Today this corner of the world woke up to a bold blue sky streaked with bright white and pink clouds kissed by the sweet golden glow of the morning sun. A little chipper for a Monday morning, I know, but it is 45 degrees here at 9 o’clock on December 13 and I am feeling good. Also, our weekly staff meeting was held first thing at the brand spanking new pastry shop that just opened today across the street from the office
Called Pastries On Main — conveniently located a hop and a skip away from bustling SLC on Tooele’s Main Street — it is a bakery bedroom, if you will, to Sostanza, a solid Mediterranean-American-y joint occupying several renovated lots in a strip mall that once housed a pet shop. I haven’t frequented the restaurant yet as much as I would like, but I have had some mighty fine bouillabaisse and Thai-style skewers there. Pastries On Main is the latest project from attentive owner Spiros Makris and offers a rich display of danishes, cakes, muffins, cookies, éclairs and croissants alongside all manner of tea, hot chocolate and coffee (or espresso, or cappuccino, or macchiato), as well as offerings of Italian soda, flavored pelligrino, sodas, juices and iced tea.
Though it was tough to settle on picking what to get straight out of the gate, I finally settled on a perennial favorite, a big, chewy chocolate éclair, sold with all of the flavor and none of the pretension of a French bakery’s pain au chocolate. The outer crust of the buttery, flaky dough — made from scratch in the wee hours of the morning — was brushed with a kind of light syrup, and half had been dipped in the same rich dark chocolate that filled the insides. It was so good I jokingly told Spiros to give the pastry chef a hug for me, to which he motioned to the man to his right and told me to hug him myself. So I did. The chef, Justin Meyers, starts work at midnight to fill the rounded glass cases with all manner of pastry delights. Well done, sir. Thank you for helping me start my Monday morning off right.
Pastries On Main is located at 29 North Main Street in Tooele, is about 35 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, which should take you less than an hour to drive even in rush hour. It is open from 5 a.m. to “late” Monday through Saturday. Friendly staff, attentive management is a plus. Prices were extremely reasonable and ranged from $1.19 for a cookie to $32 for a whole chocolate truffle cake, but most pastries cost about $2.50, and a hot drink averages at about $3. The cozy little dining area is comfortable and offers free WiFi. The espresso machine, when running, does make quiet conversation a bit difficult, but otherwise everything rocked my socks. Go. Eat. Enjoy.
