With fall in full swing and winter closing in fast, it's comfort-food season.
For me, there's nothing more comforting than the warm smells of a bakery. That smell — yeast, flour, cinnamon, spices — was perfuming the air even before we walked in for a weekday lunch at House of Bread, a neighborhood favorite on the corner of 2000 East and 2700 South.
I'd heard that House of Bread, in addition to its baked goods, offers a nice lunch. And having been there, I agree — it's a nice lunch, indeed, provided you set aside the time for a leisurely sort of meal.
If you're dashing in on your lunch hour, be prepared to take your meal, or at least part of it, back to the office. Most customers at House of Bread seemed to understand this on the day we visited; they were content to wait for their food at one of the handful of tables. The service is not quick, but the fresh-made food is tasty and worth lingering over if you've got the time.
I was impressed with the ambition of both the bakery offerings and the menu items. There's a large and enticing selection of breads, from basil parmesan and pumpernickel to apricot-walnut and oatmeal applesauce. Pick up a flier to check the days on which they're available.
Many of the breads are fat-free and dairy-free, and there are low-carb and low-gluten varieties. You also can get various pastries, from low-fat cinnamon rolls and chocolate cookies to different muffins and scones each day.
The sandwich menu is similarly diverse, with such basics as roast beef and turkey, and more unusual offerings, such as "hillbilly BBQ beef" and egg salad, as well as a breakfast menu with everything from a "chunk o' bread" with honey butter to the "ultimate peanut-butter sandwich," which features peanut butter, honey and toasted apple cinnamon swirl bread.
We took advantage of both ends of the menu's spectrum. My husband had the "classic club," a festival of meats with roast beef, pit ham and turkey breast with shredded Jack and Cheddar cheeses, plus lettuce, tomato and sliced onion. The whole thing is served between 2-inch-thick slices of classic white bread, which made it hard to bite into without smushing everything together. However, the bread was soft but chewy, extremely fresh and distinctly flavored, showing off the taste of the ingredients. It was served with crunchy, non-greasy veggie chips.
I went a more unusual route with a veggie triple-cheese delight. Two thick pieces of whole-wheat bread were spread with aromatic homemade hummus and topped with shredded carrots and artichoke hearts, plus Jack, Parmesan and Cheddar cheeses, and a sprinkle of lemon pepper. The result is tangy, moist and richly satisfying, with the nutty and just-sweet bread providing a great counterpoint.
Our kids liked their meals, as well. House of Bread offers a kid-size meal for children or the "young at heart," with a half-grilled cheese or half peanut butter and jelly, veggie chips and a drink. The grilled cheese was crisp and chewy, having been cooked in a press to a golden-brown finish. The PB&J was thickly spread with coarse-ground, fresh peanut butter and gobs of sweet jelly. To get around the thickness of the bread slices, my 4-year-old pulled the sandwich apart and ate it open-faced.
As for dessert, you can't really go wrong. The chocolate cookies are dark and sweet, the house-special apple cinnamon bread is moist and decadent, and you'll never believe that the rich, filling cinnamon rolls are low fat.
Breads $2.65-$5.75, pastries and treats $1-$1.95, breakfast and lunch $2.75-$6.25.
Rating: ** 1/2
Where: 2005 E. 2700 South
Hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Payment: Checks, credit cards accepted
Phone: 466-1758
Web:www.geocities.com/houseofbreadsl
Stacey Kratz is a free-lance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret Morning News. E-mail: skratz@desnews.com