Fancy This.

Walking down Sixth Street I happen upon a wall of windows painted sweetly in plain colors sharing with the street all this charming venue has to offer. I read “Walton’s Fancy and Staple,” and I realize immediately what I’ve come across.

What kind of Austinite would I be if I never visited one of Sandra Bullock’s bakeries/restaurants?



I know I made the right choice at first glance inside Walton’s Fancy and Staple.  There is a long light-up pastry case stretching half the length of the store and a refrigerator housing beautiful bouquets of flowers on the other half. The air smells of fresh baked dough and aromatherapy candles. Everything, and I mean everything found in this store is available for purchase.



Walton's pastry counter



The baristas are warm and inviting as I inform them that I am writing a blog. I tell them that I want to try the best the coffee shop has to offer.  Immediately the two baristas turn to each other and hold a mini-conference; It’s clear they are dedicated workers and don’t want to disappoint.  

After asking me my coffee and flavor preferences, one of the baristas turns to the other and says very seriously "give her the cocoa puff." I'm sold; an off-the-menu coffee likened to my favorite childhood cereal.

While the baristas craft my drink I am free to run around the small warehouse made quaint and drool over the pastry case: cream puffs and tartlets and grasshopper brownies, oh my!

 Luckily I've brought my best friend and trusty coffee shop side-kick along to snag a pastry. She decides on the Honey Bee: a petite honey layer cake filled with caramel buttercream, rolled in ganache, covered in slivered almonds and topped off with a marzipan honey bee. The store’s best selling pastry. In one word: delightful.

Honey Bee Cake

The barista takes her time preparing my drink, which I don't mind because the bar is small and allows for customers to watch as their drinks are being created.  There is just something about the way the silvery steam dances above the espresso machine that gets my mouth watering.

At long last, my latte is ready.

On first sip, I flashback to Saturday morning cartoons and a giant bowl of cocoa puff cereal: the coffee is appropriately named. What's unique about this off-the-menu delight besides its name, is it's deep dark chocolate taste. The espresso and the dark chocolate flavors share the mug politely- neither overshadows the other.

Perhaps the reason my latte was so delicious is due to the fact it was crafted with Cuvee coffee. The talkative barista, with her hair effortlessly wrapped in a white bandana, tells me that Cuvee Coffee is a product of a local roaster from Spicewood, Texas. The friendly barista’s name is Abby and she indulges in my multitude of questions and tells me how local this roaster really is. His name is Mike.

I like Mike.

Abby informs me that the Cuvee beans come from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Brazil. “Mike is very careful,” she says, “he knows all his farmers by name.”

Abby says that a local superstar, Clancy Rose, works for Mike. “He is the barista of Austin. He actually trained us.

Before my friend gets half way through the decadently rich Honey Bee cake, I've sucked every last bit of warm latte out of my mug. I even made the obnoxious slurping sound as I struggled to pull up the last little pool of chocolate syrup and foam. But no one throws angry glances my way; here, this sort of desperation is understood.

The "Cocoa Puff"

Once I have successfully satiated my caffeine craving, I approach the counter once more to ask Abby why she likes Walton’s Fancy and Staple (as if I needed another reason).

“It’s more of a traditional coffee shop,” she says. “So many coffee shops now are like the turn-and-burn coffee of Starbucks. It’s about experience here; not just slinging coffee to the masses. Here it’s carefully picked and carefully chosen.”

I pack up my bag, pry my friend from her buttery cake and mentally prepare myself to leave this true Austin treasure. But, I can’t walk away without asking if Abby has ever met Sandra Bullock; she smiles and nods her head as if she’s been asked this same question a thousand times “Yes, I have.”

Bottom line: Although Walton’s has no wi-fi, it adds to the allure of this café. Walton’s is an escape and a chance to lose yourself in butter, caffeine, and conversation. Make Walton’s Fancy and Staple a staple of your Austin experience.

Coffee Drinkers:

If you’re feeling adventurous enough, tell the baristas what flavors you like and ask them to surprise you.

Non-Coffee Drinkers:
Drown your taste buds in the immense number of Italian soda flavors. Create your own soda or choose from the tried and true classics. Perfect for a scorching hot Austin day.

Walton’s Fancy and Staple                                                                                       

609 West 6th St.  

Austin, TX 78701           

(512) 542-3380

Hours

M-TH: 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
F and S: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sat.: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.