You know The Stand in Laguna Beach, the 48-year-old, granola-loving time warp. Meet its modern equivalent, the self-effacing hip bakery and vegetarian deli, Rye Goods.
Nestled in a very narrow space by the post office, Rye Goods is nothing if not rye. It’s hardy, it’s burly, it’s a scone away from being whiskey.
The crunchy loaves and dense desserts take some getting used to, but even novice bakers might tell there’s something unique in the flavors.
This is not your sweet-loving French bakery with over-stuffed cream fillings and dollops of slick imported chocolate.
Instead, you walk away feeling like an 18th century homesteader.
With the slogan, “Living in Each Season,” it’s hard to feel worthy as you eye the caramelized onion brie croissant or jalapeño cheddar loaf.
“Rye Goods is an organic sourdough bakery and deli living in each season,” they explain on their website. “Using ingredients as indicators of time to let us know where we are at in the year. We work with small farm West Coast heritage grains to make our sourdough breads and pastry.”
Our first visit on a busy Saturday morning was intimidating. We’re not Amish, so we weren’t sure what “heritage” meant – or how to tell time with ingredients.
So we went with the first thing we saw: the “Country” sourdough loaf and almond croissant.
Both were dense. We wanted to like them because they were made on a small farm disconnected from the internet and brought in overnight on a horse-drawn carriage, but we had to be honest: Apparently, we’re not worthy.
We mentioned our experience to a friend whose office is near the bakery, and he said, “Oh no, you’ve got to try the coffee cake – the best in the world. The other stuff, you have to give it time.”
Of course, time.
So we did go back and try the coffee cake, and it was very good. It has heft without being a brick. It’s not cloyingly sweet. You could easily split it between two people, which is a good thing because nothing here is cheap.
The loaves are $12-$15. The pastries, $6-$7. There’s also a 12% mandatory charge as an “employee benefit.”
For lunch, a grilled cheese sandwich will run you $13. Other more substantive sandwiches are a bit more.
They also offer natural wines, which of course immediately bumps up their rating.
All in all, it’s an interesting experience. Wear your handmade, grass-fed straw hat and sit outside (because it’s incredibly loud inside) and imagine yourself in another time – or the right time. We’re still not sure which.
Any time is probably OK.
