Bakery Cafe
Along the Texas Gulf Coast, the “Devil’s Elbow,” as the Spanish explorers named it, there’s the usual Coastal dichotomy. In Port Aransas, the beach village, there are million dollar bayside/beachside high-rise condos. In the companion village, across the way, the mainland port of Aransas Pass, it is much different.
It’s a small town with a big marina, boatyards and support, but still, a small Texas town.
The Bakery Cafe is on, sort the Main Street, the only street with any action at all. Not a big deal. Across the street is another favorite institution, the local HEB. I’ve purchased coolers and ice in that store before, and maybe, a dozen years ago, perhaps further back than that, weekend groceries and supplies. A decade after products drop from more mainstream locations, that one store still carried certain hair products I used to favor.
I used to have more hair, too.
The Bakery Cafe reminds me of what diners used to be, and how the place appeared to cater to a mostly local crowd. I might well have been the only outsider as I didn’t know any of the help by name, nor was I greeted like that. Warm, friendly place. Off the beaten path. Passed over by most of the cool, cooler, coolest spots. There’s no fancy cuisine there. Hearty, down-home cooking. Nothing fancy, but all good.
The sign itself spoke volumes to me, as the colors, shape, and slightly faded letter at one end? All of it, possibly all original, and since 1929?
It encompasses a lot of local color, local history, Texas (Gulf) history, and “diner” history, as well.
Breakfast was good.
