It’s hard not to love an eatery that hands you a plastic toy – usually a menacing-looking tiger or rhino – as a table marker. You have a smile on your face even before you pick a seat in the airy Firecreek Coffee dining room decorated with vintage coffee and tea advertisements and shelves of antique coffee pots, teapots, jugs, butter churners and vessels. The coffeehouse, located behind the Village Gallery in the Village of Oak Creek, long ago garnered a local following due to its single-origin, craft-roasted coffee and homemade muffins the size of your fist. (Trendsetters take note: This is the spot for cold-brew coffee.) The coffee shop also serves breakfast and lunch daily and recently added open-mic night the first Friday of every month, 7-9 p.m.
It just so happens that two of our favorite items are served at breakfast and lunch: the quiche and the pear-and-brie croissant. The quiche comes in meat and vegetarian varieties (we love the veggie version), and it’s made fresh daily. Our large, fluffy slice was topped with melted cheese and served with lightly dressed greens, strawberries, grapes and oranges. The quiche featured bell peppers and onions. As for the croissant, it was warm and flaky and stuffed with silky brie cheese and a homemade pear-apple-pecan compote. The result was rich yet not overly sweet. Other recommendations include the house salad, smoked-salmon bagel and the egg-salad sandwich made with fresh tarragon. Sandwiches are served with your choice of side, and we recommend the Asian slaw with red cabbage, spinach, carrots and peanuts.
No matter what time of the day you visit Firecreek, you’d be remiss to not at least share something from the pastry case. Selections change daily, but during our most recent visit we indulged in raspberry tea cookies and a slice of warm, ginger-peach cobbler. The buttery shortbread cookies have raspberry jam in the center and are dusted with powered sugar while the gingery, sweet cobbler will stick to your ribs on a blustery winter afternoon. Both treats go perfectly with a steaming mug of coffee. – Erika Ayn Finch. Photograph by Deb Weinkauff.
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