The Apple Store…such a cool place !

Today I had to go to the small town of Medina to call on The Apple Store. We had driven by it on our bike ride last weekend so I knew what it  looked like on the outside but was certainly surprised when I walked inside. Wow, as soon as you walk through the door you smell the aroma of freshly baked apple pie. Oh MY ! I didn’t realize it until I just grabbed the URL to attach here but The Apple Store was featured on The Food Network several years ago….on Food Finds. In the front area, of this old house turned gift shop, there are lots of neat little rooms full of gifts and such…most all with an apple spin to them in some shape or manner. In the back is the bakery and patio cafe. They have a soft service machine serving, what else, apple ice cream. They have apple bread with pecans and pumpkin, apple and buttermilk, apple strudel, jumbo cookies and of coarse their famous apple pie. They boast that there are five pounds of apples in every pie. Look at this monster piece of pie ! Now my mom makes a pretty mean apple pie but this was delicious. I’ve never seen a huge dome of a crust that wasn’t hollow underneath. Their pies are jam packed with sliced apples. Wash it down with some apple strudel coffee. Yum !

Ok, now for the fun part. There is a set of double doors that exits out the back of the building into this enclosed courtyard area. They have created this fairy tale wonderland area with this enclosure that is so creative. The side of a walk-in cooler, painted with a cool mural frames one side of the enclosure while the cook shack sits at the opposite end of the area. Simple picnic tables for seating and a wood burning stove in the middle for heat. A great menu of eclectic sandwiches and today’s special was catfish (we were too full from the pie to eat anything more but will definitely go back for a meal). Neat boards all around with tidbits of information that is interesting and intriguing. We talked to one of the employees and learned a lot of cool stuff. Just a really fun place to look around, eat yourself silly and buy some neat items. We bought a book, written and signed by a local Tarpley resident, some of that delicious Apple Strudel ground coffee, piece of pie and a cup of coffee to have with our pie. The Apple Store is a must see if you are even close to Bandera ! I’m tired and headed off to bed but next time I’ll try to remember to tell you about the “Lost” Maples.

Blogger Labels: Apple,Medina,bike,door,aroma,Food,Network,area,gift,shop,rooms,gifts,manner,patio,cafe,machine,bread,Look,piece,dome,crust,Wash,courtyard,fairy,tale,enclosure,mural,shack,Simple,wood,stove,menu,meal,Neat,employees,Just,items,Tarpley,Strudel,Bandera,Lost,Maples,doors,tidbits,apples