Stella Taco
2940 NE Alberta – Portland
$2
Q: Why is it that a taco joint is completely NAILING chocolate chip cookies?
Stella makes exactly one* baked good and they make the $*!% out of it.
Somebody in that kitchen, clearly, is a cookie scholar – and is managing to get these gems under a glass dome at the cash register on a regular basis. (I’ve seen them every time I’ve been there, with maybe one exception when they’d sold out.)
Read MoreLauretta Jean’s
3402 SE Division. Portland
$1
First thing’s first: it’s not really a “gingersnap.” This is not a criticism; most days I would rather eat a soft, chewy ginger molasses cookie than a crispy, brittle one. (Not that a very good gingersnap doesn’t have its place in the world. It totally does.)
That being said, while not necessarily an earth-shattering ginger molasses, it is certainly a solid option – not shy on spice and flavor and overall pretty satisfying.
Note: I thought it tasted even better two days later than it did freshy-baked. Only a well-made, not over baked cookie will pass this integrity/longevity test.
Respectable.
Read MoreTabor Bread
5051 SE Hawthorne Blvd – Portland
$2.25
This one was a crapshoot. I honestly could not tell by looking at it whether it was going to be a delightful cloud of lemon, toothsome chewiness – or a tragically dry, biscuit-y disappointment.
Read MoreGrand Central Baking
Portland & Seattle – various locations
$1.75
There are two Grand Central Cookies that I’ve loved for ages: Triple Chocolate and Oatmeal Raisin. I return to them again and again. And again. These are staples in my Portland cookie circuit; they are consistent, solid, always pleasing.
Read MoreCafé at Line Hotel
3515 Wilshire Blvd – Los Angeles
$2.50
Had a work/fun trip to LA last week for a few days and was put up in this Koreatown hotel for one night. I knew nothing about the place before I showed up so I was bummed that I’d made plans to meet my friends at The Ace for drinks instead of insisting they come there. I mean, The Ace is…
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