The use of buzzwords triggers alarms to a cynic. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with organic, gluten free or locally sourced, when strung together, it’s a dicey proposition because so many establishments built on those cornerstones forget to inject flavor into the recipes.
Then there’s the businesses that put promise into practice and make sure the buzzwords are a perk of the menu, not an excuse to charge more or put out depressingly dense baked goods. Bruin Cafe is the former.
The new coffee and breakfast food truck caddy corner from City Market north in Durango opened recently after launching its first location in Pagosa Springs. Founder and Creative Director Jake Polster-Sadlon said the company strives for “quick service without compromising really good ingredients.”
The team committed to things like no seeds oils, keeping ingredients to a minimum and an overall clean approach to the food. Polster-Sadlon noted that a bigger company’s standard glazed doughnut has about 120 ingredients while Bruin’s has nine to 10.
Pulling off that approach out of a food truck is a tricky undertaking for many reasons.
There’s an “inherent distrust of food trucks,” he said, adding that the people executing the Bruin’s menu are “traditional bakers doing traditional methods for all of the baked goods.”
That tracks. Count me among those who recoil at a non-fried doughnut and fluff-less biscuits, but I found neither disappointment or frivolity in the offerings.
As for dispelling the vibe of food trucks, the shaded outdoor seating area and designated parking spaces give the Durango location a “service counter but outdoors” vibe. And bonus points for short waits on orders.
The OG sandwich held up great, which shows that the chef made the biscuit for a sandwich. It had the flake and fluff that you want but without excessive crumble. The egg, bacon and cheese were pretty standard, and that’s what I want out of a breakfast sandwich. Don’t chef it up, please.
The Classic, a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich, also lacked pretentiousness, and that was after I asked for it gluten free. The structure held up the same, there was a nice flaky crumble, and although I detected a slight texture difference between the two biscuits, there was nothing to complain about.
It’s clear a lot of thought and intention has been put into the baking program, which also features gluten-free mochi doughnuts. The Churro Dream, cinnamon and sugar covered with sweet buttercream in the middle indention, was a nice complement to a big cup of cold brew. That, the Classic and the doughnut is enough jet fuel to get to Purgatory – or in my case Saturday, Carbondale.
The Brisket Biscuit was straight forward and flavorful: chopped brisket, a biscuit and side of barbecue sauce that has more zip and kick than generic versions. There’s also an added element of satisfaction when that quick sandwich doesn’t make you feel like you just swallowed fryer oil. The sluggishness, the lingering taste in your gut, the grease that doesn’t leave your fingers unless scrubbed off. None of that ensued, and when I think about “clean” ingredients, that’s what comes to mind.
Even the dipping sauces for the mini doughnuts – whipped-type frosting of vanilla, chocolate and maple – weren’t messy. I expected the kind of cloying, sticky, syrupy sauce that parents hate after their children touch every crevice of the backseat with goopy hands.
A lot of breakfast spots unapologetically jam as much sweetness into pastries and drinks as possible, but what I tasted was flavor first, which is the point. I did witness a woman rattle off a custom sugar bomb of a drink while waiting for my order, and it was accommodated. So if you need extra “caloric intake” – as homegirl requested, – you can get that, too.
Polster-Sadlon said the aim is “family friendly both in price point and brand.”
That doesn’t mean placation with bright colors and bite-sized food, though those are part of it, but it’s substance with flash.
“We want to make sure that families coming here to get whatever, whether it’s doughnuts or drinks for their kids, that it’s worth going in their bodies,” he said.
The cost isn’t prohibitive if you’re looking for an elevated breakfast. No, you’re not going to get a big bag of McMuffins for $25, but you’re also not getting heartburn either. At $9 to $10 for a sandwich, $3.50 for a full-sized doughnut and $6 for enough cold brew to energize the groggiest Durangoan, it’s a reasonable $20 breakfast.
The regular doughnuts also are big enough to split with a friend or partner, and that’s breakfast for two for less than $40, a feat almost as impressive as Bruin’s gluten-free biscuit.
I tried it twice, and both times I was happy, which is kind of irritating. When the actions meet the intentions, and you successfully remove the cynic from the critic, the only thing to be mad about was the foodie word cloud that was pitched to me.