108 replies to this topic

[kiliki]

Skyflyer-what is the selection like at S and S? Is it eclairs, tarts, macarons, French patisserie type stuff?

[Ling]

I will suggest Sweet and Savoury tomorrow, but I'm not driving so I can't say for sure whether we're going. I'm not heading to Portland--just stopping in Seattle to fly to San Fran. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll take pics of our croissants later.

[skyflyer3]

Skyflyer-what is the selection like at S and S? Is it eclairs, tarts, macarons, French patisserie type stuff?

Kiliki - The pastries are more comfort-foodie. Lemme see, each time I've gone there have been cookies, scones, and at least one specialty tart (banana cream was the last one I had, my favorite was a chocolate/strawberry/whipped cream concoction). I've also seen cupcakes, bagels, croissants, little cakes, and muffins. They also have cooking classes with a French chef coming up.

[kiliki]

Okay, thanks. Judging by how hard it is to find real French pastry (even Cafe Besalu is heavy on the American baked goods) I must be the only person in the city who craves eclairs and tarts but doesn't like things like muffins and cupcakes. *sigh*

[tsquare]

Okay, thanks. Judging by how hard it is to find real French pastry (even Cafe Besalu is heavy on the American baked goods) I must be the only person in the city who craves eclairs and tarts but doesn't like things like muffins and cupcakes. *sigh*

Le Painier? Le Fournil? Boulangerie Nantaise? Even the Greenwood Bakery has eclairs.

[kiliki]

Thanks for the ideas but...
Le Fournil I do like. Le Panier, I've just had too many mediocre things (and a few downright bad things, like stale macarons) there. Greenwood Bakery is right by my house, but in general they are awful. Yes, they do have eclairs but other than that they are very much a standard American bakery-cookies (that taste like shortening, btw), etc. Someone told me they don't even do their own baking there, but I'm not sure if that's true. I haven't been to Boulangerie Nantaise, but if you tell me they have a great selection of pastries, tarts, etc-not just American baked goods-I will go asap. Since it's called a boulangerie I assumed that it would be mostly breads. To add to the list, Essential has some decent stuff but I've found they're often prettier than they taste.

I am pickier than most in this department, I realize.

On the bright side, I've gotten pretty good at making this stuff at home.

Edited by kiliki, 07 April 2006 - 11:46 AM.

[tsquare]

Thanks for the ideas but...
Le Fournil I do like. Le Panier, I've just had too many mediocre things (and a few downright bad things, like stale macarons) there. Greenwood Bakery is right by my house, but in general they are awful. Yes, they do have eclairs but other than that they are very much a standard American bakery-cookies (that taste like shortening, btw), etc. Someone told me they don't even do their own baking there, but I'm not sure if that's true. I haven't been to Boulangerie Nantaise, but if you tell me they have a great selection of pastries, tarts, etc-not just American baked goods-I will go asap. Since it's called a boulangerie I assumed that it would be mostly breads. To add to the list, Essential has some decent stuff but I've found they're often prettier than they taste.

I am pickier than most in this department, I realize.

On the bright side, I've gotten pretty good at making this stuff at home.

Very bright side. I actually agree about the quality (lack thereof). I am not crazy about BN, but I noticed they had some French type pastry.
I hope you have had some of the desserts at Crush? I tried two the other day and they were very good and different. Not French, but far from standard American. Pineapple upside cake, in theory. Coffee macaroons with caramel mousse (very sticky), chocolate disk, sea salt and a tangy cassis sauce.

[kiliki]

Coffee macaroons with caramel mousse (very sticky), chocolate disk, sea salt and a tangy cassis sauce.

!!!!!!!!!!

I have not been but realize now I must go soon. Thanks!

[Ling]

I had croissants from Le Panier and Essential recently...also drove by Sweets and Savoury but they were closed and we hit Cafe Besalu 5 minutes after they closed too!

