Brenda Hill
The Cuisine Scene
News MirrorYucaipa/Calimesa
4/3/08
The Cuisine Scene
Brenda Hill
Anna's Restaurant & Bakery
Oak Glen, CA
Oak Glen, CA
Just
four short miles up Oak Glen Road from Bryant Street, Anna’s Restaurant
& Bakery offers a serene escape from today’s busy pace. Even the
drive to get there was relaxing. Instead of freeway bustle, I traveled
the winding road with little traffic, no street lights or car horns.
Just a few homes, a couple of apple orchards, and the forested beauty
of the San Bernardino Mountains.
Open since the end of January, Anna’s occupies the old Cider Barrel Restaurant, although the new owner, Anna Harris, along with her life-partner Aaron Burgess, remodeled the restaurant, opting for a casual elegance, offering an atmosphere where their patrons can enjoy a delicious breakfast or lunch, yet feel comfortable bringing that special person for a nice dinner or special occasion.
(Anna and Aaron)
A pastry chef by trade, Anna originally thought to purchase a bakery. She’d managed several restaurants, including the Cal State University kitchen where she supervised 76 employees. She and Aaron checked several places, then heard about the Cider Barrel location. As soon as they saw it, they fell in love with the area, especially the view. Aaron, a Cal State University Associate Director of Operations for the Student Union, enjoys shrugging out of his coat and tie and breathing the crisp mountain air. They both dream of possibilities for the surrounding grounds. While the gazebo area might need attention now, they envision new paint, plants, and anything else they can think of to offer their clientele a tranquil escape, even for an evening, from modern society. They want to provide a beautiful setting for weddings, banquets, and other occasions in which to celebrate.
They’ll occasionally feature live entertainment, and their first venture will be on Saturday, April 19. A jazz ensemble will perform, featuring vocalist Sarah Waldie and Vaughn Fahie on sax. Not only is Mr Fahie is a recording artist, but he’s also a sound engineer, teacher, and a community leader. Anna’s upscale menu for the evening will run between $40-$60 per person.
Not only do they have the dining room in front and a banquet room which seats up to 150 people, but for those who wish to remain anonymous, they have a private dining room.
Anna, while a respected Pasadena LE Cordon Bleu graduate, seems to have the delightful heart and impish nature of a child. She specializes in pastries, and, since she dives into her dessert before her meal, she offers her customers the same option.
‘Dessert first,’ she laughingly told me.
And what desserts. She brought two for me to sample, a moist bread pudding made with an orange wine sauce, crème Chantilly and other of her own unusual ingredients. An eye-candy treat came next, a raspberry mousse over French vanilla cake and cream topping, with an edible violet on top.
The afternoon I was there, another couple was enjoying their dinner and the unique chocolate dessert Anna prepared for the occasion. They’d asked for something a little different, and Anna, in her element, created a dessert especially for them.
Not only does she create special desserts, she recently filled a catering request for an unusual side. She prepared an assortment of potato chips with sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, and beets, using the combination for flavor and for color.
“We eat with our nose and eyes,” she says. “Not just with our mouths.” Good tasting food is of utmost importance, so her menu is filled with recipes from her own family. Her mother can often be found in the kitchen as well.
They love comfort foods such as brown sugar pork chops, chicken, and a dinner with two big slabs of homemade meatloaf, with mashed red potatoes and herb gravy.
Prices for dinner, served after 4:00pm, range from $10.99 to $14.99 for the chops, and I was glad to see homemade soup or salad was included in the price. Anna said they usually have two soups each day, such as cream of spinach with basil and perhaps a bean soup. Some of the appetizers are sweet potato fries and zucchini sticks, and their soups are accompanied with warm bread. By customer request, she’s added her own homemade chili with beans.
Along with her handpicked staff including Brittany Davis, lead server and management trainee, and sous chef Chico Ableosa, they serve sandwiches and burgers with the large steak cut fries. I had their portabella mushroom sandwich, a delicious combination of mushroom, avocado, spinach, tomato, provolone cheese, red onion, garlic mayonnaise on toasted ciabatta bread.
I can’t wait to have another, but she said I’d have to try her BLT. She sampled several vendor’s bacon before she found the one she likes, and she puts 5 slices on each sandwich made with grilled Sheppard bread.
Breakfast is served from 8:00am to 11:30am Saturdays and Sundays, and they offer the classic 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon or sausage, hash browns and 2 slices of bread for $5.99. They also offer pancakes, French toast, omelets and sides.
Not only do they have a children’s menu, but on Wednesdays, children 10 and under eat free with each paid adult entrée. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays, seniors enjoy a 10% discount.
Anna is still working on the final touches for the bakery section of the restaurant, but the day I was there, some of her creations had already sold out. Her scones, made with cranberries, ginger and pecans, disappeared early, so I grabbed one of her half-pound white chocolate cookies.
After dinner, I walked the grounds with Anna and Aaron and couldn’t help but admire the beauty all around me. Standing by the gazebo, looking up at the picturesque San Bernardino Mountains and admiring the glowing sunset in the valley, I reveled in nature’s glory. Then I took a deep breath and the cares of the world seemed to fade away.
