14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Bakery delivers ample sugar and some steep prices
Review and photos by
MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
A
A cornerstone of the Western
diet for some 6,000 years, bread
has heard a lot of nasty whispers
of late. Whether fact or fad, “glu-
ten” has developed a stay-away
reputation approaching that of
trans-fats and MSG.
Regardless of purported
effects to our health or waist-
lines, there’s hardly any deny-
ing: A freshly baked bread with
a taught, crusty shell cradling
pocketed, pillowy insides can be
elementally satisfying. A simple
baguette with some butter, brie or
salami, endures for a reason.
At Cannon Beach Bakery,
however, there are no baguettes.
You can take home a “French
Bread,” but the airy, plump, 2XL,
spongy, white puffed dough-ball
will hardly do the trick. Europe-
ans, if not scratching their heads,
would disavow.
Indeed, Cannon Beach Bak-
ery’s tack is much more Amer-
ican. Think mid-century — if
not captivated by the advent of
big, processed food, then the era
where donut shops were king.
And I don’t mean fancy, spunky,
artistic, none-the-less-useless
donut shops (we see you Voo-
doo). I’m talking pre-Dunkin’.
At Cannon Beach Bakery there
are glazed donuts, maple bars,
fritters and the like, as well as
muffins, cookies, croissants and
so on. Of course, there are a few
fancier offerings that might scoff
at the association — indeed they
AS WITH MANY
OF THE BAKERY’S
CONFECTIONS, I
LONGED FOR THE
INCLUSION OF
NATURAL, VARYING
FLAVORS — RATHER
THAN MORE SUGAR.
are baked, not dipped in oil.
From all, I sampled a cross-sec-
tion.
Near the size of a tennis ball,
the spongy Almond Poppyseed
Muffin ($2.75) was permeated,
almost bound, with sugar. The
almond essence smacked of
flavored syrup. (There were no
chunks of almond.) It was so
sweet that if you wanted more
than a nibble, a component cup
of black coffee was requisite.
Nothing was sweeter than
the Mocha Horn ($3.75), which
seemingly sought to outdo the
fictional Chocolate Frosted
Sugar Bombs
(of Calvin
and Hobbes
infamy). The
Horn was
also pricey
for its pint
size. (Sticker
shock, like
sugariness,
were recur-
ring themes at
Cannon Beach
Bakery.) I
made peace
with, and even
understood,
the outer layer
of almonds,
coated and
joined with
caramel. But the inner puff of
mocha-tinged cream was too
much — the proverbial sug-
ar bomb. With this reasonable
wrapper, the opportunity here
to incorporate different flavors
— like tart fruits, or bitter, dark
chocolate — felt like a missed
opportunity. As with many of the
bakery’s confections, I longed for
the inclusion of natural, varying
flavors — rather than more sugar.
The Blueberry Muffin tripped
in that regard. It was sad and
small, almost indistinguishable
from the type you get in a bulk
pack at Safeway or Costco. Well,
OK, it was probably smaller. And
more expensive ($1.75).
CANNON BEACH
BAKERY
Above: The display
case at the Cannon
Beach Bakery.
Rating:
240 N. Hemlock St., Cannon
Beach
PHONE: 503-436-0399
HOURS: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday to Monday.
Closed Tuesday.
PRICE: $$ – Spendy little
confections
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OP-
TIONS: It’s the diabetics who
should be wary.
SERVICE: Counter service
DRINKS: Coff ee, espresso,
bottled soda
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Left: The Turkey
Delight — with cream
cheese, cranberry
sauce and lettuce on
a croissant — was a
balance of sweet
and savory.
The Chocolate Chip Cookie
($1.75) was bursting with chips,
but it was dry, almost dusty. The
Apple Turnover ($3.50) wrapped
syrupy apple chunks in layered
Filo dough and was covered in
hailstorm of large, sugar gran-
ules. The Lemon Bar ($2.75),
about the area of a business card,
cried out for more zest.
Stepping to the savory side,
I enjoyed the gooey, salty Ham
and Cheese Croissant ($3.95). It
would’ve been even better warm.
Along with the pastries, Can-
non Beach Bakery uses some of
its sliced breads for sandwiches
(though strangely not all). The
eatery offers but three “signature
sandwiches,” one
being PB&J. Creativ-
ity, if there is any, is
outsourced to the cus-
tomer. And, indeed,
while ordering I asked
for suggestions but received next
to none.
The Turkey Delight — with
cream cheese, cranberry sauce
and lettuce on a croissant —
came together rather well, a
balance of sweet and savory.
The Veggie Delight too — with
lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion,
avocado and cream cheese —
was a fine, fresh snack, though I
was puzzled why I was charged
$11 when all sandwiches are
marked at $9.95.
Sandwiches come with a pick-
le spear. The meats come from
Reed and Hertig, and they’re of
admirable quality. The turkey
was juicy, the pastrami thick,
Poor
Below average
Good
Excellent
Best in region
supple and briny. The breads —
Haystack (white), sourdough,
8-grain and Limpa rye — were
fine, albeit not especially distinct.
(Dave’s Killer Bread casts a long
shadow...) And while certainly
the “Cannon Beach price” is a
factor, $10 for a medium-sized,
otherwise indistinct deli sand-
wich to-go isn’t an inspiring
value.
One of the few prices I didn’t
scoff at was the Bacon Cheese
Quiche ($4.95). The tall, wide
slice was fluffy and creamy, with
a flaky crust and salty shards of
bacon throughout. But it wasn’t
enough to overcome the legion
of simple sugars and stacked
pricing.
While the discussion over
breads, gluten and carbs is far
from finished, there are better ar-
guments to be made than Cannon
Beach Bakery’s.