The Bakery Tour

The Grand Tour ...



In 2005, a friend and I went to France with a college class for a couple weeks.  It wasn't long before we decided we were over the cheese and baguettes and decided to turn our trip into the search for the best pain au chocolat in the country.  It gave our choice of pastry over a nutritious meal a more professional appearance, and when you only speak limited French it's safer just to stick with "Je voudrais une pain au chocolat.  Merci."  So we'd order our pastry and then rank it against those consumed in the past few towns we'd passed through.  I'm sure we decided on "The Best of France, Pain au Chocolat" winner at some point, but I can't recall when or where.


Seattle isn't France, and there's certainly plenty of appetizing variety with no language barrier in the way, but I think there's something about the American culture that likes "best of" lists.  Seattle has much to offer when it comes to eating out and plays host to some of the best bakeries in the region.  If funds and fat weren't an issue, i'd probably turn this into a daily quest for the perfect bakery.  In any case, when I try something out I like to make a mental note of how it stands up to the competition, what the atmosphere is like, and whether I'm taking visitors there when I have the chance.  Here's what I've tried so far ...



2052 NW Market St
Seattle, WA 98107
206-782-9557

From the name, the focus here is clearly cupcakes, but their Stumptown coffee isn't bad either.  Cupcake Royale has multiple locations around the Seattle area and offers a cupcake of the month, usually reflecting the season or an upcoming holiday.  I'm not a huge cupcake fan, but I lived down the street from the Ballard location so every once in a while i'd test them out.  My daily favorite is the salted caramel frosting on a chocolate cupcake.  Their seasonal Deathcake Royale was another test - an intense chocolate cake with ganache frosting for the month of February that comes with the motto "shared by lovers, loved by haters".  

5313 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
206-706-3338

I stopped by Fresh Flours several weeks ago when I was experiencing insatiable thirst to grab something to drink and was immediately distracted by their baked goods.  Macaroons are in right now I guess - I've seen them everywhere, lined up and arranged by color with the greens, pinks, creams ...  Maybe it takes a more refined palette to understand the macaroon.  I'm more of a chocolate chunk kind of girl.  But regardless, we tried the Earl Grey macaroon.  It was good, although if I'd had my eyes closed I would have guessed it was vanilla.  I suppose I can understand the appeal ... they are light, slightly chewy, and look dainty and neat.  I'm just not sold yet.

Larsen's Danish Bakery - http://www.larsensbakery.com/
8000 24th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98117
206-782-8285

Ballard is proud of it's Scandi roots, but I hadn't heard of this bakery until several weeks ago when I was out searching for one of it's competitors, Honore.  Honore was closed so I drove back to Larsen's on the corner. The display case in this place is impressive, spanning the length of the store and filled with all kinds of pastries and desserts.  It's not really much for a place to hang out over a cup of coffee, so I bought a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread to go.  It was great as toast and even better as french toast...

1902 Pike Place
Seattle, Washington 98101
206-441-3669

Le Panier is a french bakery located across from Pike Place Market in the heart of downtown Seattle.  I'm pretty sure they fan the scent of freshly baked goods onto the sidewalk outside to channel in tourists and anyone walking by.  Another impressive showcase of pastries, but it's been so packed every time I've been in you can't tell what's an option.  A friend and I popped in for coffees and decided to share a pain au chocolat (big surprise??) and an almondine croissant which we took to the nearby waterview park to eat.  I'd recommend taking visitors here if you're already downtown,  but have an alternative place to consume your treats since it seems to always be packed.

Macrina - http://www.macrinabakery.com/
2408 1st Avenue
Seattle, WA
206-448-4032

I've always heard of the Macrina bakeries and often see their bread for sale at the grocery stores, so it's been on my bakery bucket list for a while.  They send out a recipe of the month email which always looks delicious as well.  I'll admit - I've been to the Queen Anne location twice, but have opted for the sit down breakfast rather than order from the pastry menu to go. I just haven't made it that far yet.  With that said, their breakfasts are great and from the bread served with my orders I can only assume the rest of their pastry case is something to write home about.


Mighty O Donuts - http://www.mightyo.com/
2110 N 55th St
Seattle, WA 98103
206-547-0335

I have to admit, I tried Mighty O Donuts on the same day as a trip to Le Panier.  Yeah, I know.  But in my defense, I had a friend visiting and we were on a little culinary tour.  Mighty O just happened to be across the street from where we had sushi for lunch.  As you can tell, we were taking our day seriously.  She ordered the Cookies 'n Cream donut as well as a Double Chocolate which I was curious to compare to Top Pot's double.  They were both good, but I'm not sure they were AS good.  The atmosphere seemed a little more laid back than TP's which was nice, so maybe I'll give them another try sometime when I can come up with an excuse.


Sultan Bakery
711 Stevens Avenue
Sultan, WA 98294
360-793-7996

Ok, I've found my idol.  We were on our way to tear up Stevens Pass when a friend recommended we stop at the Sultan Bakery to pick up something for the drive up the mountain ... and to see Lorraine, who he described as the kick-ass woman that runs this small-town bakery.  She was there, working the register, putting people in their place, and serving bear claws bigger than my face.  Since then I've found it hard to drive to Stevens without stopping.  I can't comment on any of their baked goods except their apple cups.  Because I'm obsessed with them.  I can't order anything else, and at this point it would be like cheating on my true love.  But if you go, I'm sure you'll be happy with almost anything ...

Top Pot - http://www.toppotdoughnuts.com/
6855 35th Avenue Northeast
Seattle, WA
206-525-1966

I tried Top Pot the summer I came out here for an internship.  I don't eat doughnuts frequently and when I did, it was to the bizarre business with a college crowd cult following called "Granny Feel Goods" in Bozeman, Montana.  Unlike Grannies, Top Pot doesn't have the stained table clothes, smoke billowing from the kitchen, or Robert - the owner and sole operator telling you about the "delicious fresh blueberry doughnut that cannot be missed."  But Top Pot might be better.  First, their name is a palindrome.  Second, their doughnuts are like a work of art ... just look at the pink feathered boa.  Third, their double chocolate is waaaaaaaaaaaay good.  Just go try it, you'll see what I mean.

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