Ganson’s Neighborhood Bakery and Café – Rock Island, IL

I had originally intended to go to Ross’ for breakfast this day, since it’s one of my favorites, but when Belcher and I decided to do breakfast, I knew it was out of the question. She normally didn’t have any interest in devouring a Morning Mountain or a Volcano, so I knew it would be someplace more tame – maybe next time. She told me to meet her at Ganson’s, a little shop next to the golf course I had played a million times.

I met Belcher there right as it began to snow. Yes, I said SNOW. It was very pretty in fact and made the cute little house-like coffee shop even cuter and more Rockwell-esque. It’s got a pretty big patio attached the building, so there’s lots of outside seating, but they’ve got quite a few 2- and 4-persno tables packed on the inside. Hardwood floors and individual rooms like it’s simply someone’s house you’re eating in.

The waitress behind the counter recognized Belcher, since apparently she goes in there multiple times per week – hilarious. She warned us that they weren’t serving breakfast any more (not after 10am on Saturday, but they DO serve breakfast late on Sundays), but she changed her mind and went back to the kitchen to plead with the chef – he caved and said he’d make us breakfast. Wurd.

We grabbed a seat on the enclosed porch and got caught up on life and such. We’ve both had some crap to deal with and we communicate well, so we hashed out the world’s problems while we waited. I ordered the Breakfast Pita Pockets and a milk (whole milk, since EyeHeartPizza only drinks skim at our house, which isn’t even worth drinking). Belcher got a cinnamon roll – you don’t even know the depths of her addiction… The waitress asked if she wanted frosting, and Belcher interrupted her with an “OHHHH YEAAAAHHHHH I want frosting. LOTS of frosting.”

The food came out pretty quickly and mine looked pretty good. Eggs, sage sausage, thick cut applewood smoked bacon, shredded cheddar and some green onions packed into a pita. I managed to eat all of it without making an incredible mess, as I’m prone to do with pita-cuisine. Everything was really tasty. Nothing special or over the top, but quite good. Belcher ate the middle portion of her cinnamon roll (the part with the most frosting), and I even scored a bite of it. She was right, it would have been better heated up a tad, but it was still delicious. They’ve got a lot of pastries to choose from at Ganson’s, so I don’t think you’re going to end up hungry if you go here.

I’d highly recommend this place if you want to grab a book and relax with a cup of coffee and a pastry. It’s a truly local place with super awesome staff that work there. The waitress that Belcher knew (Allie or Ellie) was hilarious and told us she was cute enough to be on the Ganson’s website giving a thumbs up, but they hadn’t taken her up on the offer to be on there just yet. Classic.

Top 5 things about Ganson’s
1. Breakfast Pita Pockets
2. Cinnamon roll with a super thick layer of frosting
3. Super fun staff (some of whom allowed us to have breakfast after breakfast hours)
4. Whole Milk, seriously
5. It’s been a long time since Belcher and I got to hang out and talk

Bottom 5 things
1. I REALY wanted a Morning Mountain from Ross’
2. Cinnamon roll could have been warmed for more better tasty (I miss you Merrill Howard Kalin)
3. Would have been cool to sit outside, but the snow prevented that
4. The heater turned on and it smelled a little burn-y for a bit, but it went away
5. There’s lots of “fancy” breakfast things on the menu (thankfully, it’s VERY affordable)

gansonscafe.com