Morningside Organic Bakery & Café, Salt Spring Island: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

One of the reasons that my sister and I had really wanted to go to Salt Spring was to try the Morningside Organic Bakery because we had heard about their vegan butter and vegan cheeses.  After leaving the amazing Saturday Market we drove the winding country road down the island to Fulford Harbour.  Fulford Harbour has a ferry that links to Swartz Bay (close to Victoria).  The bakery is located right around the corner from the ferry terminal.  This may explain some of the 'ugly' details about my review.

Here's some Bad and Ugly details for you:

• ​It's 16 km from the Ganges Saturday Market and nothing else to see or do besides take the ferry once you get there.
• ​There is absolutely no parking on this narrow road.  We had to drive way past it down a narrow residential lane.
• The staff/owners were unwelcoming and condescending.  I guess they just figured we were tourists from Victoria.  I got that creepy feeling that they were only polite (more like tolerant) in order to squeeze as many tourist dollars as they could from us.
• The interior was as hot and humid as Bangkok.  Not conducive for eating cheese, vegan or not.
• We sat outside at one of the few tables that lined this road to get some breeze. The tables are literally on the road just behind the blue van pictured here. When the ferry arrived, lots of vehicles just double-parked on the road idling while waiting to collect foot passengers.  It made for a noisy meal with exhaust fumes.

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Here's the Good:
- The food is awesome and presented well. This vegan cheese platter was enough for two and cost $30.00.  It featured:
​- The Miyoko's butter on lightly toasted bread.
- 3 vegan cheeses: 
- French Style Winter Truffle - just okay
- High Sierra Rustic Alpine - my favorite. Rich and creamy flavor.
- Double Cream Sundried Tomato Garlic - My sister's favorite and a close second for me. 
​My sister bought the butter featured below for $14.95.

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Here's the Irony:

• ​The vegan butter and vegan cheeses which are featured on their menu and can be purchased are imported by Morningside and produced by Miyoko's Creamery in California.         www.miyokoskitchen.com. ​Of course there's nothing wrong with that it's just with so many local artisans on Salt Spring, I assumed they made their own product as well.
• You can order the cheeses and butter from their website www.morningsideorganic.com. However, you must have a minimum 4 item order and shipping to Nanaimo ranges from $14.01 - 26.53.  So, in order to get the four items we sampled (the three cheeses and the butter) it would cost a minimum of $81.81 if you chose the cheapest shipping option.  You also have to wonder how the product would survive the shipping.
• You can not order from Miyoko's directly from Canada.  You need to order from morningsideorganic.com or www.vegansupply.com located in Vancouver.
• In summary, I won't go back to this bakery-café.  I might consider ordering products online around Christmas time when the product stands a better chance of surviving the shipping time.  In the meantime, I will stick with products featured in our supermarkets like Earth Balance Spreads for butter and Daiya Cheese for my other cheese needs.

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