This is a place you'd easily drive right by and never see -- its well hidden, right across from the Fairfield Chair factory between Harper and Virginia St. I stumbled on it when I was taking a shortcut on Light Street from VA St to Harper Ave one day.
This is a wonderful little shop that's fresh, clean as a whistle, and the owner's a delightful person to talk shop with. I'm sure half the conversations begin with "I'd have never found your place unless I was lost!" or "I heard about you from a friend!" and "how long have you been open?" (I think she's only been open since spring 2017)
First, the only reason I didn't leave five stars is because the name of the place, implying that it's a sourdough bread shop, IMO, is a bit misleading; I say this because the first thing I was naturally interested in was being able to buy a loaf of sourdough bread. I absolutely LOVE sourdough bread, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm spoiled--I've enjoyed REAL sourdough from Pier Street on the wharf of San Francisco CA, and all over America. Whenever I've bought sourdough bread it's been the kind of bread that's comparable to a big baguette, where it's got a real chewy and crunchy crust, is super soft inside, and of course, that unmistakable "sour" taste that's in a separate, distinct class of its own.
A loaf of "sourdough" (using quotes for a reason) bread from Joan's place should really be called something like "country white bread"--because that's exactly what it's like. When I grabbed a loaf I had a good feeling that what I was probably buying was more in lines with what I'd call "homemade country white" bread, and given that, I was NOT the least bit disappointed. I've lost track of how many times I've bought "sourdough" where there wasn't even a hint of anything being sour. I plan to buy more from Joan's because I love good bread, especially when it tastes like it really IS homemade! I just think Joan should just call her great li'l place "Joan's Homemade Bread."
Okay, enough dwelling on sourdough bread--because that represents about 1% of what Joan has to offer you. There's SO many great things she sells. I'll leave a photo of her menu so you can see how vast the amount of fare is that she offers.
I've bought her chicken salad bun (terrific), a few cinnamon-raisin rolls to bring home (ditto), and of course a loaf of white bread. It was ALL really really good. Later I made some sandwiches using her white bread. For my tastes (sourdough aside), I prefer white bread that's a little heavier and much more stout (as in more "body"). It's a little on the light side IMO, where it crumbles a lot when you're slicing it up. What I decided to use it up for was to make French toast--and that's what I'll probably be using it for from here on out. It makes absolutely fantastic French toast.
Some of the things I'm planning on trying soon are some of her pies (they look like killer pies too) and especially her cheese cake. The cheesecake is something I'm really particular about mainly because (again, I'm spoiled in that department too) I've had some of the best cheesecakes on the planet. I'm talking NY style, where a slice can easily weigh a half a pound, or feels like it does.
Stay tuned folks--I'll happily update this review after I try more of Joan's great looking pastries and deserts especially! All in all, I think Joan's Sourdough Bread is a real asset to our community here in Lenoir. read more