Red Fox Bakery & Cafe

Red Fox Bakery & Cafe is located in McMinnville, Oregon. I was intending to go to their actual bakery establishment on NE Evans St., but I saw them at the McMinnville Thursday Farmer's Market instead, so I went there.

They were selling various types of breads and pastries. A woman was working the booth, and I asked her what the most popular pastry was (or one that she would recommend). She mentioned the "cinnamon snail" ($2.50), and I had to get it because cinnamon rules.

The cinnamon snail was horrible. It was too firm and dry for me. In fact, I thought it was a bit stale. I got some cinnamon flavors, but I wanted more. The hardened glaze on the pastry concerned me; here, it was clear that the cinnamon snail -- and probably all the other pastries in the display area -- suffered from lack of freshness.
I don't doubt that Red Fox's pastries are made fresh in the morning, but I wonder if there was a recipe blunder here. Pastries can still be fluffy and delicious hours after they are baked, given the right conditions. Pastries should not be hard and bready.

As a note, the "Bolussen" I had from The Little Bakery yesterday morning was cheaper ($2) and had way more cinnamon and sugar than this cinnamon snail. The Little Bakery's pastry also looked and tasted fresher than what Red Fox put out today. I actually appreciated the messiness of the Bolussen, having to lick the cinnamon and sugar off my fingers the whole time. In contrast, this cinnamon snail was hard (again, I feared it was stale), dry, and nothing special to me. The lady mentioned the cinnamon snails in the bakery are larger, but um, who cares? I want quality!

I'm not totally tanking Red Fox; I have to account for the fact that they were serving pastries at a Farmer's Market past 3:30 in the afternoon. But that should not be an excuse for serving such a product. Basically, give me the Bolussen over this cinnamon snail any day of the week. 1.5/10