The Bakery

Bakery: The Bakery 
Address: 5500 Wharf Ave #101, Sechelt, BC 
Website: http://lovethebakery.com/
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

While The Bakery may not score that many points on name creativity, they do get an extra special for being open longer than their online hours! A mad dash from the ferry to make it to this place in time was given up about halfway and it was with a heavy heart that I admitted defeat: ten minutes too late. I simply wouldn't make the 5pm closing time! Turning the corner and driving through downtown Sechelt, I spotted The Bakery and was ready to let out a sigh of disappointment when I realized they were open - yes, open! More than that, there was no indication that they were closing. A bit fearful to run in and get something nasty like "you know we're closed", I was even more stunned to be treated with a smile and told that I could take as much time as I needed in choosing what I wanted. Perhaps they really were open for half an hour?

Nevertheless, taking a look at their display cases, I found they had a quite a bit of squares, tarts and cookies, even if all the baskets which I assumed had held baked goods were empty. Quite a bit of gluten-free options as well, for those who are interested.

I, for one, was aiming for something else and how unique is a rhubarb lemon tart? ($3.75) You've heard of strawberry rhubarb, you've heard of lemon, but I find that rhubarb as a standalone cake filling is almost exclusively relegated to bakeries specializing in European baking from a handful of countries, and even then it's a rare find. I'd never seen it paired with lemon, but it made a lot of sense: both were nice and tart. The shell was delicious and of the right texture. Maybe I thought the lemony frosting with the candied peel was a bit... much, but a tasty treat and a fantastic surprise that the ferry didn't manage to take away from me!

Rating: ***