Warehouse Donuts and Bakery

Have you ever wanted to get away? If only for a few hours? That's was the feeling I got one week. I decided Fairhope was perfect place to spend some time. My intentions were to go walk at the pier. I've got to get those steps in somehow. On the way, my stomach had other ideas. The grumblings forced me to find somewhere to feed the beast. Some coffee for me wouldn't hurt either. 

I have heard of Warehouse Donuts before and thought I give it a go. Grabbing a menu, I saw that Warehouse has a lot more than baked goods. There's a full on menu. We're talking biscuits, pancakes, breakfast bowls, sandwiches and salads. There's apparently a pizza menu at night too!

I decided on a fig and brie croissant, a side of cheese grits and coffee. The fig and brie croissant really hit the spot. I thought it would be a sandwich. A croissant sliced in half and then filled but it wasn't. This was much more labor intensive. The fig and brie were baked into the croissant and they didn't skimp either. The croissant was still flaky and buttery while the filling gave it plenty of flavor.

There are three choices if you opt for hot coffee and it all comes from the Fairhope Roasting Company. You can choose between a decaf, medium and dark roast. I had the dark roast and was surprised it wasn't roasted to death. There was none of that bitter tang after taste that I have come to associate with dark roasts. Trust me, I worked in the coffee business for 7 years.

For $2, you get a side of cheese grits of about four ounces. I have to admit, I wrote this off. I didn't even take a picture thinking "it's just grits." After one bite, out came the phone. This has got to be some of the best cheese grits I've had since Hungry Owl was a small counter service joint. I mean it. It was creamy and smooth. There was no need for more salt and pepper. It was perfect as is. I recalled seeing it as the base for one of their breakfast bowls. I must come back and try it out.

I love the feel of Warehouse donuts. It's a really big space with these really rustic tables. There's a long bar at the back if you want to set up your laptop and work. There's low tables for the kiddos. There's big communal type tables for big parties. I have to say the chairs can be a little more comfortable but hey, that's negligible. 

Check out their cake case! They have all sorts of stuff. There's layered cakes, napoleons, pound cake, cheese cake, fruit cups. There's a lot to choose from. I can't wait to come over at a more sensible time and order something sweet.

I did make it down to the Fairhope pier. I was able to walk around for a little while before a storm rolled in. Although my visit was cut short by the storm, it sure did make for some pretty pictures.

It didn't take me long to come back to Warehouse.  About two weeks after my first visit, I decided to take the scenic route to Foley and stop by for breakfast. This time, I wanted to get one of their breakfast bowls. I enjoyed the grits so much from last time I had to have it again. I got the Southern Veggie Bowl. It starts with grits as the base, then greens, two eggs over easy, a tomato gravy and topped with fried okra. Oh my goodness, there's a lot of flavor in this bowl. I mean it. I thought surely I would be missing a meat but I didn't even notice the absence.  The greens were cooked and seasoned perfectly. It wasn't too mushy. There was still a nice bite to them. The real pop of flavor from this dish came from the tomato gravy, though. The fried okra gave it texture. When I busted into the yolk of the egg, it was velvety. This dish was definitely a winner all the way in my book.