We've rhapsodized about Cream Pan–once just an unassuming little Japanese bakery in Old Town Tustin–in excess here on these blogs. It has made so many of our “Best Of” lists, lists of Ten Great Bakeries, our annual 100 Favorite Dishes lists, and other lists that I can make a new list of the lists it's been on.
But the other thing we often talk about with this bakery is its tendency of trying to reinvent itself. Let's go through a brief history of it, shall we?
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First it expanded, taking over the space next door several years ago. Then it tried serving egg breakfasts before it decided it needed a new name and a menu that included spaghetti.
When it did this, it shuttled the Cream Pan part over to the leftmost side of the building. They had to do it because the line for the breads and pastries were clogging up the line for the sit-down lunches.
But the newly minted Japonaise Bakery and Cafe turned out to be a disappointment and ultimately failed. The restaurant side stayed dormant and fallow for a while, even with promises of a rebirth.
Then it returned. They moved the bakery storefront back to the more spacious cafe side. There's talk of an expanded menu coming back, but I'm really not that interested in that as much as I am ecstatic they're finally instituting changes that actually matter–changes that come to answer customer demand.
- There's now only one size of strawberry croissant and it is what was previously called “the mini strawberry”. The old full-sized one was quietly phased out about two months ago (if my memory serves me correctly) since no one was ordering it.
- They are now open seven days a week! No longer will those Monday meetings and potlucks be strawberry-croissantless.
- They've ripped out the Cream Pan sign from the right side of the building, and eliminated the word “Japonaise” from the left side of the building. My bet is that it will be rechristened Cream Pan Bakery and Cafe…what it should've been all along.
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Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.
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