My affinity for the baked goods produced by Grace Kelly May is not a secret. Heck, you might as well call her one of my foodie crushes because she is the queen of baked goods in Fort Wayne and my allegiance to her goes back to 2017 when I first tasted her creations during brunch at Junk Ditch Brewing Co.

So, when she started her own brick-and-mortar bakery, I was eager to try it. And when I saw that GK Café and Provisions at 202 W. Berry St. offered more than the typical bakery with sandwiches, salads, soup and the like, I was curious and, honestly, a bit skeptical.

My skepticism was quickly forgotten as soon as I took the first bite of what is the bedrock of May’s creation.

Nobody makes a better croissant. Nobody.

They are light, a little crisp and flaky on the outside – especially after being warmed up a bit – and they need nothing but a little butter to make them sublime.

But there is way more than butter for these. You can get them sweet and savory as well. No matter how you get them, you will understand why I am touting them so much.

The H&C Croissant sandwich was my first venture down the savory path. It was very ham forward with thin slices of salty meat sort of rolled up in the middle along with Gruyere cheese, which was sort of bleeding out of one end. Despite that melted cheese oozing from the end, not all of it was melted enough and there could have been more of it; but it was still an enjoyable lunch offering.

I will choose a croissant with any kind of sandwich I try there from now on because my 202 Breakfast Sandwich would have been better on one even though the baguette I ordered it on was well above par. It just wasn’t the magical croissant.

Having it on the generous-sized baguette made it a behemoth – more like a foot-long sub – and, again, it was the ham that stood out. It stood out because it was not the same ham stuffed in the croissant. This was thick, fatty ham that was fabulous with the fluffy scrambled eggs that were steamed or baked, melted cheddar and garlic mayo, which I was skeptical of having on a breakfast sandwich, but which really worked nicely. The arugula didn’t work so nicely, however, and I would ask for it to be left off next time.

The Kale Cesar Salad was a nice surprise that I would make one slight alteration to if I could. The fresh, crunchy kale was nicely coated with dressing, and there was a generous amount of cheese and toasted bread crumbles acting like croutons. Therein lies the rub. A bakery that produced such good bread should be able to make fantastic croutons that could be the star of a salad instead of textural fodder that the crumbles were.

The Quinoa and Vegetable soup was worth having again. This concoction had so many mushrooms it could double as a mushroom soup. Zucchini, carrot and onion also joined the party in its dark, rich broth, and there was so much quinoa I actually had some left in the bottom of the bowl once the broth was gone.

A savory selection that I was eager to try left me torn. When I saw Biscuits and Gravy as a menu staple, my mouth was watering as I wondered how good the fresh biscuits would be, and all I could do was hope the gravy lived up to the biscuits’ standard.

Well, the gravy was fabulous. It was super meaty with homemade sausage that had the perfect peppery, spicy goodness to it, and its creamy, well-seasoned gravy was of the perfect not-too-thick consistency.

But this was not the biscuit I was hoping for. In fact, I didn’t even think it was a biscuit because it was so flat and had a distinctive layered dough. I thought it was a variation of the croissant. When I asked what it was, a gentleman at the counter confidently called it a biscuit, which I again questioned.

“Well, it’s our biscuit,” he said sarcastically, later explaining that they do not cut butter into the dough like a traditional biscuit so it does not rise and puff up the same way.

Well, that is kind of what you want when you order biscuits and gravy. These flip-flop looking things under my gravy did not soak up any of the sauce, so I found myself spooning up the remaining gravy once the “biscuits” were gone. They were also very awkward to eat because I needed a knife to cut them up.

Feeling hurt, I turned my attention to the Avocado Toast, which was minimalist in a good way with pickled carrots and onions atop the straightforward smashed avocado that was timidly seasoned. Though it might not work on some other toasts, it really allowed the thick slab of toasted Pullman Loaf to shine, which it should at a bakery.

Then I had an epiphany. An S.O.S. epiphany. The Pullman bread had the right spongy consistency and was dense enough that I made a return trip and asked if I could have my biscuits and gravy with Pullman toast instead of the “biscuits.” I was obliged, and what I got was great as that lightly toasted bread soaked up the gravy perfectly. Problem solved.

There were no problems with the sweet pastries at GK, well, except the problem of trying to pick which one to have. There were two favorites and there is no way I can tell you which of them is truly the best.

The Cruffins are basically the same flaky, buttery, delicious croissants twisted in a circle so they look like a muffin then doused with cinnamon sugar that has just a kiss of salt in it. They are amazing and there is no way to eat one politely because there will be sugar and flecks of crispy pastry all over your shirt, the table and probably the floor when you are done. I would hate to have to sweep the floors at GK because all the croissant delicacies leave a trail.

The equally sublime sweet treat was the Specialty Croissant, which was a split croissant layered with pastry cream and strawberries. Though it was designed to be a changing seasonal feature, I was told this version is pretty much always the special because it is so good. The pastry cream is perfectly thick, the berries add a pop of acid and fruity essence and the croissant, which is doused with a heavy dusting of confectioners’ sugar is so good this way it will make you forget you ever heard of strawberry shortcake.

All of the sweets checked out. The carrot cake with its heavy topping of toasted pumpkin seeds was more like a napoleon than a cake with all of its layers and textures, and the shortbread sticks are just right with a cup of coffee – GK offers a full coffee menu with cappuccino and espresso.

And, yes, that cinnamon roll I fell in love with and which made me fall in love with May’s baking skills is on the menu. And it is fantastic. It is basically like somebody took the ooey, gooey center from a typical bakery cinnamon roll and made the whole roll out of it. Its center is so scrumptious there are no words.

There are some things I have to say about some aesthetic and service flaws, however, even though the folks at GK were attentive and friendly, and it is an attractive space with a clean modern look, a welcoming counter showing off all the tasty treats and even a little grocery and essentials store off to the side where you are likely to find something you want to take home with you along with a half-dozen croissants.

But GK Café and Provisions needs to invest in some serrated knives for customers. The big hunk of baguette that I received with my soup was a nice surprise that I would have loved to have shared with some of my dining companions, but the dull butter knives were not going to let that happen.

Speaking of those dull butter knives, I appreciated having real flatware to use when dining in but was turned off when I went to retrieve some and saw a layer of dust covering my fork, spoon and that knife.

I also appreciated the beverage dispenser with water and that there was real glassware for that water, but GK needs to invest in some ice, also, because that tepid water left me out to dry. It did, however, work great to clean the dust off my flatware.

Restaurant: GK Café and Provisions

Address: 202 W. Berry St.

Phone: 424-2600

Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

Cuisine: American

Handicapped accessible: Yes

Alcohol: None

Kid-friendly: Yes

Menu: Croissant ($3.50), Cruffin ($4), Specialty Croissant ($9), Cinnamon Roll ($6), 202 Breakfast Sandwich ($12), Kale Cesar Salad ($8), Avocado Toast ($12), Biscuits and Gravy ($10), Ham and Cheese Croissant ($5.50)

Rating breakdown: Food: 3 (3-star maximum); atmosphere: 1 (1 max.), service: 1/2 (1 max.)

Ryan DuVall is a restaurant critic for The Journal Gazette. This review is based on two unannounced visits. The Journal Gazette pays for all meals. Email DuVall at [email protected] or call 461-8130.