Anna's Restaurant & Bakery
38490 Oak Glen Road
909-797-2629
UPDATE: now closed
Hours:
Tuesday - Thursday: 11am-7pm
Friday: 11am-8pm
Saturday: 8am-8pm
Sunday: 8am-3pm
Closed Monday
Open year around
Open since the end of January, Anna’s occupies the old Cider Barrel Restaurant, although the new owner, Anna Harris, along with her life-partner Aaron Burgess, remodeled the restaurant, opting for a casual elegance, offering an atmosphere where their patrons can enjoy a delicious breakfast or lunch, yet feel comfortable bringing that special person for a nice dinner or special occasion.
(Anna and Aaron)
A pastry chef by trade, Anna originally thought to purchase a bakery. She’d managed several restaurants, including the Cal State University kitchen where she supervised 76 employees. She and Aaron checked several places, then heard about the Cider Barrel location. As soon as they saw it, they fell in love with the area, especially the view. Aaron, a Cal State University Associate Director of Operations for the Student Union, enjoys shrugging out of his coat and tie and breathing the crisp mountain air. They both dream of possibilities for the surrounding grounds. While the gazebo area might need attention now, they envision new paint, plants, and anything else they can think of to offer their clientele a tranquil escape, even for an evening, from modern society. They want to provide a beautiful setting for weddings, banquets, and other occasions in which to celebrate.
They’ll occasionally feature live entertainment, and their first venture will be on Saturday, April 19. A jazz ensemble will perform, featuring vocalist Sarah Waldie and Vaughn Fahie on sax. Not only is Mr Fahie is a recording artist, but he’s also a sound engineer, teacher, and a community leader. Anna’s upscale menu for the evening will run between $40-$60 per person.
Not only do they have the dining room in front and a banquet room which seats up to 150 people, but for those who wish to remain anonymous, they have a private dining room.
Anna, while a respected Pasadena LE Cordon Bleu graduate, seems to have the delightful heart and impish nature of a child. She specializes in pastries, and, since she dives into her dessert before her meal, she offers her customers the same option.
‘Dessert first,’ she laughingly told me.
And what desserts. She brought two for me to sample, a moist bread pudding made with an orange wine sauce, crème Chantilly and other of her own unusual ingredients. An eye-candy treat came next, a raspberry mousse over French vanilla cake and cream topping, with an edible violet on top.
The afternoon I was there, another couple was enjoying their dinner and the unique chocolate dessert Anna prepared for the occasion. They’d asked for something a little different, and Anna, in her element, created a dessert especially for them.
Not only does she create special desserts, she recently filled a catering request for an unusual side. She prepared an assortment of potato chips with sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, and beets, using the combination for flavor and for color.
“We eat with our nose and eyes,” she says. “Not just with our mouths.” Good tasting food is of utmost importance, so her menu is filled with recipes from her own family. Her mother can often be found in the kitchen as well.
They love comfort foods such as brown sugar pork chops, chicken, and a dinner with two big slabs of homemade meatloaf, with mashed red potatoes and herb gravy.
Prices for dinner, served after 4:00pm, range from $10.99 to $14.99 for the chops, and I was glad to see homemade soup or salad was included in the price. Anna said they usually have two soups each day, such as cream of spinach with basil and perhaps a bean soup. Some of the appetizers are sweet potato fries and zucchini sticks, and their soups are accompanied with warm bread. By customer request, she’s added her own homemade chili with beans.
Along with her handpicked staff including Brittany Davis, lead server and management trainee, and sous chef Chico Ableosa, they serve sandwiches and burgers with the large steak cut fries. I had their portabella mushroom sandwich, a delicious combination of mushroom, avocado, spinach, tomato, provolone cheese, red onion, garlic mayonnaise on toasted ciabatta bread.
I can’t wait to have another, but she said I’d have to try her BLT. She sampled several vendor’s bacon before she found the one she likes, and she puts 5 slices on each sandwich made with grilled Sheppard bread.
Breakfast is served from 8:00am to 11:30am Saturdays and Sundays, and they offer the classic 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon or sausage, hash browns and 2 slices of bread for $5.99. They also offer pancakes, French toast, omelets and sides.
Not only do they have a children’s menu, but on Wednesdays, children 10 and under eat free with each paid adult entrée. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays, seniors enjoy a 10% discount.
Anna is still working on the final touches for the bakery section of the restaurant, but the day I was there, some of her creations had already sold out. Her scones, made with cranberries, ginger and pecans, disappeared early, so I grabbed one of her half-pound white chocolate cookies.
After dinner, I walked the grounds with Anna and Aaron and couldn’t help but admire the beauty all around me. Standing by the gazebo, looking up at the picturesque San Bernardino Mountains and admiring the glowing sunset in the valley, I reveled in nature’s glory. Then I took a deep breath and the cares of the world seemed to fade away.
Anna's Restaurant & Bakery
38490 Oak Glen Road
909-797-2629
UPDATE: now closed
Hours:
Tuesday - Thursday: 11am-7pm
Friday: 11am-8pm
Saturday: 8am-8pm
Sunday: 8am-3pm
Closed Monday
Open year around