Nuvrei Pastries

Monkey Bread,

Nuvrei Pastries, $2.50

From a subterranean kitchen in Portland's Pearl District, Nurvei Pastries produces a variety of traditional and contemporary French treats. Nurvei mostly sells wholesale to area restaurants and coffee shops, but the bakery itself keeps a small case stocked with fresh treats for passersby. Although a perky pink sandwich board on the street that welcomes you in, the experience itself is a tiny bit intimidating; the bustling bakery is tucked away inside and downstairs, and you'll be waited on by a baker in full kitchen whites who, though gracious, certainly has more urgent things to tend to (I won't even answer the phone if I have a sheet of cookies in the oven--much less 100 hand-folded croissants!). Happily, work is underway on a ground floor cafe, and you'll still be able to watch the bakers toil through basement windows set into the sidewalk outside.

Since I was there on a windy day I opted against one of Nurvei's handsome croissants, imagining it shattering at the first gust and dusting me with golden, buttery shrapnel. Monkey bread was a perfect choice for a wandering snack: a loose jumble of diced apple and cubes of butter-rich croissant dough, spiced with a generous amount of cinnamon.

Nuvrei

404 NW 10th Avenue

Portland, OR

503/546-3032‎
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