A baker’s dozen of delights:
Lunch at The Oaktree Bakery & Café
By D.K. Crawford 09/06/2007
As we walked up Fox Street. toward the Oaktree Bakery & Café the heat from the pavement wafted up in waves and slapped us in the face. I felt concerned about attempting a review in 109-degree heat and scoffed at the unshaded tables in the courtyard. But upon stepping inside the café, I was transported from the harsh sun outside to the warmth of fresh baked goods and oven-fired pizzas. Suddenly, heat had a purpose.
Display cases of fruit danishes, chocolate-filled croissants, spire-like baguettes and homemade pasta were to my left. Before we could even consider lunch we were compelled to snag the last two almond paste and wild cherry croissants for our dessert.
It is a simple menu: two salads, three sandwiches, two pastas and three pizzas. My sister and I chose the albacore salad, the open face tomato sandwich and the ravioli with lemon caper cream sauce.
As we ordered the chef slid a margherita pizza out of the oven and a gush of scorching air hit me. I mentioned to the baker’s wife how hot it must be to work there, close to the ovens. “You should feel it when this one opens!” she countered, and pointed to the much larger oven door behind her. She then directed us to a corner of the restaurant where an air conditioning vent blows a slight, pleasant breeze. It was just cool enough to forget the weather and enjoy the meal.
The style of the restaurant is rustic and industrial. Rust-streaked metal wraps the sides of the open kitchen, and the wood elements are dark cherry. There were boxes of Belgian chocolate and sheet pans piled with roma tomatoes on the kitchen counter.
Our food arrived quickly. The most outstanding presentation came from the open face sandwich. Two house-baked focaccia rounds the size of large bagels were topped with fresh roma tomato slices and a blend of five cheeses, then baked in the oven until the cheese was blistered and browned. It’s served with either pesto or black olive tapenade spread and we opted to have half and half. The pesto made the sandwich mild and summery, but the tapenade lent the salty punch needed to balance the bread. The sandwich was crunchy and cheesy — a not-so-little slice of open-face heaven.
The roasted albacore salad was my sister’s favorite. “I am bordering on ecstatic!” she said as she savored bites. The chef explained that they start with fresh tuna and cook it in the oven with a mirepoix. After it cools they add small bits of celery, onion and a tiny bit mayonnaise. It had just the right crunchiness and heft and a slow-roasted flavor. It came on a bed of mixed greens, deep red tomato chunks, grated carrots, homemade croutons (which they also sell by the bag-full), a sprinkling of parmesan and a choice of honey lemon or balsamic vinaigrette dressing. We preferred the lemon honey dressing, made with extra virgin olive oil – one of their key ingredients.
The homemade ravioli was for me, the ‘pièce de résistance’. The chewy, al dente pillows stuffed with ricotta, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, roasted garlic and shallots swam in a sea of lemony, caper cream sauce, fresh thyme and marjoram. The tart of the tomatoes and lemon, the pickled saltiness of the capers, the crunch of pine nuts and the mellowing of the cream married beautifully.
I’ve yet to try the croissants we bought, but I remember how incredible his pastries are from his former bakery on Ojai Avenue.
As the weather cools, the idea of enjoying a meal in the large courtyard does sound enticing. But for now make sure to grab that corner table!
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