure to reflect not only sustainability of the environmen- tal sort but a nod toward finances as well. “I think people tend to share more desserts” these days, says Bernstein. “We have a chocolate volcano, a shared dessert,” Bernstein says. Ordering a dessert, even a shared one, makes “people feel like they’re getting a bonus,” he explains. If even half a chocolate volcano is beyond the bud- get, Amy Brown, manager of the Candy Baron at Fifth Street Public Market, may have the solution. Brown equates the shop’s à la carte shopping experience with a way to save a few coins, asserting that her customers AARON RAGAN-FORE “are appreciative of the fact we carry individual can- dies, and can buy just a couple of pieces” as a pick-me- up. All the same, Brown says, “We’ve definitely had a [sales] drop at the beginning of the year.” Michael Phinney, owner of the Palace Bakery on Pearl Street, keeps his pricing competitive. “You can buy a freshly made pastry from me for about half of what it would cost if you went down the street to a fine dining restaurant,” he says. Phinney describes the cook- ies, scones and truffles his shop offers as “a fairly affordable luxury.” And are Palace Bakery customers guiltily lining up at the register, muttering that a flaky croissant is an indulgence they really shouldn’t buy? “I hear ‘This is something I shouldn’t eat,’” Phinney says. “Generally their comments are more about waistlines, not pocket- books.” “Our sales are doing better almost weekly,” Phinney adds. Christina Jessie, bakery sales manager at the flagship Market of Choice location at 29th and Willamette, reports a similar trend. “We’ve seen sales stay steady,” even amidst the recession, she says. “People’s buying patterns have stayed the same.” Paradoxically, Jessie’s bakery cuts costs by way of a commitment to quality. “We’re really fortunate in that we do so much from scratch,” she explains, citing the increased cost of pre-made baking mixes. The overhead costs for a bakery can be considerable. “We do use better quality ingredients, and we try to buy locally,” says Jessie. The Palace Bakery, meanwhile, doggedly refuses to budge on some particular cash outflows, such as provid- TODD COOPER STRETCHING YOUR DOUGH ON DESSERTS BY ing health insurance for full-time employees. Michael Phinney allows it’s painful to note when customers stop coming into his establishment due to job loss, the fate of a few of his regulars. All the same, most Eugeneans seem intent on stick- ing with their preferred comfort foods, through boom or bust. “If they liked pie before, they’re going to stick with pie,” says Jessie. “They’ve adjusted to maybe buy- ing a slice.” Jessie says the Market of Choice ambience itself can be a balm for worry-afflicted souls. “It’s kind of nice to come into the store, get a nice cup of coffee and a des- sert, and take a moment for yourself,” she says. Phinney has a Palace Bakery recommendation for folks auditioning potential comfort foods to help them through tough times. “We have a cinnamon bread pud- ding with fruit of the day that’s about as comforting as we can get,” he reports. And does Phinney himself indulge in sweets, as a way of beating the blues? 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