Bread & Cup

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By JEFF KORBELIK / GZO

Kevin Shinn wants to keep it “simple.”

It’s even on his business card, with the words “simple food and drink” in parentheses under the name of his new restaurant, Bread & Cup.

Keep it simple. Do it right. And do it well.

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Chilled, heirloom tomato gazpacho with a pork, apple cream sauce and gruyere cheese sandwich is one of the menu options at Bread & Cup. (William Lauer)

Chilled, heirloom tomato gazpacho with a pork, apple cream sauce and gruyere cheese sandwich is one of the menu options at Bread & Cup. (William Lauer)

So far it’s been working.

At Bread & Cup, the new sandwich shop/bakery at Eighth and S streets in the Haymarket, diners can find a small, but enticing selection of breads, soups, sandwiches and desserts.

The pork sandwich ($7), for example, features slow-cooked, shredded meat with gruyere cheese and a choice of sweet apple cream or savory garlic sauce on a freshly baked ciabatta.

I went with the apple cream, which provided a nice contrast to the seasoned meat.

Shinn and his wife, Karen, opened Bread & Cup earlier this month in a renovated space that used to house Danny’s Downtown Deli.

The renovation has left the new eatery with a contemporary look and feel, with pine-colored tables and hanging chrome lights. B&C can seat about 40 to 50 inside. Its capacity will double once construction is finished on the dock.

 “We’ve been kind of biting our nails, with all this welding, dirt and concrete work going on, but folks still have been showing up,” Shinn said.

B&C opens 7 a.m. daily and closes late evenings, depending on the traffic. Lunches draw the most people so far, Shinn said.

Diners can choose to eat and run, with a walk-up counter there to speed up the process.

Or they can order and settle in with a glass of wine, cold beer or fresh cup of coffee.

I believe the cafe has potential for a late-evening destination, where patrons can enjoy drinks, breads and cheeses and/or desserts.

That’s why I would make B&C full-service to give more of a personal touch. As it is, patrons order at the counter and then head to the corner to retrieve napkins and flatware.

In keeping with its “simple” plan, the menu features five sandwiches (beef, pork, chicken, tuna salad and a vegetarian with hummus and squash), two soups, three desserts, five breads and four spreads.

Seasonal specials include such things as an heirloom tomato plate and gazpacho.

The breads are made with SlowDough, meaning the wild yeast culture is fermented slowly to give the bread complexity with the strong sour taste.

“People tell us it doesn’t taste like sourdough,” Shinn said. “They’re right. This is our style, our preference.”

Bread choices are white, wheat, sorghum rye, ciabatta and a honey granola. Spreads are basil pesto, olive tapenade, roasted tomato pesto and apple butter, which my companion and I sampled. All the spreads are homemade and cost $2 to $3 per serving.

My companion and I shared a cheese plate ($12) and paired it with reasonably priced glasses of wine ($4 to $8).

The plate features three cheeses — from a choice of eight to 10 — and bread. We enjoyed a gouda, one of the three bleu cheeses on the menu and a Spanish Cabrales. Shinn’s goal is eventually to have his cheese locally sourced.

We finished with a banana and rum bread pudding ($5), one of three dessert selections. B&C also has a vanilla cheesecake and peanut butter pie.

I like Shinn’s “simple” concept, which should serve the bakery/restaurant well. I also like the location, especially when the dock is finally finished.

It’s a destination spot in the Haymarket, a nice place for a casual meal or conversation over drinks.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.