Friday, February 13, 2009

Best Cookie & Sandwich: Eugene, OR

The featured cookie and sandwich are neither a cookie nor a sandwich. But who's counting?!

If you find yourself in Eugene, OR you've got to move your hooves to the Wandering Goat Coffee Company.

Check them out on myspace HERE!
Or at their website HERE!



I went just for the coffee.
But then life happened:
While waiting in line, I watched one of the bakers, through a window to the kitchen, rolling balls of dough. (They make all their food in house.) More specifically, I was watching a three-year-old watching the baker. Then the baker, holding three balls of dough, turned around to face the child. And he started juggling for the child! There were no words exchanged as he smiled from behind the glass—the only sound was the murmur of cafĂ© patrons. The child was delighted. As was I.

Then I noticed, not the cookies, but the peanut butter chocolate bars in the food display case. That, and the seeded bagels.

These bagels are something special. I had to try one based solely on their appearance. They are LOADED, COVERED, BLINGED-OUT in seeds…sesame, poppy, sunflower!, pumpkin—what?—yes, pumpkin seeds! Toasted and served with a side of cream cheese, every bite was rewarding, for the taste definitely, but also for the texture. I couldn’t wait to feel the next bite! They were earthy, wholesome, and satisfying. And if you think they sound too healthy to be good, you have got to open your ears and listen when I tell you: They are 10,000-calorie-delicious! (But without all those calories--they're bagels, after all.) I assure you, they are made with love, sweet love.

And the coffee was seriously delicious. They take their coffee so seriously, in fact, that when I returned the next day for an espresso and peanut butter chocolate bar, the barista took my espresso away before I could even try it, insisting that she pull another shot because the first one was uneven.

The espresso was top-notch. And the peanut butter chocolate bar…well, let’s just say that eating it was only like frenching a soulmate. The bar: an inch-thick sweet peanut palette hosting…wait, are those pieces of crisp rice inside?…hosting a dark chocolate wonder-top that was a thinner consistency than fudge but thicker than frosting. I wanted to run away to South America with it. But it was gone before I could even say goodbye.


Would I eat it again?
Yes to both! I wish I could everyday.

No comments:

Post a Comment