West Oak Coffee Bar is known as that, a coffee bar. With a wide selection of coffees
and alcoholic drinks, food became a necessity. The chefs at West Oak knew the importance of flavors and simplicity in food, and have definitely incorporated these into their new items. Along with the new food items, new specialty drinks have been created as well.

Chef Specialties – These next items are all large pieces of bread with various ingredients on
top. All these items are served until 3pm.

Spring Veggie

Love roasted veggies? Grab a Spring Veggie. With a spread of poblano cream cheese on the toast, a tall stacking of roasted tomatoes, squash and zucchini, and topped with parmesan and roasted pepitas, this item is quite a lovely choice as a vegetarian option. The tomatoes were not overcooked and gave a nice contrast to the rest of the veggies. I did not know what pepitas was, but it’s a good equivalent to roasted pumpkin seeds. The pepitas were seasoned well and the roasted veggies tasted like my dad’s roasted veggies he would barbeque.

While I personally do not like cream cheese, photographer Brian Doore does. When testing the food, I asked him kindly to try it for me. “The cream cheese has a bit of spice to it, but it’s nice with everything else and it pairs well,” says Doore. If you’re like me and do not like cream cheese, I would still give this a try because with all of the veggies and flavors, the cream cheese is almost an after thought that still compliments the entirety of the Spring Veggie.

Cubano

Out of all the items we tried, the Cubano was by far the most satisfying. Garlic toast topped with large slices of smoked ham, crunchy bacon, Swiss cheese, a pickle spear and a nice spread of house-made mustard. All the flavors and ingredients are a perfect example of how great food should taste. The smoked ham and the crunchy bacon are great for those meat eaters that want something to fill them up and also be delicious. The pickle spear, while big did not overtake the flavor profile and helped compliment the meats. The Swiss covered everything but was so thin that it mixed well with the rest of the ingredients.

Photographer Doore loved it so much, he ate the entire thing; I would have too if I didn’t have to try so many other delicious things West Oak has to offer!

Strawberry Fields

In the mood for something sweet, but don’t want to get dessert? Need a fruit cleanse but also hungry? Get this beautiful creation. Strawberry Fields is very sweet with a small amount of tang from the lemon curd. Multigrain toast with ricotta cream cheese, lemon curd, fresh strawberries and poppy seeds make this a very delicious vegetarian option. Strawberries completely cover the ricotta cream cheese and the lemon curd, but every ingredient comes out on it’s own and doesn’t need more or less of anything. I was worried about the cream cheese, but quite honestly it did not over take the rest of the flavors I tasted and I was very happy about that. I love strawberries, so this was a personal favorite for me.

Vegan BBQ

Just as the name says, this is vegan option that also misleadingly tastes and looks like normal barbeque. On sourdough toast with pickled coleslaw, jackfruit in a house-made BBQ sauce, and topped with chipotle cream. The jackfruit, however, looks and tastes exactly like pulled pork. This piece is quite delicious, and is very filling. The pickled coleslaw is tangy and goes very well with the BBQ sauce on the jackfruit. The chipotle cream is a bit spicy and very tasteful, but definitely helps bring everything on the Vegan BBQ together. All together, this was very well organized and very creative.

Fresh Baked Goods – Served all day.

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette

This round pastry, covered in a sprinkle of crush pistachio has a lovely jam and crispy crust. The rustic style hand pie is filled with fresh-tasting strawberry rhubarb that is tart but sweet all at the same time. The pistachios added a nice salty, crunchy element to the pie and don’t conflict with the rhubarb. The crust is hard, crispy and with the sugar on top it’s a bit sweet.

Berry Thumbprint Cookie

Sugar cookies could never get more delicious, until I had this one. Unlike normal thumbprint cookies with a Hershey’s kiss, this is a thumbprint cookie with berry jam. The cookie itself is very moist and soft. The berry is minimal, but having more than what they already put on there would over take the whole flavor profile of the cookie.

