Fresh from Il Forno
The coveted maple bacon doughnut. Photos by Jessica Ashley Silva
To be serious about something is to approach it with a sense of ritual. As a foodie, ritualistic tendencies abound; this food must go with that drink, the best bite on the plate must be saved for last, dessert must be shared with someone you love. For some of us, these rituals punctuate our lives, creating habits we can’t (and don’t want to) veer away from; the comfort is almost intoxicating. My favorite food ritual couples food and travel, planning where I’ll stop and what I’ll order, adding to the anticipation. Each destination tempts me to treat myself with something I’m absolutely certain I would suffer without and lately, early morning southbound trips mean a requisite pit stop at Il Forno bakery in Garberville (764 Redwood Drive).
Before you even step into the bakery, it engages your senses. Even early on a Saturday morning, the bakery is bustling with customers hoping for first dibs on whatever batch of hot goodness is fresh from the oven. The scents of fresh biscuits and croissants float through the air, drawing you in and daring you to try and choose only one. And sweeter still are the sounds from the staff, chatter and laughter from behind the counter and from the back kitchen. Food just tastes better when you know it came from a team of content employees.
Chris Valk, second generation baker and owner of Il Forno bakeries — both the Garberville and Fortuna locations — has created a space where her team feels like a family. The synergistic vibe comes across in every bite and with every experimental iteration of yumminess coming from the kitchen; she trusts her bakers to think outside the box, to push the boundaries with new ideas so the menu stays fresh. The benefit of running a bakery, Valk says, is that if a new idea doesn’t work out, they just don’t make it again. This low-stakes approach promotes the freedom to flex some serious creativity so there is always something new to try.
Il Forno offers breakfast and lunch options, a sea of baked goods, coffees, teas and a grab-and-go case perfect for picnicking. My bakery ritual is to fuel up on breakfast, then peruse the cases for something sweet and something savory to hit the trails with on Avenue of the Giants. To start, the nearly impossible choice between a breakfast sandwich — a freshly baked biscuit, salty and fluffy on the inside with a crisp exterior, packed with bacon or sausage, a fried egg, and melty cheese — and a fancy avocado toast. The toast is freshly baked wheat bread, cut thick, slathered with smashed avocado, house-pickled onions, a fried egg, chili flakes for a little heat, and fresh microgreens. Pro-tip: bring a friend and go splitsies-halvsies so you don’t have to sacrifice one choice for the other.
The selection of pastries lining the cases is vast; platter after platter of sweet and savory delights, including pies and cakes, and all the usual suspects in laminated dough — like crowd favorite almond croissants, glazed bear claws, berry-stuffed turnovers, and Danishes filled with various combinations of sweet and savory toppings. My favorite so far: a savory Danish topped with Swiss, bell pepper, onion and tomato. A play on sweet and savory is a frequent find at Il Forno; maple bacon donuts, anyone? When asked what first-time customers should try, Valk says to go for a filled biscuit or two, like a recent batch of cheesy bacon biscuits, or a fig and honey biscuit, a house-staple. I can’t emphasize enough how magical the biscuits are — the fluff, the warmth, the subtle saltiness — I’m fully here for it.
Il Forno’s fancy avocado toast.
For lighter fare, and for those of us who like variety, the grab-and-go case offers loaded salads (featuring locally made J’s Catering bleu cheese as a dressing option) and small (reusable!) containers of snacks and small bites. With options like deviled eggs, Thai noodles, shrimp and mango ceviche, pesto pasta and other tasty morsels to munch on, there is no shortage of flavors for your palate to explore. They have charcuterie fixin’s, too. What else could you need for a picnic in the redwoods?
If your first trip in has you overwhelmed with the assortment of tempting options, just ask the bakery staff for input on what to order. Their warmth and excitement over their offerings draws you in as much as the food; they’re a true “neighborhood bakery where we know everyone’s names,” says Valk. One stop in and you’ll commit to adding Il Forno into your foodie ritual rotation, too. And good news for those of us not living near Garberville or Fortuna: Il Forno recently launched wholesale distribution of its baked goods, which can be found as far south as Laytonville and as far north as Bear River. Who do I need to bribe around here to draw those magnificent baked goods farther north?
Il Forno
764 Redwood Dr., Garberville , (707) 923-7126
1006 Main St., Fortuna, (707) 682-6592
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