Restaurant Review // Wooden Spoon

Local bakeries and neighborhood cafes are nothing new, but when you find one that produces both decadent pastries and elevated food, the true winners are the customers. This is the case with the charming wooden spoon cafe in lower highlands. 

This quaint shop only seats about a dozen customers at once, in their light filled space off of 28th and zuni. Luckily, owners jason and jeanette burgett turns out their made-to-order fare in no time, so, seats open up quickly and guests can also take their meals to go. There are always fresh flowers adorning each table and a friendly staff to welcome you inside. The large handwritten chalkboards display the menus; full of local ingredients and purveyors from around town. However, what draws most customers into wooden spoon is not visible on a menu; the abundant selection of homemade pastries are ever changing and proudly displayed at the counter.

So, speaking of pastries... the sweet treats at wooden spoon are as delicious to eat as they are to drool over in the display cases. Key lime tarts, fresh scones, flour-less chocolate cakes, delicate french macarons, apple tarts with cream anglaise, chewy cookies, turnovers and more are baked fresh daily and often times, sell out before lunch. I have tried a couple of the savory turnovers too and they are quite flaky so I would suggest grabbing a couple extra napkins, a fork and a knife. They also bake cakes, pies, tarts and more for the holidays and take specialty orders but I have yet to try them out and comment on their quality.

Wooden spoon should be quite proud of their spot-on breakfast and lunch program. Six days a week the tiny kitchen produces a handful of breakfast sandwiches, a couple hearty and flavorful salads, along with about a dozen delectable sandwiches. I am partial to the fresh mozzarella, peppery arugula-pesto, tomato and balsamic sandwich for its simplicity but strong ingredients. Another favorite includes the tasty mixed greens salad; a bed of greens topped with thinly sliced pear, toasted almonds, pickled radish and a light buttermilk dressing. I have also been caught ordering the quinoa salad a time or two and it is quite filling. This salad is a mix of protein-rich quinoa, arugula, candied pecans, sweet cranberries and a lemony vinaigrette. The best part of both salads, the rich goat cheese crostini that comes on the side. Always check out the daily specials as wooden spoon serves up a different quiche each day along with one of their awesome homemade soups. 

I love finding neighborhood spots that deliver both sweet and savory options and wooden spoon is one of those cafes you cannot help but regularly visit. If its a sweet treat in the afternoon with a cup of coffee, a filling mid-day lunch or grabbing a handful of pastries to take home for a weekend brunch, wooden spook will have you taken care of.