Alder bakery

I went to a new bakery the other day called Alder. I had a cinnamon roll the size of a hamburger -- and ate the entire thing. It was so rich and delicious, a tight spiral of tender, flaky pastry as in a croissant, plenty of chopped walnuts, and drizzled with a nice white icing. I would have been satisfied with just a half, but I was hungry and this worked well for my sweet craving of the morning. Actually that was quite the understatement. I was sated for the rest of the day in terms of desiring any more sweets whatsoever.
Alder is a spacious area with beautiful two-tone varnished wood tables, and benches available at the wall. The building is next to The Matador restaurant, and across the street from Pet Samaritan Clinic at E. Burnside at 24th. Good Sam's a place I've been to hundreds of times over the past 20 years, so of course I'm immediately going to notice a new bakery in proximity.
Other choices were perfect macarons, flawless square and round chocolate layered desserts with various garnishes; gelato with an assortment of flavors; and three large, thick types of cookies of the standards: Chocolate chip; peanut butter; and oatmeal/raisin, all looking decidedly nonstandard and delicious; and other sweets to delight the eye and palate. Well worth a stop with their excellent drip coffee alongside.
ciao,
deb

Lost Pastries of Portland

There are times when I feel a yearning for some of the lost pastries of Portland: bakeries that have closed and will never again offer their great wares. Some outstanding ones: at Le Panier there were several small savory galettes. I loved the tomato galette; the tomato center was a savory mixture made sweet from the tomatoes, and the galette itself was made of a lovely phyllo dough. Another gem was from a bakery in Sellwood some years ago. Don't remember the name of the place, but it was operated by a man with a British accent and a woman on SE Tacoma, just off 13th, I think. I would stop especially for their cinnamon roll. It wasn't one of those big puffy kinds, it wasn't a bun, but a roll; with lots of cinnamon and walnuts, and a wonderful but overly sweet frosting of an off-white color. I didn't go there that often, so it was always a special treat, but because I made infrequent visits, I had no warning that they would be closing. That had to have been approximately 1989, because I was working at a place near SE 26th and Holgate. I've been looking for that cinnamon roll recipe ever since.