Bread and Ocean
This Manzanita deli and bakery gets it
right for carnivores and vegetarians alike
A
As much as its crisp and vibrant brunch
fare, Bread and Ocean’s environment and
ethic too brightened my mornings. The Man-
zanita deli and bakery gets it right, from the
space to the service to the À avor. ,t’s enliv-
ened, nourishing, thoughtful and rich enough
to please just about anyone.
3erhaps all this ¿ gures, as Bread and
Ocean was hatched by beloved North Coast
restauranteur Julie Barker. Barker operated
Manzanita’s Blue Sky Cafe for 16 years be-
fore opening Bread and Ocean in 2003. She
sold the business last year and launched the
marvelous Buttercup a few miles south in Ne-
halem this spring (see Mouth of the Colum-
bia Buttercup, May 2, 201. And while ,
never visited Bread and Ocean under Barker’s
watch, the model bears her ¿ ngerprints sim-
ple recipes lifted by quality, mostly local in-
gredients. And while it’s not quite so narrowly
focused as Buttercup (which does made-to-or-
der chowder and ice cream), Bread and Ocean
picks its battles.
Closing at 2 p.m., it’s all bright breakfasts
and lunch. A small space packed with tables,
customers and employees, Bread and Ocean is
full of light. A large skylight and a wall of win-
dows and glass doors welcome in the day. The
bustle rarely ceases, customers coming and
going, their names and orders being called,
yet a sense of easy serenity prevails — it’s not
a madhouse. A row of deli cases features half
the menu, full of quiches, frittatas, polentas,
salads, pastries and more. Over them hang the
sandwich menus, including a host of regulars
and the daily panini and soup specials. By the
register, where you order, is an espresso ma-
chine and the grinds of Sleepy Monk beans.
,f it’s before 11 a.m., lunch is off the menu
— that means no sandwiches or soup. (But
who wants a sandwich before 11 a.m. any-
way?) The egg dishes in the deli case, pre-
sumably cooked the morning, are delightful, a
cross between sultry and strong fuel.
A slice of frittata ($6.95) was generous
and tall. ,ts ideally singed thin outer layer was
lightly crisp, and its insides were moist and
gooey. Around broccoli and roasted red pep-
pers, the herbed goat cheese sashayed and per-
meated the scrambled egg base, warm, potent
and slithering. The polenta was a cousin. ,ts
layers of spongy grains acting as riverbanks
to À ows of melty Tillamook cheddar cheese,
scrambled eggs and smoked ham. Both the
polenta and frittata are gluten-free, and both
14 | July 30, 2015 | coastweekend.com
came with a small but welcome side salad of
¿ eld greens in a light vinaigrette. Their make-
ups — eggs, cheese, veggies and animal pro-
tein — were much like that of the quiches,
only without crust.
Like the ingredients in the egg dishes, the
salads in the case seem to rotate. On a given
day there are three or four, and with heavy
starches and/or proteins — like pasta and
cous cous —they’re more meal than rough-
age. The chicken curry ($4.65 for 1/2 pint)
could hardly be called a salad at all. ,t was
almost all meat, covered in a thick, creamy
yellow curry sauce (including homemade
mayonnaise), and featuring a few grains of
wild rice, raisins and celery for À ourishes of
taste and te[ture. ,t was hearty, and by itself
a scrumptious energy boost. The broccoli, in
soy sauce and tossed with À akes of almond,
ginger and garlic, was more lean and mean
— real high-octane. The broccoli itself was
exquisitely prepared: moist enough not to
be a chore, still raw, crispy and delectable.
A slice of frittata, served with a small side salad, had a singed,
crisp outer layer and gooey inside.
,n each of these salads the respective (ast-
ern sauces were welcome, well-executed ex-
cursions outside of Bread and Ocean’s more
dominant and familiar daytime À avors.
Which brings us to the sandwiches. There
are loads of them, from tuna to turkey to egg
salad, and all served on Bread and Ocean’s
freshly baked breads. (By substituting tempeh,
all the sandwiches too can be made vegetar-
ian). And, in a package that’s as precious as
it is practical, the sandwiches — along with
everything else on the menu — are available
as boxed lunches with choice of side salad or
soup and cookie for $3.25. ,ndeed, the perfect
package for a trip to the beach.
Of the many sandwiches and rotating daily
panini specials, , tried two: the Tuna ($10.30
for a whole, $6.15 for a half) and the Dagwood
($10.20 whole, $6.10 half). The Dagwood, ac-
mouth
OF THE COLUMBIA
COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW
Story and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com
Bread and Ocean
Rating:
154 Laneda Ave., Manzanita
503-368-5823
HOURS: 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.
PRICE: $ – Full-serving entrées in the neighborhood
of $10.
SERVICE: Counter service. Lively and good-natured.
VEGETARIAN/VEGAN OPTIONS: Solid. Plenty of
vegetarian dishes and substitution options.
DRINKS: Coff ee, espresso, juice and tea.
The Dagwood sandwich is a customer favorite.
cording to the cashier, is a customer favorite
and it wasn’t hard to see why.
The half Dagwood was well-portioned,
stacked high with smoked ham, ¿ nocchiona
salami, provolone, Gruyère and organic mixed
greens. With those multiple meats and chees-
es, along with a house-made red pepper mayo
on a soft, fresh baguette, the Dagwood was
smooth and rich. And though the meats them-
selves were oily and juicy, the construction of
the sandwich — with cheese on bottom and
greens on top kept the bread dry. Pepperon-
cinis and a dash of ,talian vinaigrette offered a
nip of sharp contrast (though , wouldn’t have
minded a few more pepperoncinis).
The Tuna sandwich, however, , found a lit-
tle out of balance. The local, line-caught tuna
on buttery ciabatta bread was overwhelmed by
an olive tapenade spread. 5ather than tuna, ,
felt like , was having an olive sandwich, and
the artichoke hearts didn’t help. (ither the À a-
vor pairing didn’t work, or the ratios were out
of whack.
But the Tuna was the only misstep of the
many dishes , tried at Bread and Ocean. (An-
other standout: the gluten-free Blueberry Cof-
fee Cake. ,t was full of tangy, juicy blueber-
ries and the texture was marvelous — had ,
not known it was gluten-free, ,’d have never
guessed.)
On one of my visits to Bread and Ocean,
, stayed almost until the 2 p.m. closing time.
Just moments before the doors would shut,
perspective customers literally came running
in, hoping to beat the cut-off. ,t’s not hard to
understand why: Bread and Ocean is a place ,
could take both my friends who are gluttonous
carnivores and my sister, who’s vegan, and
each would leave equally satis¿ ed.
KEY TO RATINGS
poor
below average
good & worth returning
excellent
outstanding, the best in the
Columbia-Pacific region
