Great Harvest Bread Co. - Downtown

Fresh baked bread comes to downtown Honolulu courtesy of Great Harvest Bread Co.  Great Harvest Bread Co. not only bakes several types of great tasting breads daily, they now serve sandwiches and grilled panini, baked goodies such as scones and cookies AND they also have the first Peet's Coffee bar in the state.

When I arrived at about 1:00 pm, the place was packed.  Look at all the people in here!

I was happy and surprised to find that Peet's Coffee and Tea had a small coffee bar here.  Now if this place were only a little closer to my office, I could buy my morning coffee from Peet's which I find much better than Starbucks.

As I looked over the menu, I also took a look at all the delicious looking, fresh baked breads on the rack right behind the front counter.  Most of the breads are baked in either the traditional loaf style or in rounds, and I'm almost certain that they'll do slicing if you ask.

I decided to take home the low-carb Kauai crunch (US$6.95).

The loaf was dense and full of nuts and seeds.  Delicious.  Who would have ever thought this was low-carb?

For lunch, I decided to order the grilled cheese panini with tomato on honey whole wheat bread (US$4.95; with honey smoked ham, add US$1.00; with crisp bacon, add US$.75; with sliced tomato, add US$.50).

Between the two slices of honey whole wheat bread were two slices each of sharp cheddar and swiss cheeses, and several slices of tomato.  For additional flavor, the bread was spread with some garlic and herb mayonaisse.  It was then grilled in a panini press.  The panini was served warm, but I felt that it could have been grilled a little longer.  The cheese had not melted and although the garlic and herb mayonaisse was delicious, there was just a bit too much it.  Next time, I'll ask if the sandwich can be grilled longer and if they can use less mayonaisse as well.

On my trip to the shop the next day, I decided to try the BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) on honey whole wheat (US$5.95).

Here's another view of the BLT -- right before I took my first bite.

As you can see from the first picture, the grill marks on the sandwich are very light.  I was hoping that the bread would be crisp and crunchy, but the honey wheat bread here is really dense, sweet and slightly chewy.  The bacon wasn't as crisp as I would have liked, and it was really thinly sliced.  To tell you the truth, it seemed almost like the microwaveable type of bacon was used in this sandwich.

My disappointment with the two sandwiches that I ordered here will not stop me from buying bread from Great Harvest.  The breads here are excellent and in the last couple of days, I've also stopped by to get some scones and cookies as well.  The great thing about Great Harvest is that you get to sample the bread before you buy it.   

Great Harvest Bread Co. - Downtown
233 Merchant Street
Telephone:  808.587.0017

Comments

[babe_kl]

i love bread! all sorts of bread. gimme bread anytime :p

[Reid]

Hi babe_kl,

I love bread too and this place has some really good breads for sale. Besides the Kauai crunch, I've also had the white chocolate/cherry and the pumpkin (sometime late last year) and those were so delicious.

[AugustusGloop]

Ouch! Hit my forehead on the monitor trying to take a bite! =)

[MrsT]

I love Panini!! we have a new place here call Bruno's and they also introduced panini.. but i've yet to try it out yet.. coz' i donch really have alot of confidence in them.. after my tiramisu episode.. :(

[Jo]

::quirks and eyebrow:: Peet's? ::twitchs slightly:: Did you say Peet's? ::shivers with a pleased sigh:: Peet's, a banana & toast, that's breakfast in our house. Reid, when they are pulling the Arabian Mocha Java, order a large Capp, 2 shots, restretto (or short) pull. If you get a strange look, ask if a more experienced barrista is available. If you still have a problem, let me know and I'll pass it on to the roasting plant folks who will ensure that the folks there get additional instuction in proper pulling.

The Mocha Java makes the best espresso IMHO. The Italian roast is also exceptional. If you want a very good coffee for a drip machine, get the Ethiopian Fancy.

::looks anxiously out the window, waiting::

[Allen Wong]

Hi Reid,

I love bread too much for my own good, and with panini, my entire family likes it. That's a big achievement, considering how they eat rice almost religiously.

Low carb bread? That cracks me up. Of all the things to cut carbs on, why bread? It's effectively 100% carbohydrate goodness. Still, Kuali Crunch sounds good.

Allen

[Kirk]

Reid - It's true, your pictures look good enough to eat! Arrrgh! I'm going to have visions of panini dancing in my head....

[santos.]

why is that grilled cheese sarnie so wet??

[Kirk]

Reid - Just one more comment - your picture with all of the people waiting - did you notice that they're all staring up in the air as if to some heavenly visage?

