Feelin' shiny at Gracious Bakery

Yes, I am a dork. I'm obsessed with things like WoW (World of Warcraft for all you n00bs), LOTR (don't tell me you don't know), and WoT (just click the link). My favorite movies include The Last Unicorn and Neverending Story and I've seen every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, all 178, at least a dozen times. So when using the dork vernacular, fellow Firefly fans (Joss Wheadon's depressingly short-lived space-western series about the renegade crew of Serenity) know precisely what I mean when I say "shiny," and my experience at Gracious Bakery was exactly that.

A couple of weeks ago, John and I visited the bakery on South Jeff Davis, located on the ground floor of the Woodward Design Construction Company's stunning new office building. On the inside, Gracious Bakery features the same, clean lines and bright whites as the outside of the building, a simple counter top with an iPad register and sparkling glass display cases showing off delectable breads and pastries.

Two super-friendly and enthusiastic ladies took our sandwich orders at the counter and then we took our number and headed for a seat near the huge, front windows. John got a Coke that was offered in their latest, fashionable 8.5 fl.oz. bottles. At $2 each, the Coke seemed a steep indulgence and for the same price, I received a large "New Orleans-style" iced coffee.

It was not long before our sandwiches arrived, John ordered soppresata and coppa that was thinly sliced with provolone, arugula and green olive relish on freshly baked ciabatta that came with plain kettle chips. The bread was easily the star of the show, so thick and chewy. I got their roasted in house, rosemary-crusted roast beef sandwich with tomato and horseradish cream cheese, arugula and caramelized onion on a soft kaiser roll. John and I traded bites often and couldn't decide whose sandwich was better.

With all of the delicate pastries just staring at me during lunch, I returned to the counter and brought back not one, but two treats for John and I to share, the Tiramasu and a Black Forest Cake. We inhaled the light, creamy Tiramasu while there and saved the cake for later. While both were wonderful, I wish we would have tasted the Black Forest Cake before we left the shop, that way I could have purchased two more! The cake was so thick and rich, creamy all throughout with a perfect disc of cherry bliss inside...just outstanding, easily one of the best desserts I've had in a long time.

Everything's shiny for sure...