Dakota Harvest is located at 17 N 3rd Street. Photo by Nick Nelson/The Dakota Student.

If there is one thing I have learned on this Earth in my 19 years, it’s that bakeries make bread. And if it’s a good bakery, they make good bread.

Given this sound logic, it’s easy for me to say that Dakota Harvest Bakers in downtown Grand Forks is a phenomenal bakery in every respect.

After snooping through Facebook, I came across Dakota Harvest Bakers’ page.

Its profile had a total of 3,257 likes. I once posted a picture of a puppy on Facebook and it got around 40 likes, so by doing the math I calculated that Dakota Harvest is a minimum 81.4 times more popular than adorable puppies. That’s an impressive statistic it should definitely begin marketing with.

The atmosphere of Dakota Harvest is a little hard to describe, but I will try my best.

Upon walking in and glancing around the bakery, I felt the immediate need to ironically wear flannel, order a large coffee and begin writing the seventh chapter of the novel I’m working on.

I don’t own any flannel, I don’t like coffee and I am not writing a novel, but the atmosphere made me feel like I should be.

It gave off a hipster-ish feel mixed with undertones of country life, an unusual combination resulting in an extremely charming ambiance I don’t usually associate with hipsters.

When I first looked at the menu, the sandwiches it offered seemed a tad pricey, at least by an impoverished student’s perspective. With a side of kettle chips, they were running for slightly less than $8 a pop.

I ordered the sundried tomato turkey, and after swiping my card, a screen prompted me with the option of giving a tip. I cave easily to peer pressure so I quickly paid an extra dollar. In hindsight, I should have tipped more.

The staff was extremely friendly, and the sandwich was excellent.

You know how at the end of eating a sandwich there’s a little piece of bread that doesn’t have any toppings left on it and is usually thrown away? I ate that, and was disappointed when it was gone.

If Subway had the audacity to charge over $7 for a lump of dried wood pulp they call a sub — the sandwiches at Dakota Harvest are a bargain for the price.

After finishing up the sandwich I purchased a baguette for the road, which proved to be the best decision I’ve made all year (the bar hasn’t been set very high, but still).

The bread was crunchy, soft and smooth in all the right places, and if that last statement made you feel uncomfortable I sincerely apologize. I get a little emotional sometimes and, it was just that delicious.

The only downside was that in my haste to stuff my face with baguette in as little time as possible, the jagged crust cut open the corner of my mouth.

The FDA has not outlawed baguettes yet, so I’ll just chalk the embarrassing injury up to user error. As long as you don’t eat the bread like a greedy restaurant reviewer, I’m sure you’ll be completely safe.

Due to the welcoming staff and awe-inspiring food, Dakota Harvest Bakers effortlessly earns  a 5 out of 5 stars.

Though their prices may seem a tad high at first glance, they are a bargain for the quality.  While I cannot condone searching through the dumpster behind Dakota Harvest to eat their old thrown out bread, I can tell you that it would still probably be better than anything sold elsewhere in Grand Forks.

Brendan McCabe is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].