[milgwimper]

Oh Peets, yes do as Jo says, although I have to say i love their, garuda blend, Sulawesi kalosi, the peaberry ( can't remember the whole name), Mocha java, ther is another one we have just descovered and I can't remember it for nothing ( will remember later Im sure). I have to say I like most of their coffee but there are some that are outstanding. The teas are excellent to, get the iced Jasmine downey pearls brew only for 3 minutes (add sugar if you like...yeah its heresy for green tea but once it awhile it I have to do it!), and have a nice cool drink...*sigh* Oh, try their newest tea, Mango Marigold, if they have it there, and have it as iced tea it is wonderful!!!
Oh the BLT looks so delish...I have a serious weakness for BLTs, but a great blt has thick slices of bacon, heirloom tomatos with cracked pepper, and lettuce, mayo, alittle stone ground mustard...*sigh* Im hungry... ^-^ So was the BLT wonderful??? I wanna know...actually I want a BLT now!

[milgwimper]

Oh Peets, yes do as Jo says, although I have to say I love their, garuda blend, Sulawesi kalosi, the peaberry ( can't remember the whole name), Mocha java, there is another one we have just descovered and I can't remember the name for nothing ( will remember later Im sure). I have to say I like most of their coffee but there are some that are outstanding. The teas are excellent to, get the Jasmine downey pearls brew only for 3 minutes, and get it iced (add sugar if you like...yeah its heresy for green tea but once it awhile it I have to do it!), and have a nice cool drink...*sigh* Oh, try their newest tea, Mango Marigold, and have it as an iced tea it is wonderful!!!
Oh the BLT looks so delish...I have a serious weakness for BLTs, but a great BLT has thick slices of bacon, heirloom tomatos with cracked pepper, and lettuce, mayo, a little stone ground mustard...*sigh* Ok its MY version of the perfect BLT ^-^ So was the BLT wonderful??? I wanna know...actually I want a BLT now!

[milgwimper]

ok that was weird. It posted the unedited version and the edited version of my post. Sorry Reid, can you delete the first post? Thanks.

[megwoo]

That BLT is making me tear up. It looks so good and mayo-y.

[Jo]

::laughing with tears rolling down:: Calm down Mills! You're repeating yourself! Make sure that bacon is "special slice" from Dittmer's! Speaking of BLT Milly, the first Hawaiian Pineapple is ALMOST ready to pick. Maybe we should get together and honor it with either BLTs or grilled burgers... Whaddya tink?

Hey Allen, the best way to remove the carbs is by adding nuts. I've been working on that little trick. You can get almond & hazelnut "flour" at Trader Joe's here in the Bay area. With some molassas, good hard wheat, oh yea baby, it's what bread is all about! Ooo, and you definately want to "toast" the nut flour before hand. I do it in a skillet, med heat, flip constantly.

That grilled cheese is kinda wet looking isn't it Santos? I'm guessing a lot of mayo... TELL US REID! I still want to chomp on it!

[Trisha]

Hi Reid!

I always wanted to try it here because I heard the bread was delicious. I'm on a low carb diet and I wanna try the low carb bread one day. In fact, I heard they have a bread that's completely made from whole grain with NO white flour. Is the Kauai Crunch like that or do they have others? It's really whole grains that I eat and I try to avoid white flour and white sugar as much as possible.

[Moira]

Hey, there was a Great Harvest in Colorado Springs- their bread was great!

Bummer about the sandwiches, but I was happy to see that there was not one gyoza to be found in this post. I was gonna stab myself with whatever was close by (the cat just looked at me funny) if I saw one more gyoza taunting me from your blog.

Yes, it's late and it's been a long day. ;-)

[Reid]

Hi AG,

I'm taking it that you like sandwiches. I do too, and these were just OK. The bread was outstanding though in my opinion, not the best for panini. Maybe I'll try the sandwiches with some of their other breads next time.

Hi MrsT,

I like panini too. =) What happened with the tiramisu? Care to share?

Hi Jo,

I think I know you love Peet's and I think you know that I like it now after I had some of their coffee in SF. It's too bad this place is a bit far from the office. I have a Starbucks only a block away so that's where I usually go. If I feel like having coffee in the afternoon, I'll definitely go here.

Hi Allen,

I would have never thought that you were a bread lover, but then again Chinese make wonderful steamed buns right? =)

You're definitely right about the carbs though and I think that's why I tried this low carb bread. It was good and I really couldn't tell the difference.

