If you’ve been reading my blog for some time (or anytime for that matter) you will know that I rarely, if ever, do reviews.? Not because I’m snooty like that, but because if I think a place is good or bad I’ll come right out and say it.? Or rather I’ll work it into a long involved story that in a round about way ends up being a review but without the boring star rating system.? Kinda like this post will likely turn out.? And as with all of my stories you need a little background.
I bake bread.? I’m not supposed to eat the bread, but there is something therapeutic in baking bread.? So I bake it and sneak bites when no one is looking.? However, I get lazy.? Honestly, who doesn’t.? Isn’t it so much easier just to run down to the store and pick up a loaf?? Especially when I am snooty about what kind of bread can enter our home.? Preferably a local bakery (there are none) or at least handish made.? Unfortunately the one we found that fits our criteria is over $4 at the super market and the same loaf is over $6 at the vegetable store I shop at.? Six bucks for a loaf of bread?? Good lord.
Sadly, Tacoma lacks in the artisan bread department.? As in (until recently) there were none.? At one point I wanted to build a wood fired oven in my backyard and make artisan bread to sell at the farmers market just so this town could have decent bread.
*End of back story*
This afternoon the trusty family decided to take a trip to the Tuesday Farmer’s Market.? (we had to bribe the boy with a cookie to get him out of the house.? I think he secretly knew his pants were on backwards and didn’t want to go anywhere nor fix them… we knew… we didn’t fix them)? As we wandered through our little Tuesday market we (I) spied a bread vendor called the Upper Crust.? Now there are a few bread vendors at the Thursday market, but they sell loaf bread.? Wholly different than true artisan bread.? I’ve thrown my gluten free life right out the window because of the SAD (it’s a side effect, carb craving).
I told the trusty husband I wanted a loaf of bread and the choice came down to Sourdough Baguette or French Baguette.? I picked Sourdough.? I shelled out my $5 (I know, but hand crafted bread is worth the price).? We planned to eat our bread with artisan cheese from Estrella Cheeses.
I’ve seen the Upper Crust Bistro before.? They are next door to Dwell on 21st.? When we were shopping there earlier this year I noticed the bistro and though we should stop in at some point.? We didn’t and the thought passed my mind, like many.
Now here’s where the review part comes in.? My $5 loaf of Sourdough Baguette… not so much with the goodness.? In fact, the pieces that we both took bites of were promptly fed to the worms and the remainder will be turned into bread crumbs as soon as it goes stale.? Why?? As a bread maker I know good bread when I taste it and I also know what ingredients have been left out.? And my friends… salt is a major ingredient in the creation of bread.? This bread lacked any salt. at. all.? I am so disappointed.
I was hoping Tacoma had finally risen out of it’s chain bakery doldrums to produce a quality bakery.? I guess I will have to continue my quest for delicious bread or fire up my own oven.? Maybe I can start in on wishing for that wood fired oven again.? Who knows.? I just know that The Upper Crust wasn’t the place.
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I tried to find an email address or website for the bistro, but they don’t have one (or I couldn’t find one).? I was going to email to complain, but this will have to suffice.
Disappointing bread is such a bummer. It seems like a relatively easy thing (bread that is) even if labor intensive but so many places only do a so-so job. Which is good for me because good bread is a major weakness. That is one reason (of many) that I’ve continued to be too lazy to make my own. I would eat it all, slathered in butter, when it was warm.
sounds like you may have a new calling….?your bread is yummy and I would pay $5/loaf if you sold it:)
I’ve been there several times because part of my extended family LOVES it. Every time I’ve gone it’s been awful. Once they even stared my boyfriend and me down while we left – literally hanging out the door of the restaurant to watch us get in the car. Creepy creepy creepy.
good bread is hard to find.
Wasting a gluten-filled experience like that is always a tragedy. Maybe some day we’ll get a real bread bakery here. I had high hopes someone would put in something like that at the Stadium Bistro space but they will be selling….spreads. High end spreads. Wouldn’t that be great on some really good bread?
How depressing is that? And costly! That would really annoy me. Hard to believe that you can’t get wonderful bread in Tacoma! We’re from the Pacific Northwest, and believe that EVERYTHING is better there. However, there is a rather nice bread bakery in Okemos, Michigan. I guess I can count myself fortunate – and the bread is not THAT expensive, at any rate.