Country Bird Bakery — Restaurant in Tulsa

I've heard about Country Bird Bakery and Chef Cat Cox’s pastry genius from many people. The extensive line that runs from her bakery each day is legendary. Country Bird Bakery’s bread is featured at FarmBar, along with a rich, decadent, luscious butter that could have been stolen by Prometheus himself. Cat Cox is the owner and pastry chef at Country Bird Bakery. Her philosophy about bread is best left to her own description: “Much like wine, great bread should embody the taste of a place and time. I strive to incorporate local vegetables, fruits, grains, herbs, or dairy into every loaf I bake!” This beautifully eloquent homage to the culinary arts is backed up by Cat's use of locally sourced grains, primarily from the southwest region (Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas). She kneads and folds her love and dedication into her breads and pastries, carrying the very essence of Oklahoma and neighboring regions to one's waiting mouth. Having visited Dominique Ansel’s Bakery and Bien Cuit in New York and sampled bread from the legendary Dominique Crenn, Chef Cox’s reputation is my only true metric for this review. With a line formed and an empty stomach, let’s eat. Walking into Country Bird Bakery, you're rewarded with a beautiful scent of fresh breads and sweets that gets the mouth watering. The atmosphere is welcoming and pretty. You're greeted with a fantastic view of the ovens, bread, and a gorgeous display case with delicious delights eagerly awaiting discerning customers. Behind the counter was Chef Cox. With an absolutely radiant smile, she guided each customer to various pastries, breads, and sandwiches. Her energy and personality are that of a hummingbird—warm and friendly, treating each customer like a family member. This leaves a lasting impression. For this tasting, I left the decision-making entirely in Chef Cox’s hands. I don’t want what is popular. I want what she is most proud of. What she would want someone to taste. As such, first up is a gorgeous city loaf with hatch chilies. The crust on this bread is phenomenal. When sinking my teeth into my first bite, you're rewarded with a delicate sour flavor that gives way to a gorgeous aftertaste of chili. This is a luscious bread. For the offering, Chef Cox selected the Focaccia Sammie “Chef’s Choice.” This bite is simply one of a kind. Delicious speck is sandwiched between gorgeous focaccia with mozzarella and pesto. Each bite is packed full of flavor as the salty speck gives way to a gorgeous pesto flavor with endnotes of creamy mozzarella. What is most impressive is that Chef Cox’s bread flavor is pronounced in each bite! For the first dessert was the chocolate croissant. This folded layer of heaven in pastry form. Before biting into the croissant, I could discern the grains of flour spotting each layer. This highlights the quality of the stone-ground flour that was used. Each bite featured beginning notes of buttery bread giving way to middle notes of tangy dark chocolate with subtle sweet endnotes of buttery bread. Next up is the Sourdough Maritozzi Yuzu YaoPon. This creation is borderline transcendent, and I do not have the discerning flavor palate to correctly analyze it. Each bite features such a unique initial flavor profile of a sweet yet earthy pastry cream that confuses and tantalizes the taste buds with wonder. This initial layer of cream gives way to a gorgeous tangy Yuzu curd that works in perfect harmony with the cream. With each bite, I curled my toes and as the cream dripped from the bun, I could not allow this unique ambrosia to escape my mouth as I eagerly lapped it up from my beard, fingers, and hand.

Final Score: 58/60; With amber grains of majesty folded with the hands of the goddess Demeter to bring...

I showed up 15 minutes before they opened and was maybe the 12th person in line. Was excited to wait so I could get all their goodies! By the time I got up to the glass, they were out of blondies so I asked if they were out for good for the day. I was met with a blank “yeah, they’re really popular.” “But you only opened 10 minutes ago” “Our dessert boxes are popular, if you wanted one you should have ordered a box.” I was left feeling disappointed and confused that they were sold out, and then frustrated by her response. How is a bakery sold out of something 10 minutes after they open? They know the amount of preorders beforehand, so why not prepare enough for the customers walking in? What’s the point of showing up early and waiting when they don’t care to have product for those who show up? Some will say that’s the price of a popular place, I say that’s just a bad business The girl working the register was kind and helpful, the girl grabbing the goods made me want to not come back and felt like I was a bother for...

This was such a fun experience! We got there a little before they open and we waited in line about an hour maybe a little more. It was drizzling and they provided umbrellas for us to use as we waited. The building is very small with maybe 10-15 people inside at one time. The service is super fast once you're inside. They have everything laid out in plain view and you just let them know what you want and they bag it up for you. They have so many options from plain croissants, filled pastries, flavored butters, fresh sourdough, and take and bake dough. They are open every other Thursday which is usually less busy but they may sell out sooner. I feel there is more variety on Saturdays. Follow their Facebook and Instagram where they post the offerings available that week. I tried the maple blonde which was so amazing! I also got an espresso supreme but my favorite was the pecan double baked croissant 😋If you love bread you...