DOVETAIL BAKERY IN SAVEUR MAGAZINE

WHAT AN AMAZING WAY TO START OUT THE YEAR!! THANK YOU SAVEUR MAGAZINE, SARAH, CHRIS & PORTLAND! WE ARE SO HONORED!!!

City Dozen: 

Chris Onstad and Sarah Kanabay's Portland, Oregon

Source: Saveur

With its graceful urban landscape, relaxed attitude, and mild weather, Portland, Oregon occupies prime quality-of-life territory squarely at the intersection of low cost of living and high levels of culture. A major factor in its attractiveness as a destination (it's routinely named one of the best cities in which to live in the United States) is the town's steadily rising profile in the firmament of gastro-worship: cooks and civilians alike can afford to own a 1914 Craftsman and a fairly reasonable car, with enough disposable income left over to take dining (and snacking, butchering, coffee-drinking, and beer-drinking) seriously. Anchored on a strong community of farmers, gardeners, ranchers, and charcutiers, Portland's full-blown "farm to table" culture is the envy of cities ten times its size.

Author and cartoonist Chris Onstad moved to Portland in 2009 (after working and dining there for over a decade); Oregon Culinary Institute alum Sarah Kanabay has lived and eaten in the city for two years. Here, their picks for a dozen can't-miss destinations for the culinarily-minded visitor to a place they describe as "the Shire of American cities": a bungalow-dominated landscape dedicated to comfort, the championing of second breakfast, and staying out of the damp with a proper pint.

Dovetail
The old adage about good things coming in small packages is particularly apt for this jewel of a bakery, whose petite case is daily filled with the sweet scents of its equally petite proprietress' pastry wizardry.  We particularly enjoy bringing non-vegans here—and failing to mention that everything made within is free of animal products until after they've had their first swoon-inducing bite of a signature sticky bun; astonishment invariably follows (in the best way possible).  Baker Morgan Grundstein-Helvey displays a deft hand throughout her range of treats, from the toothsome, chewy molasses spice cookie to the pleasant, surprisingly crisp bite of millet seeds in a moist apricot jam-and-carrot muffin.  Excellent tea, coffee, and kombucha are all on tap, and biscuits and gravy emerge from the kitchen on weekends, along with a rotating cast of delicious soups.

Dovetail bakery featured in Portland Monthly Magazine's EAT BEAT

     Hi everyone!!!! Hope Thanksgiving treated you all well. We made SO MANY PIES and had SO MUCH FUN doing it! I just wanted to share this most recent press from Portland Monthly Magazine's EAT BEAT. They have been so supportive of Dovetail Bakery (and we love them)! All of us at the bakery have been working so hard and it feels like it's really paying off!!! Thanks to everyone who has supported the bakery during our first year of retail! What an amazing & wild ride!! Lots of love to you all!!! See you at the bakery!!! 
XO!
-Morgan & The Dovetail Bakery Crew

Eat Here Now

Alberta Arts’ Vegan Viand 

Dovetail Bakery produces vegan pastries that even carnivores will covet. 

Posted by: Anna Sachse on Nov 26, 2010 at 09:00AM

 

Four scrumptious animal-free pastries from Dovetail Bakery (left to right): Carrot Millet Muffin with Apricot Jam; Winter Pear Darling; Blueberry Muffin; and Aunt Miriam’s Sticky Bun.

     On a recent rainy morning, I popped into Dovetail Bakery, a small, cozy Alberta Arts space where Morgan Grundstin-Helvey and her lovely staff make all the vegan magic happen. I was greeted by the divine scent of caramelizing onions, as well as a quiet gaggle of ladies elbow-deep in flour and listening to cool indie tunes. A few pairs of customers were chatting over cups of strong Courier coffee or pots of tea and plates of crumbs. Piled up on trays in a glass case next to the register sat an assortment of mostly over-sized vegan cookies, muffins, scones, and cinnamon rolls, all decidedly not healthy-looking in the best possible way. (Which is not to say that they are necessarily unhealthy, of course; it’s just that all too often animal product-free baked goods can look like lumps of coal or piles of sawdust held together with tree sap.)
     Sadly, even with a pregnant pastry-tasting partner, I had to limit myself to indulging in only four treats. 
     The Carrot Millet Muffin with Apricot Jam ($2.75) is both delicious and intriguing. Perfectly moist with tons of shredded carrot and plentiful pie-spices, it doesn’t stray into too-sweet territory, and the millet makes for a surprisingly pleasing crispy crunch throughout. The Winter Pear Darling ($2.50) is delectable as well. Essentially a scone, the Darling has an almost chalky dryness that quickly gives way to the moistness that is consistent in all of Dovetail’s pastries. With slices of juicy pear tucked inside, this scone also avoids overdoing it with the sugar, and, instead, allows you to actually taste the high quality flour and a subtle ginger and spice flavor on the back end. (FYI, they also offer a wheat free scone.)
     As for Ms. Grundstin-Helvey’s renderings of classic baked goods, the Blueberry Muffin ($2.75) was fantastic—probably my favorite of the day. Unbelievably soft, it’s hard to place whatever the secret dairy-and-egg-substitute ingredient is; perhaps it’s applesauce or mashed banana, but it tastes exactly like buttermilk. Filled with plump berries and sporting a wonderful crusty top, I would never guess it was vegan. Another highlight: Aunt Miriam’s Sticky Bun ($3.50). The bread is soft with a chewy density, far superior to most “normal” sticky buns and cinnamon rolls I have eaten. I have to admit—sticky buns are one of my favorite things on earth and I do actually miss the butter in the goo, but the toasted pecans and vibrant flavor of toasted sugar and cinnamon are plenty pleasing.
These were tasty tidbits on the day I ventured in, but the offerings are always subject to both season and whimsy. Check out Dovetail’s website for a cheat-sheet on what might be available today, as well as other locations around town where you can gobble up the goods.

shopping list

photos will be following, but i wanted to make sure that you knew what we will be bringing to market this week!

summer peach cake (yes, it's still summer!)

nectarine vanilla bean muffins (featuring baird family orchards nectarines)

raspberry muffins with a lemon zest glaze

peach blackberry buns (if you love our sticky buns you'll LOVE these little beauties!)

almond poppyseed loaf cake (kathy & jesi!)

aunt miriam's sticky buns 

blueberry muffins

some other delectables that are yet to be decided! come by an enjoy it while it lasts! there is officially only one more month of the st. johns farmers left to enjoy! see you very soon! 

XO!

morgan

mail order. a little goes a long way!

recently people have been asking me if we can ship our baked goods. yes we can and we do! i would like to present you with a very small photographic essay all about it. 

this is robert. he is our VERY FIRST, farthest, and most loyal mail orderer! although he lives at the other end of the country he can still enjoy dovetail bakery sticky buns any and all the time! we also love shipping cookies and we even sent a pie once! if you have a friend or loved one who might need a chewy ginger molasses cookie or two, or even a wheat-free banana chocolate marble loaf cake sent their way, just call me at 503.288.8839 or send me an email at dovetailbakery@hotmail.com. i'll help you out!

they have arrived!

safe! just like the stork itself had delivered them.

getting ready to get down to business...

nothing makes a person smile like a mountain of dovetail bakery cookies & sticky buns!

thanks robert! glad to be long distance best friends! we'll keep sending the treats as long as you keep smiling! ps your order is being prepared as we speak!

have a supremely excellent day everybody!

love,

  morgan