counter of baked goodness (volunteer park café, capitol hill)

Today, a good friend and I headed over to Volunteer Park Café for lunch. We had both been there before and enjoyed the food, but neither of us had tried their lunch fare. Figuring it was worth checking out, we made the quick drive over to Capitol Hill.

Volunteer Park Café: 1501 17th Ave E.

Located just two blocks from the northeast of Volunteer Park at 17th and Galer, VPC has the feel of a friendly neighborhood café. The chef-owners pride themselves on their use of fresh, local ingredients, many of which come from straight from the back garden and local farms. The breakfast and lunch menus feature seasonal items comprised of these ingredients, including daily breakfast stratas, quiche, coffee cakes, salads, soups, and sandwiches. At night, the Counter of Baked Goodness takes a backseat to the antique chandeliers overhead, with dinner service that showcases warm, hearty dishes (think: mac and cheese, pot pie, beef brisket, pizza...).

Day time Counter of Baked Goodness.
Night time chandelier in the background.

Close-up of Baked Goodness.
Scroll down for details about the Charlie Brown cookie.

Upon entering the café, I immediately noticed the delectable aroma of BUTTER permeating dining room. The smell was so strong, I could practically taste it. I imagine this must have influenced my unwavering decision to order the brown butter pumpkin bisque, one of the three soups offered today. The pumpkin bisque had a warm buttery flavor seasoned with thyme, resulting in a silky, smooth texture and a flavor that was surprisingly not too rich and wonderfully well-balanced. The simple flavors were perfect for showing off the pumpkin's flavor, and unlike many fall pumpkin/squash soups, it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. It was served with a slice of bread.. great for dipping and enjoying the soup, but otherwise rather unmemorable.

Daily soup: Brown butter pumpkin bisque.

To go with my soup, I also ordered the BLT sandwich with avocado. In general, anything with bacon is delicious in my book, and I especially love a good BLT. However, with just one glance at this BLT, I knew I was about to be let down. Let's start with the bread: It was thickly sliced yet very airy, and it didn't have much flavor. It looked a nice golden brown, but the lack of butter made the toasted parts dry and crumbly. There was a sufficient amount of avocado and lettuce, but the tomatoes were sparse and not as sweet as I would have expected from this farm-fresh establishment. The pepper bacon was very tasty and nicely crisped, but as you can see in the photo, wasn't evenly distributed and resulted in many lettuce-tomato-avocado bites. This is a serious flaw considering that the whole point of ordering a BLT is to have an acceptable reason for eating bacon at lunch. Despite all my complaints about this sandwich, I did eat pretty much all of it, so it couldn't have been that bad. After all, it did have bacon, and remember, bacon = delicious. But it simply wasn't my favorite BLT in town (that one would be hard to beat.. review coming soon!).

Sandwich: BLT with avocado.

Bakeries rather than restaurants are typically where Seattleites can actually find quality desserts, so we couldn't leave without trying some of VPC's sweets. After some very serious contemplation at the Counter of Baked Goodness, we ordered a slice of raspberry buttermilk cake and a Charlie Brown cookie. The raspberry buttermilk cake was fluffy and moist and had a layer of sticky, ripe raspberry purée at the bottom. Even with the dusting of powdered sugar on top, the cake was sweet-but-not-too-sweet, and definitely could be eaten as a breakfast pastry á la coffee cake.

Raspberry buttermilk cake.

The over-sized Charlie Brown cookie, on the other hand, was very sweet and would put young children and grown-ups alike in chocolate peanut butter heaven. Its crinkled, crunchy outside gave way to a soft, fudgy middle scattered with peanut butter chips throughout. What more can I say? If you're a fan of chocolate and peanut butter, this one's for you.

Charlie Brown cookie (chocolate peanut butter).

The endgame: Volunteer Park Café serves up delectable baked goods and successfully incorporates seasonal flavors into savory (pumpkin bisque) and sweet (raspberry buttermilk cake) dishes alike. Skip the sandwiches -- breads failed to impress, and that is an essential component!

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik "Campy" pump.

Lunch shoes: Manolo Blahnik "Campy" pump in nude patent leather. An updated Mary Jane style with a slightly rounded toe and tonal grosgrain trim.