The croissants from Le Panier are less visually appealing than the ones at Essential, but in a side-by-side tasting, I preferred the one from Le Panier. It definitely tasted more buttery. It was a good croissant, but I'm pretty sure I can find a better one in Seattle (probably at S and S or Cafe Besalu).

I also had a pastry at Essential--it was a beautiful, glossy lemon mousse dome with blueberries around the base. Although it looked pretty, it was rather light on taste--very sweet, with a rather insipid lemon flavour.

Still love the sourdough at Essential though.

[Ling]

I had breakfast at Cafe Besalu--the croissant was definitely better than the ones at Le Panier and Essential. The crumb of the croissant is airy and open, while the layers at Le Panier are more dense. The ginger biscuit was also very good--rich, moist, with a nice crunch from the sprinkling of coarse sugar. My favourite, however, was the strawberry danish. The dough they use for the danishes is richer than the croissant, and that bit of fruit in the middle is not mushy or overbaked. And the coffee was very good as well. Great spot for a cozy breakfast!

Edited by Ling, 07 May 2006 - 03:51 PM.

[pupcart]

[QUOTE][quote name='skyflyer3' date='Apr 5 2006, 02:25 PM']
Ling - Do try to hit Sweet and Savory in Mount Baker:

http://seattlebonviv.../post.html#more

I'm in love with this place, it's so good. The owner has done pastry for 20 years, studied in Paris. I would hit Columbia City Bakery, too, but I like Sweet and Savory better, now. [/QUOTE]


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, good lord. Because I was in the neighborhood, and have been curious about it for quite a long while, I went to Sweet and Savory yesterday. Big mistake. HUGE.

I'm addicted for life.

I got an apple gallette for myself, a pain au chocolat to take home for my beloved, a sandwich for lunch (salami, cheese, sliced tomato, grilled asparagus on baguette), and a short latte to go. I hopped into my car before deciding to take one teeny tiny bite out of the pain au chocolat intended for S.O. Waiting until I got into the car to bite into that pastry was the only smart thing I did all morning, because with every bite, my ecstatic moaning got louder and louder, and then slowly faded into a whimper as I realized I had eaten all but one bite of it (Yes, I did save it for him - but it wasn't the same thing to eat one tiny bite as compared to the huge rush of successive bites...)

IN other words, the pain au chocolate was divine. I have taken a LOT of bites out of a LOT of different bakery's renditions of pain au chocolat, and I can honestly say that up until now, that pastry didn't do a thing for me, that is until I tasted the Sweet and Savory version.

Going back today for more meant driving a good 15 miles out of my way, and I arrived at 9am to learn they had already sold out for the day (they open at 7am).

That's a good thing.

Now I can pretend like I am not powerless over their pastry. (By the way, the apple gallette was lovely, too, but I really don't want to try anything else because then I will just have to have THAT every day, too!)

Edited by pupcart, 10 May 2006 - 10:07 PM.

[Ling]

Such endorsement! I'll have to try their pain au chocolat. I haven't had many good pain au chocolat...even the one from Bouchon wasn't spectacular (but it was the best pain au chocolat I've had thus far.)

Edited by Ling, 10 May 2006 - 10:38 PM.

[mamster]

I generally get a plain croissant, not a pain au chocolat, because it seems to me that the problem with pain au chocolat, as a rule, is that there's not enough chocolate in it. Someone needs to make an American-style pain au chocolate that is absolutely loaded with chocolate.

That said, the pistachio version at Dahlia is good, although I haven't been there in a while so I don't know if they're making it at the moment.

[tighe]

I generally get a plain croissant, not a pain au chocolat, because it seems to me that the problem with pain au chocolat, as a rule, is that there's not enough chocolate in it. Someone needs to make an American-style pain au chocolate that is absolutely loaded with chocolate.

Too true, too true. If you ever find yourself in the train station in Rennes, the patisserie there has the best pastry:chocolate ratio I've experienced, and the pastry kicks ass over any I've found on this side of the pond.

