The Little Bread Company that could
High on the Hog
Robert Garner
Issue date: 2/27/09 Section: Lifestyles
Quaint.
After trying to find the best word to describe the Little Bread Company, that was the word that kept recurring. But I'm not sure that it does it justice.
Blame it on Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel if you wish, but "quaint" seems to describe old, Victorian homes or French chateaus.
My best guess is "funkwaint."
While I'm usually better at making hybrid words, funkwaint (adj.) describes something that is both funky and quaint.
There was a brilliant fusion of bold colors, flashy designs and, best of all, good food.
Part coffee shop, part bakery, part restaurant and wholly awesome, the Little Bread Company offers a powerful combo perfect for post-class socializing.
A proud supporter of the Keep Fayetteville Funky campaign, I am now completely infatuated with this place.
As a child, I thought quiche was slightly on the repulsive side. The only oven eggs should be in is the natural oven, if you know what I mean. Otherwise, they belong scrambled in a pan with an equal amount of cheddar cheese.
But, fortunately, fate had different things in store for me one February afternoon. A hectic schedule dictated that I eat out after class on Wednesday between 4 and 5 p.m. But it just so happens that the Little Bread Company does not serve its sandwiches and entrees during those hours. One of these days, I will be back for the chicken Florentine or any of the other numerous sandwiches and salads.
Instead, I chose from the case of quiches, pastries and desserts.
I felt like I was walking down an all-you-can-eat buffet line, telling the nice worker that I wanted this pastry, and that one, oh that one looks good, and one of those.
But I had come here for dinner, not just a sweets and starch binge.
So, there we were: the quiches and me.
I looked at them, and they stared me down in return.
With the help of the food fetcher, I finally picked my poison to be the ham, bleu cheese and tomato quiche.
The worker heated the plump slice to a pleasant temperature and it was time. I let the metal fork slide through the fluffy egg bake, past a chunk of ham and through the pie crust. All superfluous drama aside, I took the bite and it was a delicious rush of rich bleu cheese coupled with smoky ham and, against my expectations, delightfully baked eggs.
Before I knew it, the quiche was gone and I wanted some more.
The Little Bread Company made me a believer of quiche, so you know they must be good.
Buying another slice would have been ridiculous though, as I had before me four desserts or pastries.
My first victim was the lemon and berry tarte. Not only was it aesthetically pleasing, it also tasted delicious. The crust was thick and crumbly and the filling had a great consistency with a great sweet and tart flavor. The berries on top complimented the lemony zest perfectly, too.
I also ate a spinach and feta turnover, giving me my first taste of the Little Bread Company's awesome bread. Their bread is fluffy with the perfect consistency and texture for a pastry. The filling was good, though I should have asked for her to warm it for me.
Next on my list was the hubcap-sized chocolate chip cookie, whose size alone was impressive enough. Crunchy cookie lovers will be pleased with their cookies. I, however, am more of a soft, gooey cookie person (Brough style). Nevertheless, the cookie was good, and a good topic for conversation.
My favorite of the pastries was the bear claw. It had the raw sugar granules on top of the fluffy bread with a delicious brown sugar and raisin filling.
Finally, the lemon cheesecake turnover used the same pastry bread as the spinach and feta turnover. For my personal tastes, it could have had more of the lemon cheesecake filling, which was delicious.
And, in case you were wondering, they do have sweet tea.
After enjoying your food, you can go shop at the adjacent stores and at the square, which is always a fun idea. If you're looking for a fun and laidback date idea, this might be the place. It's great for friendly conversation or even European-style people watching.
Perhaps my friend said it best: "If only I could smoke in here, it'd be France."
But what's better than it being France is that it's in Fayetteville.
If you have any of your own Fayetteville dining gems, let me know.
Send me your recommendations at rtgarner@uark.edu.
Happy eating!
Robert Garner is a staff columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Friday.
After trying to find the best word to describe the Little Bread Company, that was the word that kept recurring. But I'm not sure that it does it justice.
Blame it on Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel if you wish, but "quaint" seems to describe old, Victorian homes or French chateaus.
My best guess is "funkwaint."
While I'm usually better at making hybrid words, funkwaint (adj.) describes something that is both funky and quaint.
There was a brilliant fusion of bold colors, flashy designs and, best of all, good food.
Part coffee shop, part bakery, part restaurant and wholly awesome, the Little Bread Company offers a powerful combo perfect for post-class socializing.
A proud supporter of the Keep Fayetteville Funky campaign, I am now completely infatuated with this place.
As a child, I thought quiche was slightly on the repulsive side. The only oven eggs should be in is the natural oven, if you know what I mean. Otherwise, they belong scrambled in a pan with an equal amount of cheddar cheese.
But, fortunately, fate had different things in store for me one February afternoon. A hectic schedule dictated that I eat out after class on Wednesday between 4 and 5 p.m. But it just so happens that the Little Bread Company does not serve its sandwiches and entrees during those hours. One of these days, I will be back for the chicken Florentine or any of the other numerous sandwiches and salads.
Instead, I chose from the case of quiches, pastries and desserts.
I felt like I was walking down an all-you-can-eat buffet line, telling the nice worker that I wanted this pastry, and that one, oh that one looks good, and one of those.
But I had come here for dinner, not just a sweets and starch binge.
So, there we were: the quiches and me.
I looked at them, and they stared me down in return.
With the help of the food fetcher, I finally picked my poison to be the ham, bleu cheese and tomato quiche.
The worker heated the plump slice to a pleasant temperature and it was time. I let the metal fork slide through the fluffy egg bake, past a chunk of ham and through the pie crust. All superfluous drama aside, I took the bite and it was a delicious rush of rich bleu cheese coupled with smoky ham and, against my expectations, delightfully baked eggs.
Before I knew it, the quiche was gone and I wanted some more.
The Little Bread Company made me a believer of quiche, so you know they must be good.
Buying another slice would have been ridiculous though, as I had before me four desserts or pastries.
My first victim was the lemon and berry tarte. Not only was it aesthetically pleasing, it also tasted delicious. The crust was thick and crumbly and the filling had a great consistency with a great sweet and tart flavor. The berries on top complimented the lemony zest perfectly, too.
I also ate a spinach and feta turnover, giving me my first taste of the Little Bread Company's awesome bread. Their bread is fluffy with the perfect consistency and texture for a pastry. The filling was good, though I should have asked for her to warm it for me.
Next on my list was the hubcap-sized chocolate chip cookie, whose size alone was impressive enough. Crunchy cookie lovers will be pleased with their cookies. I, however, am more of a soft, gooey cookie person (Brough style). Nevertheless, the cookie was good, and a good topic for conversation.
My favorite of the pastries was the bear claw. It had the raw sugar granules on top of the fluffy bread with a delicious brown sugar and raisin filling.
Finally, the lemon cheesecake turnover used the same pastry bread as the spinach and feta turnover. For my personal tastes, it could have had more of the lemon cheesecake filling, which was delicious.
And, in case you were wondering, they do have sweet tea.
After enjoying your food, you can go shop at the adjacent stores and at the square, which is always a fun idea. If you're looking for a fun and laidback date idea, this might be the place. It's great for friendly conversation or even European-style people watching.
Perhaps my friend said it best: "If only I could smoke in here, it'd be France."
But what's better than it being France is that it's in Fayetteville.
If you have any of your own Fayetteville dining gems, let me know.
Send me your recommendations at rtgarner@uark.edu.
Happy eating!
Robert Garner is a staff columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Friday.
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