Hi Kirk,

Thanks! =P It's too bad that the sandwiches weren't as good as I had hoped (or dreamed). =)

Hi Santos,

Way too much garlic herb mayonaisse. It's too bad because the mayo was great and I'd probably love it on something like a roast beef sandwich. With the cheese though, it was a bit too rich.

Hi Kirk,

Yes. Either that, or they were praying for their orders to be ready quickly. =)

Hi Milgwimper,

No it wasn't. *sigh* And I love BLTs too. BTW...don't worry about the additional comment there, I'll just leave it. Typepad has a funny way of acting at times.

Hi megwoo,

Long time no hear! I'm a BLT lover too and although this one looks good, it was just OK. I thought the bacon was the microwaveable type to be quite honest with you and it was too salty.

Hi Jo,

First Hawaiian pineapple?

Yes, the sandwich was loaded with garlic herb mayo which made the sandwich overly rich. Like I mentioned above, I think it would be nice with a roast beef sandwich.

Hi Trisha,

The breads here are excellent. You should definitely visit the store as the selection of breads change daily. Some, like the honey wheat, are made with 100% whole wheat flour and I believe that they do also have a selection of low carb breads as well.

Good luck!

Hi Moira,

Yes, I believe this is franchise of a national chain of bakeries. The sandwiches were a let down, but not because of the bread.

Well, I'm glad you were happy that there WEREN'T any gyoza in this post because there will be some gyoza AND potstickers coming up next week. Hope your weekend is relaxing, I don't want to be blamed for anything that might happen to you! =)

[Jo]

uhoh... dumplings? Did I read Reid correctly Mills??? Did he mention DUMPLINGS?!?!? ACK!! ::takes action to calm breathing and return to normal levels of insanity::

I'm ok now.

I must be a real dumb bunny here cause I tried everything I could think of to see the pic of the KingFish to no avail. I'm gonna pout about it, but only for a little bit.

Yepper Reid, Hawaiian Pineapple. However, today Mike pronounced it 2 days from ready. Here's a pic: http://www.amishlandseeds.com/images/pineapple.jpg
As Kirk would say "delici-YoSo"!

As for Roast Beef, I like horsie radish flavored mayo on mine. Along with jack cheese and a TON of alfalfa sprouts!

[Reid]

Hi Jo,

That looks like a tomato. Is the Hawaiian Pineapple a type of tomato that you have growing?

[Jo]

Yep, it is indeed a type of tomato. A rather delicious tomato as well. They tend to be very large and irregular in shape. The one ripening right now will be the first gather of the season and has 4 main lobes. I also have a huge Black Krim developing, much larger than is typical for the breed. I'm hoping to post a photo maybe later today. I also have Early Girl, Sweet Million, Roma, Aunt Ruby's German Green and another variety I can't recall the name of. That list doesn't include the half dozen or so "volunteers" popping up around the garden. Mills & I are gardeners and we sort of specialize in tomatoes without even trying...

[milgwimper]

AHHH TOMATOES...I have dreams about tomatoes. I love them fresh and ripe. Ok ya get the pictures,although Jo has much more luck in finding space to plant them, than I. I love the Krims and the Cherokee purples, the jury is still out on the aunt rubies german green. oops i gotta go

[Reid]

Hi Jo and Milgwimper,

Please let me know how the tomatoes turn out. I'd be very interested to know. This is the kind of stuff that you should put on your blog Jo! I think lots of people will be interested in your activities in the garden and how it translates to delicious meals eaten at home.

[Jo]

Yep, well, I would except that the first post I did got lost. I saved it as a draft but I can't find it anywhere. THEN, I actually have photos, but I can't get them into the post... THEN I have the photos loaded as an album but how do I make it accessible to readers? I am working on that. In there is a photo of a Black Krim. The Krims generally max out at about 10 to 12 ounces. This one looks like it's going to be a pound or more. ::sigh:: I'm just having growing pains.

[Colette]

thanks for the review, Reid. I've been meaning to come here for a while but never quite got around to it. I had the ravioli soup (quite good and such a big portion) and the BBQ chicken panini (which I had split with a co-worker), and took home a loaf of cinnamon chip bread, which by the way is pretty good with cream cheese for breakfast.

[Colette]

thanks for the review, Reid. I've been meaning to come here for a while but never quite got around to it. I had the ravioli soup (quite good and such a big portion) and the BBQ chicken panini (which I had split with a co-worker), and took home a loaf of cinnamon chip bread, which by the way is pretty good with cream cheese for breakfast.