The Holidays are Coming

Sky Valley Bakeries

Grain Artisan Bakery

717 1st Street, Snohomish, WA

Going from a pop-up bakery, selling the moistest gluten-free (gf) cakes, cupcakes and delectable cookies out of tents at local farmers markets, to full-fledged brick and mortar store in downtown Snohomish is no easy proposition. But when your baked goods are as beloved as Grain Artisan Bakery’s, you throw up a Kickstarter campaign and exceed your funding goal. That’s how Lauren Anderson created a storefront selling in-demand gf, dairy-free and vegan options that rival traditional fare. Anderson’s commitment to all-natural, (eschewing dies and fondant), and to quality ingredients are shared here, along with how to properly slice a cake. Try their earl grey lavender cake, chocolate cake with thick layers of peanut butter buttercream, and blueberry scone with balsamic glaze. Visit: www.grainartisanbakery.com

Grateful Bread Cafe

15602 Main Street, Duvall, WA

The name of the bakery may call to mind a classic band, but once you’ve tasted their bread and pastries, you will, indeed, be grateful for bread. The Grateful Bread Cafe is so popular that you’ll be warned to arrive early — many of the goodies sell out by 10 a.m. on a weekend. Visitors say the “chocolate chip cookies are life,” and that the bakery has “crispy perfect bagels, with a lovely bubbly, beautiful thin crust,” baked goods that are “nothing short of amazing,” and “this is a Duvall gem!” Where else can you order a pumpkin muffin and biscuits and gravy? Don’t leave without a fresh loaf of bread for your lunch, and a marionberry pie for dessert.

Original Pilot House Coffees

408 West Main Street, Monroe, WA best so far. There are so many piñatas and Mexican things.”

Original Pilot House Coffees has a passion for artisan roasted coffee, ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls, and a comforting sense of place. You’ll find all three at their Main Street location.

But the cinnamon rolls you’ll only find Saturday mornings, and only if you arrive early. Or consider ordering your “Cup of Happy,” as owner Heather Fulcher calls it, for delivery — it will come delivered via ATV, as only Monroe can do it! Before you leave, get a pound of beans to go, so later you can brew a pot of coffee and remember that time you cozied up on the cafe’s sofa with an espresso in hand and a cinnamon roll in your tummy.

Snohomish Bakery

at First & Union

101 Union Ave., Snohomish, WA toast for just over ten bucks. That’s right — $10.95 for that pork chop breakfast. Like the portions, the menu is enormous, all handwritten and tacked to the oversized pastry case and lining the walls. If it isn’t a pastry and breakfast, there are meals like roasts, pork chops, wet burritos, and turkey dinner with all the fixings. All, as locals and visitors would say, like mom would make.

Kugelhopf, Russian tea cakes, Pain au Chocolat, croissants, chocolate chunk cookies baked fresh, cakes and sweet rolls of every kind.

Snohomish Bakery at First & Union has it all. The busy bakery doesn’t stop at sweet treats. Try their BLT on house-made Jewish rye — amazing! Breakfast and lunch options are plentiful. The Bronx Reuben is a must try, along with their portobello panini with sun-dried tomatoes on a baguette. Breakfasts include everything from quiches or Challah French Toast, to steel cut oats, or a grilled corn muffin with butter and jam. While you’re visiting, check out the Rolling Pin Woman, a 12-foot tall kinetic sculpture by Jesse Purdom. Visit: www.snobake.com.

That Takes the Cake

415 Main Street, Sultan, WA

This is another fine example of a bold baker taking over an existing shop during a wild year of unknowns: Becca Gordon purchased That Takes the Cake in November of 2020, providing locals with New York style bagels and baking her wholesale “I Can’t local coffee shops and gas stations. She sells “insane deliciousness” vegan scones, muffins, cookies, “snickerblondies” and apple yum cake bars at local farmers markets, as well. This small operation pumps out hundreds of bagels and a steady supply of cakes. So if you’re in need of a vegan cake for a special occasion, or there’s a favorite bagel flavor you’re craving (jalapeño pepper jack, chorizo cheddar, chai, pesto white cheddar and more) call ahead.

PLEASE NOTE: All restaurants and bakeries are suffering food and staffing shortages. Please check their websites (if available) for changes in hours and menus, and have patience when patronizing all local businesses.

Pueblo Viejo

118 West Main Street, Monroe, WA

Pueblo Viejo is one of many small Mexican markets in the region, but it stands apart. Fresh, handmade tortillas are made in-house, putting to shame any grocery store variety tortilla. They also make fresh Mexican pastries. Try the Pasteles Frescas, fresh cakes that are so moist and delicious. And they don’t stop there. The busy bakers are also cooking up fresh Chicharrones on Saturdays and Sundays, when you’ll also find fresh tamales and carnitas. Google reviewer William Colin says to come for the “candies, tortillas, pastries (Mexican bread), and other sugary goodness. The atmosphere is the

Sultan Bakery

31407 U.S. 2, Sultan, WA

For many hungry outdoors folks on their way to enjoy the mountains and rivers of the Central Cascade Mountains, there is one last, muststop location before heading east on Highway 2: Sultan Bakery. Sandwiches on fresh, homemade bread. Desserts like buttermilk bars, Bismarks, rocky road brownies, buttermilk bars, eclairs, cookies and pies. And if sammies and donuts weren’t enough to call you in, they serve full breakfasts, from a Florentine omelette to a Greek scramble, or the two-pork chop-twoegg breakfast with hash browns and