Many years ago I went on my one and only Match.com date. It was fairly forgettable, except that the guy kept going on about this place called Bowers, and what good sandwiches they had. Little did I know how much Bowers Bakery would figure into my life in the coming years. Sometime later Dave and I started dating, and he formally introduced me to Bowers, specifically their marionberry bran muffins. Bran muffins, you ask? Oh, Bowers served the Platonic form of this lowly quick bread. We tried to copy the recipe, with no luck. They had this crumbly, dense texture and were sweet but substantial. Often I would have half of a muffin for breakfast and munch on the other half throughout the day, but usually I scarfed down the whole thing at once. Anyway, it was a good day when I could sweet talk Dave into walking down the street to pick up a batch, and other times we would walk over together and banter with Dave Bowers, who never met a stranger. For the first birthday Dave and I celebrated together I got up super early to bring him muffins, and I made sure to get a batch of pastries for my family when they came to visit. These photos are of the day it snowed, when Dave and I cross-country skied over for hot coffee and muffins.
Anyway, this trip down memory lane is inspired by Bowers closing. Dave Bowers is moving to Bend for love and a career change. I'm happy for him, but there are rumors going around that the building that houses Bowers and a number of Hawthorne St. institutions (at least in my eight-year-memory of Hawthorne) is going condo. I sure hope this eclectic group of independent businesses isn't going anywhere; it's what makes our neighborhood unique and a must-see on the tourist route.
So we'll see. Anneke and I saw Dave maybe the last time the other day as he was closing up shop. He fussed over Anneke and, noticing the spitup on my shoulder, waxed nostalgic about his own kids being that age. I sure wish we could look forward to bringing Anneke with us on Saturday morning saunters to Bowers, but I guess we'll just have to learn to make our own delicious bran muffins....
1 comment:
*sniff*
I'm sorry to have missed out on the last day.
In the last year my parents have made the pilgrimage to Bowers right before leaving. They'd stock up on about $40 worth per visit (since the regular muffins were $0.95, bran muffins a whopping $1.50, this was a lot of pastry). They froze the bulk when they got home. By the time their stocks were nearly out it was time for another visit.
When I told them of the impending closure they begged me to ask how much he'd sell his coffee cake recipe....
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