Oak Barrel Pastry Case Is Hard to Pass Up

This charming bistro tucked into a strip mall feels like two restaurants in one. By day, it's a family friendly bakery with tempting sweets in the front counter and examples of wedding cakes on display nearby. By night, they have a small but well chosen selection of beers and wines to pair with their equally small selection of dinner entrees.

Since Oak Barrel is mostly known as a bakery, people are more likely to visit during breakfast hours, when they offer selections such as fritata’s, a French Toast strata, and some basic egg dishes, all available until 11 a.m. Lunch is a small assortment of cafe style cold sandwiches paired with soup, salad, or something from the pastry case.

On Saturday afternoon, a steady stream of couples came in to discuss wedding cakes while I waited for my chicken salad sandwich on a croissant with a side bistro salad.

The salad was a real pleasure. Instead of iceberg lettuce, it was hearty greens mixed with tomatoes, onions, carrots and cucumber in a sweet, tangy onion dressing.  There was just enough dressing to give it flavor without drowning the greens.

The all-white chicken salad was made from large chunks of roasted chicken held together with sweetened mayonnaise and a generous quantity of black pepper and savory herbs. The buttery croissant was almost too sweet alongside it. Next time, I might try it on the multi-grain bread.

But really, lunch at Oak Barrel is just an excuse to pretend you're being nutritious before you indulge in dessert. The bakery case was split between whole cakes for $20-30 and mini pastries for a tenth the price. With so much temptation, I picked up the last slice of a raspberry cream cake as well as half a dozen pastries to sample and share. At two to three bites each, none of them could be that dangerous, right?

The pink macaroons dipped in chocolate were a hands down favorite. They somehow made what is usually a dense dessert almost airy light with a nice crunch from the dusting of sugar and the dark chocolate dip at the end for contrast. The mini fruit tarts were filled with marzipan instead of cream, which was a bit of a surprise. In fact, if you’re a fan of marzipan, it features heavily in the mini-pastries. What looked like a petit four turned out to be two layers of marzipan separated by raspberry glaze and coated in chocolate.

After a bite of cake, I could see why so many brides were drawn to Oak Barrel. The bakery staff were patient with everyone who came in for wedding cakes. A consultant in her white chef togs brought out multiple samples of fillings, icings, and cakes, all artfully arranged while she patiently listened to earnest couples.  

Be warned, if you're watching your waist, stay far away from Oak Barrel. This is a place of butter, cream and bacon. You won't get out of here without breaking your diet, whether you get a slice of Quiche Florentine or the breakfast French Toast strata. Ignoring the pastry case with it's miniature sweets for just under $2 each would take a truly amazing amount of willpower.

Lunch prices are reasonable. If you don't make substitutions with your food, everything is $7 or less. Dinner prices, on the other hand, start at $7 for appetizers and go up to the mid $20’s for entrees. Oak Barrel is clearly shooting for a very different clientele and atmosphere by night.

As a bakery-cafe, I give Oak Barrel a B+. I would’ve liked to see more bread selections (only three were available the day I visited) and more pastry case items featuring a flavor other than marzipan. What they did have to offer was well prepared and certainly worth trying again.