Cozying up to Cannelle

Madeline Marr8/11/2010

If the irresistible smell of fresh-baked bread grabs you as you tootle down a somewhat lonely stretch of Alton Road, you can thank Cannelle, which opened a few weeks ago. The Swiss-owned bakery (its name means cinnamon'' in French) offers up ideal hot-weather lunch fare.

Most of the menu is fairly light but with substance.  Grab a sandwich on a fresh baguette with such refreshing toppers as red onions, green olives and marinated cucumbers. Fillers include roast beef, tuna, turkey, ham and tofu (grilled so not bad). The salmon salad, a delicate piece of fish on a bed of mixed greens, hit the spot with a house-made dressing and loads of cherry tomatoes. (I did have to add salt.) I was loving the omelet, which, a la Denny's, never goes off the menu. Cannelle's is yummy, with Canadian bacon, spinach and mushrooms. (Expect a wait.) The one miss, the Angus burger, was crumbly.

Forgoing carbs? There are options. Cannelle has a hot item de jour on the day I visited, it was a flank steak slathered in onions and garlic. Again, my nose was happy.  If it's too steamy to rev up the appetite, the sweet garden salad with grapes, chopped pistachios and pears and cranberries sure does the trick. Or order one ofthe dozen or so freshly squeezed juices. The kicky apple-ginger-carrot is like getting a vitamin shot. Nice to know about when the mercury hits 90 degrees.