Its not often I learn of a place I never even knew existed during my now almost 4 years as a San Diegan. Especially so in the healthy baked goods world. I tried my very first bite of a "plonk" a week or so ago at Larry's Deli in the Gaslamp and it blew me away with how dense, flavorful and all round awesome it was. I asked Tim the owner where the heck he got those from and he let me know of his "guy" he has up in Encinitas named Gordy of Gordy's Bakery. Tim and Gordy have some lengthy friendship and Tim is lucky enough to get stock of all the plonk goodness that Gordy has to offer. I am glad that's the case because I may still be clueless to all that I now know about Gordy's Bakery.
Gordy's Bakery is the kind of place that you would not expect to find in a small strip mall. The reputation of the joint made it seem so much more. But as they say, great things come in small packages. Gordy himself is quite a character as well. After speaking with him for some time on himself, the business, the store, the baked goods etc.....I find he is a trained chef between 1979-1980 at the Culinary Academy of California first as a chef and then as a pastry chef. He ran a running shoe shop called Moving Shoes for 10 years before opening the bakery. He now coaches cross country for San Dieguito in Encinitas as well. They guy has even trained for Ironmans which gets him major kudos in my book!
The major thing I liked about Gordy's business principles which could be tasted very easily in every item I tried out, is that it's 100% honest food your getting. It's real food, natural food, wholesome food based goods. Nothing fake, no tricks, not trying to make something taste better than it should, not trying to preserve the shelf life of anything. He lets the love of baking with real foods do the work for him and he has done this for 7 years now since opening the business and let me say, it's working all right!
The original plonk is his best seller by far he tells me and I can see why. It got me to drive 29 miles up the road on a Monday afternoon to get to the source myself and try another one after all. Ironically enough Gordy tells me the plonk was a mistake in its creation. It was never intended to be made. Lucky for all of us, it did! He says that runners and athletes of all ages often stop in to get them not just for taste and health but for how well they keep one full and balance blood sugar during the day. These things may look a bit smaller than most muffins but boy are they dense with nutrients and delicious! Not cardboard bran muffin dense as many may think, far from it!
One other item Gordy has available with a unique and particular history behind it is "the lunch lady bar" which as Gordy tells me, was served on the lunch line of almost every local grade school in the area and anyone in his generation knows exactly what they are. He has customers come in familiar and new alike who try one and all agree, it's like being right back in their grade school cafeteria all over again. Gordy says he has lost count of how many fellow alumni have come in his bakery and had the "lunch lady bar experience." How cool is that to have an item not just delicious by itself but to have a history of its own that only those locals would be able to recognize and affiliate with when they come in to try it for the first time or the 10th time. That's food with meaning!
Take a look at the slideshow of goodness!
My personal favorite item I must put a plug in before closing out or I'd be selling you short otherwise.....The R-Bar. DO NOT PASS ON THIS! Oatmeal raisin cookie was the predicted favorite since it is my all time favorite cookie ever. That was outstanding in its own right hands down. But this R-Bar (raspberry bar) was beyond phenomenal! Crumbly soft oatmeal/cookie/butter texture of the top and bottom layer crust and explosive raspberry flavor from real raspberries center layer. I could have eaten 5 of those alone no doubt! If you like fruity baked goods, your in for a treat!
Gordy's also has a full list of beverages, coffees and more. He serves a great medium blend coffee from La Costa Coffee Co. It makes for the perfect pairing to wash down some baked goods, trust me!
I urge anyone in Encinitas or San Diego or anywhere in SoCal for that matter to make the trek out to visit Gordy's Bakery and let the experience change your expectations to what baked goods really are meant to taste like. You won't be able to go back to anything else after this! A Better Bite awaits you!