Peanut Butter Cookie (Gluten Free)

This cookie is just as it sounds; a peanut butter cookie. The peanut butter cookie is traditionally made, just like how my grandma made them. An overwhelming peanut butter flavor comes from every bite, almost as if you’re biting into peanut butter. The cookie itself is crunchy, and the sugar on top adds to the crunch.

Nutella Pretzel Pie

This was another personal favorite of Doore and mine. The crust of this pie is made of crushed pretzels that make the crust salty and crunchy. The pie itself is filled with a chocolate ganache and Nutella cream that is really sweet. Nutella really shows itself in a brilliant way in this and the shaved chocolate flakes help add a nice chocolate crunch. "Really freaking good. I want to devour this pie it’s so good.” Says Brian Doore. The size of the slice is perfect, as it’s not too big but not too small and all in all satisfactory.

Lemon Chess Pie

Lemon Chess pie came as a surprise to us when it came out. It appeared unique, with the lemon tart piecrust with a large amount of purple whipped cream on top. The whipped cream is a black berry lavender cream, and it was so fluffy that it melted in my mouth. The lemon is a classic tart and was great pairing with the blackberry lavender cream. The crust is simple short bread that didn’t need any other flavor to it.

 Citrus Poppyseed (Vegan)

A big muffin with simple taste is what can easily describe the citrus poppyseed muffin. This particular muffin was VERY crumbling, so I wouldn’t recommend multi-tasking and eating this in the car. The citrus has soft notes and the poppyseed is very strong. The lemon icing on top of the muffin gives a nice tart flavor and brings together everything nicely.

Banana Chocolate Cake

Love chocolate chips like I do, and also love bananas like I do? Get the banana chocolate cake. The whole muffin was very gooey, as the chocolate had melted and had spread throughout the muffin. Unlike normal banana bread, the banana is very subtle compared to the chocolate, which I personally don’t mind. The outside of the muffin was crispy, and added a nice contrast to the very soft center.

Strawberries & Cream Scone (Gluten Free)

This scone was rather soft and sweet. The strawberries inside the scones were soft as well, and the sugar coating the crust made the hard crust sweet. The cream flavor comes out gently and doesn’t hit you with sweetness.

Jasmine Almond Scone

Opposite of the strawberries and cream scone, this one is particularly hard and crumbly. A drizzle of caramel on top helps bring subtle sweetness that the almond lacks. The glaze, jasmine vanilla, also helps with the sweetness but it helps bring a unique and wonderful flavor.

Drinks – These drinks are new, including West Oak’s first alcoholic special.

Maca Mocha

Non-caffeinated, this drink is one that is sweet and soul warming. With Peruvian maca root, peanut butter, spices and chocolate milk, this drink is and delicious. With the cinnamon and other spices sprinkled on top of the drink, it helped oppose the sweetness of the chocolate milk.

Bittersweet Symphony

Just as the name says, this drink is very bitter and very sweet, and is quite literally a symphony of bitterness and sweetness in your mouth. Citrus from grapefruit comes into play with cold brew coffee, that is complimented with a rosemary and key lime candied rim. While I was not a fan of the bitterness of this drink, Doore thinks that it was quite delicious and the flavors come out well.

Chill Out

This iced drink, which is also non-caffeinated, is quite a concoction. Like Strawberry Fields, this drink is littered with strawberries and is quite refreshing. Chamomile tea and lemon also make up this drink, and create a calming combination. This drink does not need caffeine, and I’m glad there is an option like this that is enjoyable to drink and healthy to drink.

Tinto De Verano

Created by Katie Spahr, this alcoholic creation is great for groups that want to hang out and relax. A red wine (cabernet franc) spritzer that “takes us to Spain in the summertime.” This iced cocktail can be served in a decanter and be shared with whoever joins you. It’s quite refreshing, and honestly a bit addictive in a good way. The flavor is wonderful and not bitter at all.

West Oak Coffee continues to amaze us with their seasonal creations, and you can taste them for yourself at their location off the square! Located at 114 W Oak St, Denton, TX 76201, the wi-fi,  fantastic concoctions from the bar staff and well trained kitchen are enough of a reason to take your study break with a view of the courthouse lawn.

Photos by Brian Doore

 Header image Christopher Rodgers