Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest Continues

Portola Coffee Roasters/ Mr. Holmes Bakehouse

2493 Park Avenue

Tustin, CA 92782

I'm not anything close to a coffee drinker. My wife Katie drinks enough coffee for the both of us. In fact, that's an understatement, she drinks enough coffee for about ten people. Her caffeine addiction is so bad that when she goes through the drive-thru at any of our local Starbuck's, they know her name and order just by her saying good morning through the speaker. Yesh, she's a little obsessed with coffee.

Katie is also a big fan of Portola Coffee Roasters, and she usually stops by here when we are at SOCO, Union Market in Mission Viejo, and this particular Portola outpost in the Union Market at the District at Tustin Legacy. She always enjoys what she gets here, and usually just gets me an ice water.

On this particular trip though, Katie was at work and I was with my good friend Danny finishing up a long overdue lunch.  We had walked by the bakery case at Portola on our way to eat, and we both made a mental note to have dessert at Portola.

Both of us have been on a quest to find the best cookie in Orange County. So far Danny's best is the chocolate chip cookie from Urban Plates. I have to admit it is a pretty solid cookie, and what makes this even crazier is that this cookie is not made with butter, but Earth Balance margarine. I never would have known, except it's listed on their description on the menu. My best cookie so far is the ones from Paderia Bakehouse in Fountain Valley. Their Peanut Butter Chocolate cookie is the thing dreams are made of, and at 6 ounces it will definitely fill you up. We were both beyond excited to give the cookies at Portola a try.

The cookies here are made by Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, which used to have a booth at Union Market, but now they sell their baked goods through Portola. From what I can gather Mr. Holmes started in San Fransisco and has expanded south to LA and now they even have an outpost in South Korea. Mr. Holmes delivers baked goods from their Highland Park location to each of the six Portola Coffee Roasters each day, with the exception of the Orange location inside the Provisions Market. Sorry, no baked goods for the good folks of Orange. Anyways, let's see if Mr. Holmes could top our best cookie list.

Okay, not a cookie, but we could not resist trying this Chocolate Cream Donut ($3.50). It reminded me of a malasada, but they call it a donut here. It's rolled in sugar, filled with a very light, but flavorful chocolate cream, and its hole is plugged with a candied nut.  This was way better than I expected it to be. The donut portion was soft and fresh, while the chocolate cream was not too overpowering. A very nice start to our experience at Mr. Holmes.

I'm usually partial to chocolate chip cookies, but we wanted to give this Cornflake Cookie ($3) a shot. We are glad we did. This unique cookie combined cornflake cereal and brown butter toffee to form a fantastic combination. The cookie was soft but held its form wonderfully. The taste was kind of like these cookies that my mom makes for Christmas but way better. Sorry, mom. After I finished this cookie, I knew it would be my favorite from Mr. Holmes, but I still was not going to pass up an opportunity to try the chocolate chip.

This Chocolate Chunk Cookie ($3) was very good as well. At first, I thought the sea salt topping this was a little too much, but it really worked well with the well-made cookie underneath. They got the delicate balance just right. The cookie was softer than I usually like, but the high-quality chocolate chips and the buttery taste made up for it. A solid representation of a chocolate chip cookie, and one that I'll always look for when swinging by the Portola Coffee Roasters.

For Danny, this was the best cookie he has had. He was beyond giddy with the cookies here, and I was not that far behind in his excitement. They are definitely in my top 3, with only the ones from Paderia Bakehouse and Susie Cakes surpassing it, so far. If you have been having a problem getting to Portola before they run out, they will hold them for you as long as you contact them the day before and commit to getting a box of six cookies. Trust me, you will want six for sure. These cookies were so good, it almost made me wish that I was more of a coffee drinker. Fortunately, I live with one of the biggest coffee lovers on the planet, so I know I'll have plenty of opportunities to get these cookies on one of Katie's numerous visits to Portola Coffee Roasters.

Out of five magnifying glasses, (because the most famous Holmes I could think of was the fictional detective, Sherlock, who used a magnifying glass to help solve some crimes), five being best to zero being worst, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse gets 3.5 magnifying glasses.

For more information about Portola Coffee Roasters, click here: http://www.portolacoffeelab.com/ and for info about Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, click here: http://mrholmesbakehouse.com/