Was there ever a farm called Pepperidge? If so, why were they baking when they should be farming? I do like a few of their cookies, though. Not so much the chocolate chip ones, which for some reason, never taste as good as they look on the package; but the Chessmen and the Milano Melts can do no wrong.
The chocolate chip cookies at Christopher Garrens are what I'd expect Pepperidge Farm's chocolate chip cookies to taste like: rustic, craggly and embedded with all sorts of chunkage.
We tried about four kinds, ranging from the basic chocolate chip; to something called the "Ultimate Chocolate Chip" with coconut, oats, and pecans; to another cookie with more chocolate chips; and something else I pointed at without thinking about what I was pointing at.
Now get ready for the most useless review/recommendation you'll ever read on this blog: One of them was tastier than the others, crumbly, milky, filling my mouth with a vanilla warmth and grandma-baked homeyness. The others were simply okay and one was inordinately dry. Since they were dropped into the same bag, I can't tell you which one was which.
So there. But then, they're not very expensive, so it's not much of a risk to try them all.
You know who else makes a good cookie? Doubletree. No really. They do. And they're free if the front desk mistakes you for a hotel guest; a buck if they don't.
But I digress. Christopher Garrens is also a cake baker, if you didn't already know. They have a whole room shrine/museum showing off what they can really do with sugar, butter and flour. These are cakes so elaborately designed and artfully decorated they don't look like they should be eaten or even touched. I have no pictures to show you because pictures are not allowed; but they have a few of their mind-boggling edible architectural structures on their website.
I'm sure a commenter or two will tell me to try more there. So let me be preemptive and say that I have every intention of going back, especially if just to narrow down which cookie that was that I liked so much!
Christopher Garrens
3321 Hyland Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 445-0189
THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
THE RANCH - Anaheim
Circa 2008, I gave a slice of Let Them Eat Cake
ReplyDelete[as the retail operation was then known]
cake to a friend's wife to acknowledge her birthday. It was so good, I almost soured the relationship with my friend, who apparently was outdone by moi in the gift-giving that year.
It was a chocolate layer variety but I don't remember much more than that...the catering side is the focus of Mr. Garrens and company and I chose whatever was available for sale and looked good (and was chocolate) that Saturday. The retail entity was on Newport Blvd. in CM back then.
I can't believe you went to Christopher Garren's and didn't eat a Danish (the very best in OC) or a scone (also excellent) or a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit.
ReplyDeleteJB,
ReplyDeleteAh, if there was a bakery that could one-up any gift, I'd have to believe it would be this one.
Dave,
As soon as I hit publish this morning, I wondered when The Ubergeek would chime in and call me out for not trying the danish, the scone or the biscuit.
I had before 5 p.m. Pacific!
You knew I wrote that last paragraph for you, right? Of course you knew! :-)
By the way, for the past few weeks, as far as I can tell, there are only three people left in this world who still who read this blog. And they are all present and accounted for in this comment page!!!
I thank you both for doing so.
A fun introduction to this article.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Doubletree does make a good cookie; I made sure to enjoy plenty of them during my last stay at one of its hotels.
EatTravelEat,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment ETE! And I have to correct myself. With you, there are four people who are still kind enough to read this blog!
I'm going to check this place out soon. I do love Doubletree cookies! Good scones you say, I'm there!
ReplyDeleteI love double tree cookies!
ReplyDeleteI am going to put Garrens on my list. I haven't stopped going to cream pan since you wrote about it. Thank you for the extra pounds! =)
Ah my dear friend, Edwin, I hope you didn't exclude me or you'll be stuck with four readers. Regardless, I'm your no. 1 fan. Terima kasih and Happy St. Paddy's Day from your Irish friend.
ReplyDeleteMadison,
ReplyDeleteYou're in for a treat also because the place is in SOCO...what some people are calling the new The Camp.
amourra,
I still go to Cream Pan weekly! I'm not kidding. They should just ring up a tab for me...or some sort of installment plan.
Unknown,
I don't know who you are (but I have guess...C is that you?), but terima kasih banyak for the nice comment.
And thank you to all who still read this blog.
More than six nice readers is enough for me!
Add me (anon) to the list of readers, and another vote for the scones! I have enjoyed reading your blog for the past few years.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sticking with me all these years Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteYou can count me as a reader too. Tho may I suggest getting a manicure before taking anymore pictures of you holding your food?! Ha. I keed.
ReplyDelete