Coffee & Treats in Lents

The bakery features a savory menu of decadent, deliciously health-conscious eats. A gathering of muffins ($2.25 each) portends deliciousness, especially so when they arrive in varieties such as cherry dark chocolate, peanut-butter bran, almond apricot, and citrus carrot. Cupcakes ($1–$2) keep it sweet, stuffed with peanut butter or jam in chocolate or vanilla cake bodies capped with a variety of creamy frostings and seasonal toppings. Pick up a few cookies like an almond-butter quinoa disc, or feast upon a dense, nut-crusted, gluten-free brownie ($1–$2 each).

“Old-fashioned lollipops are a far cry from the hard little rounds machined onto a stick that Americans are accustomed to,” wrote a reporter from Oregon Live after visiting Lollipop Rooster’s charming downtown storefront. There, a second-generation candy maker molds imaginative confections using the same methods his father did in Ukraine beginning in the late 1970s. Out of glossy hard candies, he creates roosters, rabbits, squirrels, elephants, and a menagerie of holiday-themed figures, such as Santa Claus and the Fourth of July fairy. The intricately designed treats are also delicious, made in a variety of rich flavors. His shop ships confections to stores around the country and sells an assortment of imported chocolates and candies, as well.

White trays piled high with chopped pineapple, papaya, kiwi, and other fruits fill the glass display case at Frutilandia, where they await deployment in fruit salads, juices, and smoothies. Mexican-style fruit licuados join smoothies and milkshakes, whose chocolaty and fruity recipes are named for exotic locales such as Bali, Janiero, Fiji, and Des Moines. An array of snacks round out Fruitlandia’s menu, which includes avocado chicken paninis and warm corn on the cob topped with butter or mayonnaise and cotija cheese, with optional chili powder, lime, and salt.