Crumbs and Carrots!

Today, my roommate, Kirstin, and I visited the marvel of East State Street, the Village Bakery.

Kirstin had never been there before, and I had been bugging her all week to take me there. (She has a car on campus, and I was too lazy to walk a mile when my tummy was rumbling.)

We walked through the glass door to find a counter stretching the length of the shop. Along one side of the counter are pastries, cookies, breads and cheesecakes galore (my personal favorite). To the right of the counter is the beverage station with four coffee varieties and tap water for drinking.

The mid-morning sun brightly shined through the windows that completely encompass the front of the building. The aroma of freshly baked bread mixed with the scent of coffee, herbs and spices whirled at me from every direction.

Employees with plain and simple clothing, wearing bandanas to keep their hair out of their faces, scurried behind the counter like mice, twisting and turning through the maze of the open kitchen.

Giant chalkboards with the day’s menu hang above the counter. Each chalkboard has a different category: salads, soups, beverages, pastries, morning nourishment and cookies. On Sundays, the menu is revamped for a 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. brunch, which is a bit pricey if you ask me, even though the quality is excellent.

Although I was craving a pastry, I decided on something new. (OK, it was because I worked out before, and I guess I wanted to keep up with the health kick, at least for the day.) I ordered a side salad with feta dill dressing, which was yummy but interesting, and a cup of Cuban black bean soup.

The salad was sort of atypical because the sprout to lettuce ratio was equal, and I’m not used to that many sprouts. Have you ever heard of feta dill dressing? I hadn’t until I looked at the menu, so I figured, Oh, what the heck? Why not? And honestly, the name is very telling because it tasted like feta cheese, with a sprinkle of garlic and dill pickle juice. It may sound nasty, but if you like feta, I highly recommend it.

And the soup was great, except that it was a bit watery. Unlike the other black bean soups I’ve tried, this had chunks of sweet potatoes and a bit of cream poured on top, which gave it a slight milky taste.

Though I didn’t get dessert (Remember the health-food kick?), I promised my roommate that we would definitely be back during finals week for a nice, little Village Bakery treat.

A Look Ahead

Over the last five weeks, I’ve led you to my favorite local treasures here in Athens: Donkey Coffee and Espresso, Athens Book Center, Casa Nueva, Athens Underground and Bagel Street Deli. I must say, I’m glad I had an excuse to visit each of these, and then promote them through my posts.

As a part of this project, we are required to have an interactive map. So for mine, I decided to mark the places I’ve been to in pink, the places I will be visiting shortly in purple and where I live in yellow.

View "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" in a larger map

As you can tell by the map, I haven’t really branched out from on- or near-campus attractions. After this week, I intend to change that. While my next few treasures are still within about a mile (walking distance) from my little corner on East Green, Read Hall, they’re a bit of a trek for me, though I’m sure I can manage.

So, without further ado, I would like to present my final few destinations.

Passion Works Studio 
Passion Works is an art shop and studio located on East State Street. The best and most unique part about this artwork remains that it is a place were creativity is born and collaboration is the key.

Beads & Things 
This shop not only carries beads from around the world, but also bags, sarongs and gemstones. Customers are even allowed to make their beaded art in the store, where they will receive free instruction by employees.

Village Bakery 
The Village Bakery offers a wide selection of baked goods and pastries made from locally grown produce. This café measures its success on its “social, environmental and financial impact in the local and global communities,” according to the menu.

Miller’s Chicken
Though I don’t know much about Miller’s Chicken yet, I’ll be updating you as soon as I do. I do know, however, that its menu items include fried chicken, seafood, fries, sandwiches and salads. I’m definitely anxious to try it.