Fervere and Funkhouser

Yesterday, I dropped by Mark Funkhouser's Campaign Headquarters to make a campaign contribution before the year end reporting deadline. I gave enough that it hurt a little - past the unofficial, never-articulated line where I had to call my wife and seek her support. One of the odd and unjust facts of life is that you have to appear to have money in order to make money. So, for Mark to bring in more money, it helps a lot for him to get money in. Because the end of the year marks a campaign reporting deadline, it helps more to make a donation on 12/29 than it does on 1/3, so his official campaign reports will show a tiny bit more money and one more person who believes in his candidacy to actually transfer funds rather than simply words.

I will also be making contributions to Mark Forsythe and Beth Gottstein - they're good people who will improve our city council. Sorry for missing the deadline!

Funkhouser's campaign headquarters is at 18th and Summit, in a modest doublewide (is there such a thing as an immodest doublewide?), a block away from that weird-looking house shaped like an upside-down "L" overlooking the city just west of I-35.

When you're in that neighborhood in the middle of the day, you ought to be thinking of bread. Just up Summit is Fervere, the best bread shop in the Midwest. Located in a tiny little white brick building snuggled up to the Bluebird Cafe, the shop features a homemade brick oven produciing artisinal breads that make even the decent "Farm to Market" loaves you get at the grocery store seem like cheap cardboard.


(Thank you to Heartland Mill for the photos.)
Fervere is a gem, with quirky hours and bread to be celebrated. They claim to be open Thursday and Friday from 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM and Saturday from 9:30 AM - 7:00 PM, but they sell out far before closing time. If you go there after mid-afternoon, you'll find a "Sold Out" sign in the window and a locked door.

Yesterday, I bought the Holiday bread, which has cranberries, almonds and orange zest to liven up a hearty organic wheat bread, Polenta bread, which adds coarse corn meal and sesame seeds to the basic organic loaf to make the best toast in the world, and a decadent "cheese slipper", which is a rich ciabatta weighed down into concavity by yummy smokey cheddar and garlic.

There are cheaper places to buy bread. The four loaves (2 of the Cranberry Almond bread, so I could share one with my new office) totalled over $20, with tax.

But buying good bread is like investing a little money in the election process. You don't need to do it, and most people never will, but, if you really care what you're getting, it is money well spent. Very well spent.