Bakery Review: Creston Valley Bakery & Deli

So, as you read, on Thursday I went to Creston with my dad and we had a great lunch at the Creston Valley Bakery & Deli (no web site - come on guys, get with it!). In addition to the desserts we had with our lunch, I bought a small selection of other items on offer from the bakery.
L- R, starting at top: Skor Bar Square, Rocky Road Square, Chelsea Bun, Coffee Cake Bun, Bear Claw (hidden slightly).

First of all, take note of how yellow the dough is in the last three items. I strongly suspect that this is due to using local farm-fresh eggs, and not crappy mass-produced chicken farm eggs from the local overpriced grocery store. Beautiful, isn't it?

I have to admit we actually indulged in a second dessert after having our initial dessert. I was really eager to try out the Bear Claw as I have fond memories of Bear Claws I used to get when I lived in Ottawa from the Rideau Bakery. This Creston Valley Bear Claw had a date filling that was subtly spiced with probably cinnamon, and had fondant and a streusal topping. It was seriously good, but not as good as the ones from Rideau.

Once we got to the summit of Kootenay Pass, we got out the rest of the baking. To start things off, we tried the Rocky Road Square. Chocolate base, marsmallows, nuts, and sweetened condensed milk in there somewhere. Coconut, chocolate chips, sliced almonds. DECADENT. We both loved this bar.






Next up, the Skor Bar Square. I knew I would love this as the girl was lifting it off its tray in the display case to put in my box - it was so gooey she had trouble getting it out! Upon sampling, Dad and I were in heaven. Skor bars are my dad's favourite, so he was even more over the moon than I was. Chocolatey, caramely bliss, lemme tell ya! DIVINE!




Next we sampled the Chelsea Bun. I've never had one before and don't recall ever seeing one in a bakery before! I think they're kind of old fashioned. Made from soft possibly danish dough, Chelsea buns have candied fruit dotting them and this one was topped with some fondant and apricot glaze. It was really good! I might have to try making these sometime.




Finally, the Coffee Cake Bun. Made with a similarly soft dough - like I said, probably a danish dough - it was much like a cinnamon bun with a coffee & cinnamon-flavoured filling, topped with fondant and streusal topping. It was really yummy and we both enjoyed this very much. Might have been better with a nice hot drink, but still, it was tasty.



The Creston Valley Bakery & Deli is a definite recommend in my books!

Lunch In Creston

I've had a busy couple of days!

Today, my dad and I went on a drive to Creston, BC, which is about an hour and a half or so from here. Creston is in a deep valley and is well-known for it's produce, similar to the Okanagan. Dad wanted strawberries and a sandwich from Creston Valley Bakery & Deli (no site, unfortunately). I wanted some Creston asparagus and to visit a place that sells chocolate-covered fruit (more in a later post).

Creston Valley Bakery & Deli makes a large selection of gourmet sandwiches and serves other light lunch items, including homemade soup and borscht. The bakery is excellent, too.

My dad had a reuben sandwich with extra hot mustard.I had the shrimp croissant. We got carrot sticks & dip with our sandwiches. The croissant was fairly average, but as a whole, the sandwich was pretty good.

I bought dessert, in addition to a selection of other items from the bakery (again, fodder for a future post). Dad had the Saskatoon Slice, which was like Black Forest Cake only made with Saskatoon berries instead of cherries. He really liked it.
I opted for the Mocha Missile, which was like a rectangular doughnut sliced in half and filled with mocha buttercream, topped with fondant, chocolate drizzle, and more mocha buttercream - YUMMY!

And just to give you a taste of some of the views we enjoyed on our drive over the Kootenay Pass to Creston, here are some shots of the lovely mountains we saw. The first two were taken at Kootenay Summit, which is 1774m/5826ft above sea level, and the last one was near the summit, on the western side of the pass coming up from Salmo.


Full Flickr set here.

Kamloops Trip, Food Edition: Part 1

OK. I ate a lot last weekend while on my mini break. I was on holiday and I was in PMS mode, so I have good excuses. Here is day one of the road trip, which consisted of driving from Rossland to Kamloops. Map here. Run down of day on the road here.

Our first official stop was in Greenwood at the Copper Eagle Cappuccino & Bakery (no web site, unfortunately). This place is absolutely fabulous. I'd been once before on a trip to Vancouver just over a year ago, and at that time I had one of the best cinnamon buns I'd ever eaten. I also bought a selection of wonderful squares that were truly remarkable. This trip I was out of luck in the cinnamon bun category, but I did snag a couple of great squares: Crispy Crunch and Confetti with Butterscotch and Peanut Butter. My dad had the Swiss Oatmeal Cake. The squares were amazing, as I was anticipating, and my dad really enjoyed his slice of cake. Copper Eagle also does light lunches and has a nice selection of homemade breads, and my dad got a loaf of whole wheat & cheddar.

Our second food-related stop was one of my favourite places ever and the baking mecca of the Okanagan: the Rogers flour mill. I can't tell you how much I love this place. Not only can you get large quantities of freshly milled flour and grains of all sorts, it is bulk bin heaven! You name it, they have it in bulk. And their spices are so fresh and fabulous. I got 10kg freshly ground bread flour for $7.99, some local honey, and some Hungarian paprika and Cajun seasoning. The staff at the mill store are very helpful and knowledgeable and the store is clean, organized, and very well-maintained. I can never just go in for a minute to pick up a bag of flour; I have to look around at everything and I always wind up buying stuff other than what I intended to. But it's OK.

Next foodie stop: the Village Cheese Co. in Armstrong. My dad wanted to have lunch here at the small cafe attached to the cheese factory. Armstrong is rather famous for its cheese, and the Village Cheese is good cheese, but pricey. I bought a 140g package of Monterey with Mediterranean flavours for $3.50. They have every flavour of cheddar cheese you can possibly imagine, and it's all made right on site. The cafe is also part kitchen shop and it's filled with all kinds of gadgets. In addition to light lunches and snacks, they also serve ice cream. I'd eaten here before when I used to live in the area, and it was OK. My dad, however, had a great experience at the cafe once, and he was hell bent on having lunch there, even though nothing on the small menu really turned my crank. So, what I wound up with was this:
This a ham & cheese "sandwich" and "clam chowder." The sandwich, was well, half of a hot dog bun with a slice of ham on it and some cheese. The chowder was watery, didn't contain many clams or potatoes, wasn't very creamy, and was basically very pathetic. I hate it when I shell out money for a meal and I come away hungry! My dad had an ice cream for dessert, but I was ticked off and not in the mood. I would have been much happier finding a Quizno's in Vernon and having a Toasty Torpedo. So, if you ever stop by Armstrong, yes, visit the cheese factory, get some gourmet cheese, have a snack and browse around, but I don't recommend the lunches.

After 8 hours on the road, Dad and I arrived in Kamloops at the lovely home of my dear friend S and her husband M. They have a tradition of having spaghetti & meatballs on Friday night, and that's exactly what we had. They loved the cookies, BTW. In fact, S's mother-in-law, when presented one for dessert, said, "Are these THE cookies?" They have managed to impress a few people, I guess, and that tickled me.

All this blogging is exhausting me! I have many more foodie things to share, but you'll have to wait until I catch my breath!