MOUNTAIN-TOWN BAKERIES WORTH THE ROAD TRIP
These mountain-town bakeries are so good, you might not make it to the slopes
When it comes to bakeries, Colorado mountain towns can really hold their own. Think buttery croissants brimming with buxom blueberries, the stickiest of sticky buns and — just maybe — the best doughnuts this state has ever seen. Whether you’re looking to carbo-load before a long day on the slopes or you’re willing to road trip it for a destination-worthy treat, these mountain bakeries will make you set all sorts of high altitude dessert (or breakfast or lunch or snack) goals. After all, what good is a sweet tooth if you never use it? Avon Bakery & Deli
The only thing better than a warm bagel in the morning? How about a warm bagel coated in cream cheese? Or better still: a warm bagel coated in cream cheese and topped with smoked salmon. It’s basically a choose-your-own-bagel-adventure at the Avon Bakery. Get there early, before you have to battle it out with all of Avon for the last onion bagel. 25 Hurd Lane, Avon, 970-949-3354; avonbakerydeli.com; Sun.-Sat. 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Blue Moon Bakery
On your way to or from the Interstate 70 ski towns, make a stop at Blue Moon. Its baked goods lineup includes muffins, scones, sticky buns and buttered-up cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and cookies, brownies, cannoli, cream pies and cupcakes for, well, also breakfast. Why not? Skiing burns calories. 253 Summit Place, Silverthorne, 970-513-0669; bluemoonbakery.net; Sun.-Sat. 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Butterhorn Bakery & Café
After battling ski traffic, you probably need a drink, and since imbibing inside the car is frowned upon, take a break at Butterhorn, a bakery with a liquor license. Calm your nerves with a signature Bloody Mary and the Eggs Butterhorn, a fresh-baked croissant
crowned with two poached eggs, Canadian bacon, avocado and roasted red pepper sauce. 408
Main St., Frisco, 970-668-3997; butterhornbakery.com; Sun.-Sat. 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Café Bernard
It’s a good news/bad news scenario for fans of Basalt’s Café Bernard. First the bad news: Owners Bernard Moffroid and Cathy Click have sold the French bakery that they’ve operated since 1990. But before you mourn the loss of your favorite morning bun, the good news: It will stay French. Like really, really French. New owners Christophe Le Frenc and Anne Marie Caytan hail from Brittany, France, and when they take over this winter, they will keep the French flavor going. “They want to carry on the same thing we’ve been doing,” Moffroid said. That same thing is sure to include those best-selling morning buns — so good that some customers get them shipped to their homes.
200 Midland Ave., Basalt, 970927-4292; cafebernard.net; Tues.-Fri. 7:30 a.m.- 2 p.m., 5:30-9 p.m., Sat. 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 5:30-9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-1 p.m., closed Mondays.
Louis Swiss Pastry
The “Swiss” in the name may be a slight misnomer — this bakery excels in creating baked goods inspired by multiple global cuisines. It’s pretty much a wonderland of delicacies, from fruit-filled puff pastries to bear claws with almond nut stuffing to American apple pies to empanadas. 400 Aspen Airport
Business Center, Aspen, 970-9258592; Sun.-Sat. 4 a.m.-12 p.m.
Mountain Oven Organic Bakery
If you like your bakeries with a hippie slant and you’re in Crested Butte, this is the local, organic place for you. Mountain Oven creates “love-based foods” made with “energy, love and intention.” (Mmm, intention.) Even if you’re not a Phish-loving seeker, the muffins, breads, scones, cookies, tarts and turnovers will still nourish your body, if not your spirit. 21 Elk Ave., Crested
Butte, 970-349-5434; mountainoven.com; Sun.-Sat. 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
New Moon Bakery & Café
Be honest with yourself: are you eating enough monkey bread? If the answer is no, it’s imperative that you make a stop in Nederland the next time you’re en route to Eldora. The monkey bread, puff pastries, cinnamon rolls and killer chocolate chip cookies are all baked fresh every morning, and there are gluten-free treats as well. 1
W. First St., Nederland, 303-2583569; newmoonbakery.com; Mon.-Fri. 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Northside Kitchen
Ignore the “Prime Rib” sign outside — this is the best place for doughnuts in Avon. (There’s also a Northside Grab & Go in Vail.) Heck, it might be the best place for doughnuts in the entire state. You can’t go wrong with tried-and-true basic glazed, but fancier versions like maple bacon, red velvet and blueberry cake are knockouts, too. 20 Nottingham Road, Avon, 970-9491423; Sun.-Sat. 6 a.m.-9 p.m. and
2271 N. Frontage Road, Vail, 970688-5676; Sun.-Thurs. 6 a.m.- 8 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 6 -2 a.m.; thenorthsidekitchen.com
Pagosa Baking Company
All of the baked goods are great at this cute little cottage, but it’s the huge breakfast burritos with homemade green chile that make this the place to be before you head up the hill to Wolf Creek. Pro tip: Grab some take-and-bake cookie dough on your way out. 238 Pagosa St.,
Pagosa Springs, 970-264-9348; pagosabakingcompany.com; Mon.-Tues. 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Wed.-Sun. 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Smell that Bread Bakery
You’ll find all your favorite treats here — whoopee pies, croissants, sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, giant chocolate chip cookies — but it’s the poetryworthy almond croissants that sell out quick. Be sure to grab a loaf of the sourdough, or any of the other fresh-baked loaves, on your way home. 135 11th St.,
Steamboat Springs, 970-761-2692; smellthatbreadbakery.com; Sun. 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m.-5 p.m.