THE MASON JAR

The Mason Jar in Cheney is a graduate student’s final project come-to-life. There are about 20,000 people in Cheney, half of these people are students & faculty from EWU and the other half are residents, mostly farmers. In the past, these two groups have clashed. The Mason Jar was created to provide a commonality between the 50% college students and 50% farm community in Cheney. This quaint cafe provides a place for students from Eastern Washington University and Cheney locals to come together in a positive environment and enjoy good food, local events, and happy times.

The Mason Jar focuses on sustainable, seasonal and local. In addition, they are passionate about education. They hold various forums and events to help teach local about food ethics, economic policy, etc.

We ordered The Classic, Eggs En Cocotte, and French Toast. Lets start with The Classic. HOLY WOW. No wonder this is their most popular breakfast dish. The biscuit was so fresh and flakey, the eggs, bacon, sausage, and cheddar were equally distributed and smothered in their homemade garlic aioli, which literally blew our minds. You guys, this garlic aioli was life changing. I must have the recipe and I must put it on everything I eat from this point forward. I went to take the first bite by picking it up and taking a bite… yeah, this biscuit is meant to be eaten with a fork. It is stuffed full, juicy, and the biscuit falls apart, which i’m not complaining about.

The Eggs En Coccotte is the perfect light breakfast dish. Complete with 2 baked eggs with a seasonal accompaniment and 9 grain toast. Mine came with apples and honey but this changes seasonally. I saw a lot of customers in their road bike gear, and I thought this would be a great dish if you stopped for a snack and coffee on a long bike ride. It’s filling, with protein and fruit, but doesn’t leave you too full.

The french toast is made on cinnamon raisin brioche, dipped in egg and served with maple syrup. I’m a huge cinnamon raisin bread fan so I was in heaven. Dan was picking out the raisins and giving them to me but he ate almost all of the french toast with ease. French toast is a million times  better when you are in control of your syrup, so thanks Mason Jar.

One of the ways the owner has incorporated his degree in economics and ethics of food is by using various local bakeries and farmers to supply ingredients for his cafe. When The Mason Jar first opened they were cooking every single thing from scratch in their tiny kitchen. After they agreed that this was too difficult to maintain and didn’t make sense for the small market in Cheney, they branched out. Their pastries now come from Alpine Bakery. Their quiche and pot pies come from Morning Sun Bakery and their milk comes from Spokane Family Farms. They have their own coffee blend that comes from Roast House coffee. The list goes on and on, more restaurants should take note.

Next time, they recommended we try their biscuits and grave (which after The Classic recommendation, YES PLEASE), their special house-made pickles, and their mediterranean sandwich.

The Mason Jar serves breakfast on weekends until 3pm and on weekdays until 11. They have open mic night every Thursday and great lunch dishes.

XOXO

Tell them “Spokaneeats” sent you.

The Mason Jar (101 F St, Cheney, WA // 509.359.8052)