Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe

Pacific Way is two places. One door leads into a friendly little bakery where locals hang out every morning, sipping espresso drinks and eating wonderful muffins, croissants, and casual breakfasts. A few yards up the street, another door opens at noon for sit-down meals that are more deluxe, albeit laid-back and casual.

The cafe part of the operation starts dinner with a terrific bread basket from the bakery – slices of cheddar-basil onion, oatmeal molasses, and French bread; and I really like the kitchen’s pear and gorgonzola salad. Dungeness crab pizza, on the other hand, doesn’t work so well. Good as the crab might have been when it started, it is a subtle-flavored food that gets overwhelmed on this pie by the vivid punch of sun-dried tomatoes and the extreme luxury of sweet, creamy cheese. The pizza foundation is swell — puffy-crusted, full-flavored — and the next time I eat dinner here, I am going to get one with more typical toppings.

But really, it is the coffee shop that wins my heart – a cozy spot with only a few chairs and counter stools, plus outdoor tables under and around which customers’ dogs goof off and hunt crumbs. Conversations fly through the air at this perpetual town party, and when I stood at the counter trying to decide which pastry to get with morning coffee, a flash group conscience arose among the indoor diners, who determined it must be the multi-fruit Danish – a bouquet of Oregon berries on a pallet of flaky crust. On a coast rich with first-rate pastries, this one really stood out.

Note: Call ahead to check hours, which vary with the season. Generally, the bakery is open only until 1pm and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The restaurant is closed Tuesday and Wednesday as well.