enlarge Doug Jones/Staff Photographer

From left, Tony Caiazzo, Bonita Dibiase and Bruce Payer munch dessert before eating lunch. That’s because the Baker’s Bench in Westbrook carries a tantalizing array of sweets.

THE BAKER'S BENCH

WHERE: 33 Brackett St., Westbrook. 856-7333.

HOURS: 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

WAIT: Five minutes or less.

CHEAPEST GRUB: Muffins, $1.10; sandwiches start at $4.50.

PARKING: Yes, but limited. On-street parking is available.

RATING: Four stars (out of five)

WESTBROOK — The sandwich is one of the most schizophrenic of all foods.

Made with certain ingredients, it can be boring and just barely edible. But made with fresh, creative ingredients, it can be a work of art.

The work-of-art type of sandwiches are what I sampled recently at the Baker's Bench in Westbrook.

I suspected from perusing the menu that the sandwiches would be good, since the ingredients ranged from sliced almonds and Thanksgiving stuffing to homemade coleslaw.

Because the sandwiches were very reasonably priced -- most were $5.50 the day I went -- I bought two and ate them on consecutive days. The first was the Rachel, which featured chunks of turkey, Swiss cheese, homemade coleslaw and Thousand Island dressing on toasted oatmeal bread. Since it's a bakery, the bread is made fresh, and you can choose from the breads available that day for your sandwich.

Everything about the Rachel was great, from the fresh bread to the crisp slaw to the tangy dressing and chunky turkey. Equally good was the second sandwich I had, Thanksgiving, which consisted of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo on thick white bread. The stuffing was especially good, very moist and a little savory. Both sandwiches were $5.50.

I ate the Rachel at one of the few tables at the Baker's Bench, watching the traffic speed by on Route 25 and drinking a Stewart's black cherry soda from a long-necked bottle.

The little white building is on the corner of Brackett Street and Route 25, which is used as a bypass around downtown Westbrook.

Other sandwiches going for $5.50 the day I visited included the Westbrook Club, featuring ham, turkey, bacon, American cheese, lettuce and tomato; turkey; roast beef; hot pastrami with Swiss cheese and mustard; curry chicken salad with sliced almonds and raisins; chicken salad; and tuna melt.

The menu also included a tuna salad sandwich and a BLT for $4.50 each.

The sandwiches were plenty big for lunch and didn't leave me any room for dessert. But the Baker's Bench is full of enticing sweets and pastries, including scones, croissants and cinnamon buns to creme horns, eclairs, whoopie pies, danishes, mousse bombs, cream puffs and lots of others. The day I was there, prices ranged from $1.10 for a muffin to $2 for eclairs and $6.50 for large whoopie pies.

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