Each Tuesday The Register reviews an area restaurant, with an emphasis on establishments where a couple can dine for $30 or less.  Reader suggestions are welcomed.

If ever a business were aptly named, it’s St. Helena’s Model Bakery.

This place is cuter than your first-born, with pastries tastier than anything you’ll find in a supermarket or most other independent bakeries. In short, the Model Bakery is a model for what all bakeries should be.

We arrived on a crisp Sunday morning. St. Helena’s Main Street was still asleep except for the lines beginning to form at Gillwoods Cafe and our destination bakery.

It’s best to not rush in, but stand a moment on the sidewalk and take in the charm of the place: petite green awnings frame large windows filled with gorgeous loaves of crusty bread arrayed on rustic racks formed from tree branches with the bark still on.

The facade of green- and pumpkin-colored tiles evokes the style of the 1920s when the bakery first opened. Breads are baked in their original brick ovens.

What the outside promises, the inside delivers. A long glass counter is jam-packed with all kinds of pastries, from croissants and scones to danishes filled with late-harvest fruits and berries.

Against the back wall, floor-to-ceiling shelves display fresh-baked breads, from big rounds to svelte baguettes.

The aromas are the equal of the visual feast. The ovens have been at work for hours. Fresh-brewed, dark-roasted Peet’s coffee adds inviting undertones.

For a first-timer, ordering could take a while. There are too many baked goods on display. Virtually everything is priced within 25 cents of $2.

The Model Bakery also has heartier breakfast fare: a quesadilla with Black Forest ham for $6.50, a scrambled egg sandwich with ham and cheese on a house-baked English muffin for $4.50, and a berries and yogurt parfait for $5.50.

We ordered a medley of baked goods —  a huckleberry and cream cheese danish, a peaches and blueberry braid, a cranberry buttermilk scone and an almond croissant — as well as the breakfast sandwich.

While waiting for the sandwich, we shared pastries with coffee. Everything was first-rate.

The croissant, with its dusting of sugar and sliced almonds, was flaky in the best French tradition, with an almond filling that managed not to be excessively sweet.

The danish was wonderfully fruity, with an almost sour squirt of cream cheese in the middle. A pastry that too often is achingly sweet had been made with restraint, allowing the berries to express their fresh flavor.

The braid, moist and even fruitier, was the most decadent of our selections.

The breakfast sandwich was ready within five minutes. The intensely yellow egg center, perfectly scrambled, was bracketed with melted cheese and ham inside a toasted muffin. This was a big sandwich with big flavors. If egg is your thing, this is your sandwich.

Considering the quality of the offerings, the prices at the Model Bakery are incredible values. These are very good deals.

The dining area is not fancy, but it is both lively and rich in historical charm. For people-watching, it does not get any better than this.

Joggers and people in their Patagonia fall finery join mothers ordering hot chocolates and butterhorns for their young ones. Judging from the profuse greetings, most of the crowd is locals.

Customers sit on formed plywood chairs that are funky, but, like the high ceiling and big mirrors on the side walls, contribute to a distinctive dining environment.

Free coffee refills are offered.

The Model Bakery serves food all day. At lunch, the offerings include pizzas, soups and salads.

Hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 8 to 4 on Sunday. The bakery is closed Mondays.

Readers with tips about interesting places to eat should e-mail diningout@napanews.com