"Cheesymite Scroll". Now wasn't he the tweedy, middle-aged British poet who decamped for the colonies? Passionfruit Tartelette? That Parisian starlet, obviously.

Both, in fact, are the names of edibles from two new spots that provide an answer to Shakespeare's ages-old question: "Tell me, where is fancy bred?" The answer, Will, is everywhere these days, but especially on the West Side. Terra Breads, Pane From Heaven, Patisserie Lebeau: it's a carb lover's paradise once you cross Granville Street.

Newest to join the lineup of bakeries and patisseries are Cobs and Mix, whose individual roots are on opposite sides of the world but whose goal, the making of tasty loaves, is the same.

I first ran into Cheesymite Scrolls as a large sample being proffered by a cheerful chap on the sidewalk outside Cobs in Kitsilano just before Christmas. Gather closer, my little possums, as the estimable Dame Edna would say, and you'll discover that "cheesymite" is a clever merger of two words into one.

Cheese (as in fairly sharp Cheddar, I'm guessing) and Vegemite, that savoury brown spread, somewhat like British Marmite, beloved in Australia. One bite and you're hooked, which is what they want you to be. Very shrewd, the Australian bakery that's behind Cobs, which, taking its first steps into North America, has already established beachheads in three Lower Mainland locations, with plans for others in Kerrisdale and Surrey over the next couple of months.

Under the name Bakers Delight, the same company operates 700 stores down under, and they could end up being just as vast here. The baked goods apart, and we'll get to those in a minute, what consistently draws me back to Cobs is the cheeriness. Ten Aussies came over to instill staff with the right attitude; as a result, everyone here is so upbeat they make Earls servers, my former chirpiness benchmark, look catatonic.

But back to Cheesymites. They're cinnamon bun--like in shape, $2 each, and terrific with soup or left in a paper bag on your kitchen counter for random inch-by-inch unrolling and eating. Try the apple-and-walnut "log", which, like everything here, has an endearingly wonky look, as though your gran had made it.

It's not too sweet, but that apple flavour definitely punches through, as do the nuggets of dried fruit in an Apricot Delight log. A date-and-coffee log (with raisins, too) has a reckless sprinkling of sesame seeds that makes an already crunchy crust even crispier. All of these you can order sliced thin for sandwiches or thick for toast. Also on the "to try" list are plain breads and fancy scones. That New Year's low-carb diet? Oh, just go away, will you?

More temptation comes farther west, in Point Grey, in the shape of the newly opened Mix the Bakery, the brainchild of Peter and Rose Nyberg, who come fresh from the Dallas gourmet eatZi's, where they created dozens of breads and hundreds of pastry varieties. Upfront at Mix, its walls painted the intense yellow and olive green of Provení§al pottery, is the coffee, pastry, and sandwich shop. Beyond, but visible, is the bakery that occupies the rest of the long, narrow premises. Keeners can even go inside and watch battalions of loaves trundling out of the oven.

Just as voluptuously gorgeous as it sounds, the Passionfruit Tartelette--with its sweet, crisp pastry; its luscious, intensely flavoured filling; and its adornment of vivid-green, chopped pistachios--is almost too beautiful to eat. Force yourself. Also pick up a loaf of what I sincerely hope wasn't just a seasonal treat. Tart and sharply zingy but with a lick of sugar across its crust, the cranberry-citrus-and-ginger loaf is one of the most spectacular combinations I've encountered in ages.

Three types of chili--jalapeño, chipotle, and ancho--go into a savoury variety that would go nicely with a wedge of Monterey Jack, while, back on the sweet side, there's a dried-apricot-and-white-chocolate pairing that sounds delicious enough to be the raison d'íªtre for a tea party.

This may be dough translated into poetry, but even for holiday-swacked budgets it's still an affordable treat. At either Cobs or Mix, loaves average $5, individual scones and pastries are less. Not much for a fast trip to high-carb heaven.

COBS 2320 West 4th Avenue, 604-714-4070; 3105 Edgemont Boulevard, North Vancouver, 604-904-9909; Park Royal South, West Vancouver, 604-913-9299. All open Monday to Saturday 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Sunday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. MIX THE BAKERY 4430 West 10th Avenue, 604-221-4145. Open Tuesday to Sunday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.