And then some...

The job continues. I baked at Toast, the cafe/bakery, twice this week. Patronage was light due to the Inauguration and a persistent rain, so my Wednesday stint was cancelled. Monday's baking session was grim: the cake donuts were too light and soft to remove easily from the pan (we bake them rather than fry them, which is sort of a sacrilege for a donut, don't you agree?) and instead ended up resolving in a pile of crumbs that got tossed into a waste can. But the same donuts I baked today plopped out of their pans intact and crumbless, ready to be dipped in butter and coated in cinnamon sugar and were sitting on the racks by nine thirty waiting for the customers to come and taste them. The cinnamon rolls I baked today were light and fluffy and dripping with oozy cream cheese buttercream by nine forty just in time to be placed on waiting diner's plates five minutes later. This job makes me happy in ways running the Landing never did. I do like to make folks happy, that's true, but turning out good things to eat is pure fun.

It's not just the food, of course, that's part of the job. There's the people too. Fellow employees are part of the job and getting on with them is part of the fun too. Take the dishwasher, for example. The fellow who made my first day so great by washing up all the bowls I got dirty. The fellow who I thought was going to make this job the Best just because he was washing up behind me. He quit. Well, technically, I guess that's wrong. He didn't quit. But after last Friday, he just neglected to show up to work anymore. Bill and I passed him on the street Sunday when we were walking the dog and he greeted us just fine. So I don't think he had any hard feelings over all the pots and pans I sent his way. I think he just felt that three days washing dishes in the small cafe was enough for him. So he stayed home this week. So, hmmmm, that part of the job wasn't so much fun today. When I needed an extra bowl because I'd messed up too many and here were four sitting dirty and I needed to get a fifth used, then I had to step over to the sink and wash a few out. It humbles the chef a bit, but hey, I've been doing that at home for over forty years. What's new?

The other girls in the cafe are great. Eager young women wanting to do the right thing, rushing to get their jobs done without getting in each other's way. Asking questions of Bert, the baker, about various aspects of recipes or how things should be done. They've got a keen appreciation of trying to do it right the first time. In a way, it's like they are students studying extra hard for that test that's coming up. But when the cafe fills up around noon and there's ten dozen things to do to keep the customers happy and the food moving, these girls hustle and there's no slouching. I have been so impressed to watch how well this young green staff is doing. Makes me proud!

So for anybody in the Superior area that hasn't found Toast yet. It's open 7 AM to 2 PM, Tuesdays through Sunday and is located at 180 Main Street. We serve espressos and lattes and gourmet sandwiches and salads as well as some great chorizo pizza on Wednesdays and Fridays and some of the best Artisan bread in the Phoenix area. And if you are dieting, ask for one of those cinnamon rolls lathered with cream cheese buttercream. That oughta do you for a spell!