White Salmon Baking Co. — Restaurant in White Salmon

This review is specifically for Pizza Night -- even though everything they do is great! Mondays have become a recurring date night for us, taking a quick jaunt across the Columbia River and magically arriving at a European bistro. Without fail, there is a line formed down the block by 4:50pm, so we try to get here reasonably ahead of time, once or twice being the last guests seated!

Once seated, there is a limited food menu, but each item is intentional and thoughtful. Six or seven apps, six or seven pizza choices, and dozens of wines to choose from, many local or purveyed from Italy and France. On our recent experience, we chose the Uitwaaien Pinot blend from the Color Collective -- delicious and earthy, and paired perfectly with our food. I saw the smoked salmon arancini on their seasonal appetizer menu, and though I'm usually the indecisive companion, I knew instantly it was what I wanted. Four golf ball sized bites of flavor nirvana, as the smoky notes of the salmon melded perfectly with the creamy rice, and delicately crisp batter, all atop of a small bed of pickled peppers. I had a thought to just order a giant bowl of them and skip pizza, but I decided to save a bit of room. We matched the arancini with a radicchio caesar which was a fine and balanced complement (you absolutely cannot beat a homemade crouton!)

Then the pizza. We ordered the anchovy, which was classic and rustic, true to form, but ultimately more suited for my wife's palate than my own. My favorite has long been the mortadella with sweet onion, served with a sunny egg in the middle. There is something about this combination that makes it highly cravable and delectable. The mortadella is so thinly sliced it practically melts, the sweet onion balanced out by the fat and umami from the egg yolk. What really makes the pizza shine is their commitment to the crust. Local flours, spread to a perfect consistency (not too thick, not to thin, a great Napoletana style) that is wonderfully chewy with only careful blisters of scorch from the wood-fired oven. We chose to take some pizza home to make sure to save room for dessert.

They have wonderful seasonal desserts using local ingredients that are available at the time, but each time I go, I have to have a piece of tiramisu. This may not be only the best tiramisu I've ever had, but it might be the best dessert I've ever had. Soaked lady fingers that aren't too dry and aren't too sopping, the right amount of sweetness from mascarpone, the right amount of bitterness from the coffee, and cacao nibs on top to give a little bit of crunch to break of an otherwise soft mouthfeel. I would buy a whole cake, but I'm sure it wouldn't last two days.

Everything about my experience is radiates balance. Wonderful service that was quick without being rushed, kind without being garrulous, professional without being cold. Every item we ate showed the same thoughtful process of balance and intention. Monday pizza night holds a special place in my heart. The owners and staff have done a remarkable job of creating something truly special in their small community, and they have my repeat and frequent business.

If only I could get that...

I know that the White Salmon Bakery has a great reputation, but the experience we had was so disappointing I had to leave a review so the management will hopefully take notice.

It was a busy Monday morning, February 17th, with all the seats taken by customers, which is great to see. We made our way to the front counter with a menu in hand. The two staff neither made eye contact with us, greeted us or thanked us either before or after our transaction. The woman who helped us was frowning and staring out the window while we ordered. I felt like an annoyance. She took our money, placed our order and walked away. While waiting for our food, the same woman who helped us grabbed a beverage and asked a customer if he would like his drink opened. He responded, “that’s not what I ordered.” She said, “oh sorry, it was a rough night.”

We were given a number and waited for our food. The server arrived and said, “two toasts for number 22,” took our number and proceeded to walk away. I looked him in the eye, thanked him for his service, and watched him walk away. He neither smiled or acknowledged me. It was one of the most unfortunate dining experiences I have had in this town, and I love White Salmon.

The bottom line is that I know this town is a tourist destination and that many employees here work long hours with low compensation. I have also worked in the service industry and understand. However, it doesn’t take that much energy to act friendly or welcoming. I understand people are hungover on occasion and don’t feel like coming to work, but don’t advertise that to a customer. Don’t knowingly provide poor service to customers and tell them it’s because you drank too much last night. The toast was delicious! But for more than $30, it would be great to at least get a smile for...

I ordered ginger molasses cookie, granola & yogurt bowl and an Americano. Granola bowl is very well balanced between yogurt tanginess and granola crunchy and compote sweet. Ginger cookie has a nice flavor but very mild. Honestly, if you were to blind taste test the cookie, I couldn't tell you that it was ginger or molasses, but it does have good flavor and well baked. While mixing my granola and yogurt, I misproportioned the mix and ran out of granola. So I asked if I could have a little more granola and it was no problem. The coffee had a weird smell to it. Something akin to hemp or flax or something hippie-ish. But the taste was rather yummy and I drink it all so it couldn't have been that bad. If you're a fan of homemade granola, even if it's a little on the sweet side, they sell it separately and I was very tempted to purchase it because it was definitely the highlight of the breakfast. Service with a smile. Cafe cleanliness is above average with no concerns there. Seating is in one big open room so louder echoey noise level is expected. But at the same time creates a festive mood. No plastic or styrofoam present. Refreshingly the plates and silverware were actual ceramic plates and metal silverware. Even the fruit compote cup is a paper product. The open room is so open that the bakers are even actively kneading the bread dough with no barrier between the customers and their work station. It gives kind of a an old world meal feel all very pleasant. It was a little on the pricier side but that's to be expected for fancy white salmon. However, it being a locally owned business I'm happy to...