The Columbia City Bakery Treasure Trove
Step into the Columbia City Bakery and you'll wish you had a decision matrix to help you sort through the stunning array of baked goods. Just as that bear claw draws you in, your mouth will water over the pistachio snail, which then leads you to the morning bun. But wait, what about the cinnamon twist? 
Eve M. Tai Cardamom coffee cake with plum.
Old-school baked goods hold a soft spot in my heart, so I start with the coffee cake. Columbia City Bakery still bakes theirs in a bundt pan, evoking secretaries in cardigans brewing Nescafe during coffee break. But CCB spices this classic with cardamom and mixes in a different fruit daily. The plums in mine are soft, moist, and plentiful, lending maroon tints throughout the cake. Soft and crumbly, the coffee cake is light on the cardamom and sweetly nostalgic too.
Eve M. Tai Gorgeous fruity Danish.
Another classic, the danish, easily wanders into pastry-porn territory. Fresh fruit--piles of blueberries, chubby apricots, and slices of nectarines--gleam atop softened cream cheese. Fruit doesn't look this good at the sexiest local farmers market display.
French toast fans will love the bostok, a thick slice of brioche layered with almond paste and orange-blossom syrup. Cooked on a griddle, it's topped with powdered sugar and sliced almonds. The eggy, fluffy brioche manages to tame all that complexity and bring it together into a slice of heaven. The folks at CCB like to call the bostok "French Toast on the Go," but it's well worth sitting down to enjoy. 
Eve M. Tai Bostok--French toast on the go.
Often decisive as a Navy jet pilot, the Columbia City Bakery scrambles my pastry radar in no time. I don't live nearby, so my choices feel heavy with gravitas. What about everything I didn't try? Yet after I stuff myself, my panic abates as the answer comes to me. I'll just have to come back. A bunch.
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