Wicked doughnuts just the start at French Press

Hey, Westbrook.

Listen up: What's the matter with you?

We stopped by the (relatively) new French Press Eatery early one weekday morning, and except for the guy on his way out the door with a takeout bag, there were no other customers there. If this place were in the Old Port, there would be a long line of folks grabbing an 8 a.m. coffee, a breakfast sandwich or one of the downright decadent house-made doughnuts.

Maybe the eatery is simply more popular at lunch. On another visit, over a weekend, a small line did form as noon-hour customers came in to order sandwiches. But only a handful of the dozen or so tables were occupied, mostly by people using their laptops.

The French Press Eatery is the enterprising little sister of the Frog and Turtle restaurant down the street. If you haven't been in yet, give the cafe a chance. There are some tasty eating options in Westbrook these days, but not so many that you can start taking them for granted.

The food at the French Press Eatery is good and worth supporting. The service is friendly, and the atmosphere is sunny and spacious. There's even a little corner table for kids, which is a nice touch.

The food is standard sandwich-shop fare – soups, sandwiches, salads – but the quality is a notch above similar establishments. Sandwiches mostly range from $6.99 to $8.99 and come with a side, or you can add a 9-ounce soup instead for $1. Sides include a salad, pasta salad, potato salad, chips or fries.

We tried the Jimmy, a BLT on wheat with gruyere, lettuce, tomato and mayo, for $6.99. There were a half-dozen slices of thick-cut bacon on the sandwich, and the meat was cooked just right – crisp edges, but still kind of chewy. We would order it again.

Customers can also create their own sandwiches, starting at $3. Each addition of meat is $1, veggies are 50 cents, and cheeses are $1.

Now it's the restaurant's turn for a little tough love.

Hey, French Press Eatery. You're charging $8 for a 12-ounce bowl of soup?

Really?

If you cook at home, you know how affordable a pot of soup is, even the most delicious soup. There's a reason there were soup lines, not lasagna lines, during the Great Depression.

Yes, indeed, your white bean soup with kale and chunks of ham (admittedly, there was lots of ham) was mighty tasty, worthy of being served in any fine dining establishment.

But a quick, informal survey of popular informal lunch spots in the Old Port – notorious for its high prices – reveals that most bowls of soup were in the $5 to $6 range, with the $6-and-up price reserved for larger bowls of soup or seafood chowders.

The French Press Eatery does have an 8-ounce cup of soup for $5.

Breakfast, on the other hand, is very affordable. Breakfast sandwiches are $3.75 and served on an English muffin, croissant or bagel. Add home fries and a 16-ounce coffee for just $2 more.

There's the Classic sandwich that comes with egg, cheddar and your choice of meat, but also a number of other options, including some vegetarian choices.

The Texan comes with an egg, chili and cheddar. And the Frenchy? It comes with creton (a French Canadian pork spread) and a smear of Dijon.

Now for those homemade doughnuts. A visit to the cardiologist may be necessary after eating one, but it's worth it. All the doughnuts are made to order, meaning they come out hot and a little greasy. Styles include cinnamon, chocolate glazed, Boston cream and raspberry jelly.

We picked the most decadent-sounding one, the bacon-maple. The large maple donut was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and chopped bacon was sprinkled on top like jimmies.

For your $2, you get the doughnut hole as well as the doughnut.

At $18 a dozen, these are not the kind of treats you'll spontaneously purchase to take back to the office.

These doughnuts are the very definition of sinful eating. Each bite is such a guilty pleasure, you may want to share one.

The Features staff of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram anonymously samples meals for about $7.

French Press Eatery