[Ling]

I make "American-style" (i.e. stuffed with chocolate) ones at home...with homemade puff, and Valrhona Guanaja. I eat them warm out of the oven. Making puff pastry takes some time though, and I am still hoping I can find a bakery that makes something similar to this. I would even settle for less chocolate, as long as the dough isn't so bready and dry.

Edited by Ling, 11 May 2006 - 12:04 PM.

[mamster]

Wow.

[Eden]

You can open a Pain au Chocolate bakery here in Seattle any time now Ling!
Heck I'd even drive to Vancouver for that!

[little ms foodie]

ling did you try the pain au chocolate at Besalu??? they are fab fab fab!

[Ling]

No, we only had the strawberry danish, ginger biscuit, and regular croissant. I'll get the pain au chocolat next time, if you think it's good! (And a strawberry danish too...can't leave without one of those!! )

[Ling]

I went to Sweets and Savoury yesterday but we were too late to get the croissants! They were sold out by around 10:30a.m. We shared a lemon bar, a slice of coffeecake, and a sandwich (they're made at 11a.m.), juice, and coffee.

The lemon bar and the coffeecake were both good, but not something I think I would go out of the way for again because--and I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging here--these are things I can easily make at home. There wasn't really anything that set them apart from good quality, home-baked goods.

The other offerings of the morning included a banana cupcake with cream cheese frosting and caramelized bananas, a strawberry mousse tart with sweet pastry crust, slices of bread pudding, and a type of muffin.

The sandwich had asparagus, blue cheese, and roasted red pepper. The bread is baked in-house, and was comparable in quality to something I imagine a competent home baker could make with a decent recipe. I thought the bread was OK, but nowhere close to the stuff at the the good bread bakeries in Seattle. It was pretty spongy and dense, and the flavour was a bit bland.

I hope my post doesn't come across as too negative--I do love the homey feel of the place. It is a quiet and friendly space, and I enjoyed flipping through the cookbooks while sharing breakfast. It's a wonderful little neighbourhood nook.

Edited by Ling, 27 May 2006 - 10:53 AM.

[Eden]

No, we only had the strawberry danish, ginger biscuit, and regular croissant. I'll get the pain au chocolat next time, if you think it's good! (And a strawberry danish too...can't leave without one of those!!  )

Based on Ling's raves I deviated from my usual order and tried Cafe Besalu's strawberry danish Friday morning. It was VERY good, but I think their pain au chocolat edges it out in my book. Maybe it was just mine, but I would have liked just a little more berry on it. beautiful flavors though.

Next time I'll have to go when I'm more hungry & do a side by side to be sure


edited to specify which bakery...

Edited by Eden, 28 May 2006 - 10:23 AM.

[Ling]

^Haven't had their pain au chocolat, but that's what I'm getting next time if you like it more than the danish! My strawberry danish didn't have many strawberries on it either, but that didn't really bother me. It's the pastry that I like best, anyway.

[Ling]

Anyone have a favourite pastry (or two, or three) from Columbia Bakery? I might head over there tomorrow.

[LaurieA-B]

Anyone have a favourite pastry (or two, or three) from Columbia Bakery? I might head over there tomorrow.

Not a pastry, but their walnut levain is one of the best breads I've ever eaten. Orangette wrote about it.

[skyflyer3]

I like that Pistachio pinwheel they have, and the pain de campagne is my favorite bread.

[Ling]

^Their bread is amazing...will have to try the walnut levain and pistachio pinwheel very soon. Thanks!

[kiliki]

Ling, have you tried the pastries at Little Prague? I had my weekly apricot pastry from her booth at the Ballard Farmer's Market and as always it was first rate-one of my favorite baked goods in town. I'm ashamed to say I never try the other flavors.

Edited by kiliki, 25 June 2006 - 10:07 PM.

[Ling]

No, I haven't heard of Little Prague yet. I see from the website that they have a stall at the Columbia City farmer market...is this near Columbia City bakery? Thanks for the tip!

[tsquare]

No, I haven't heard of Little Prague yet. I see from the website that they have a stall at the Columbia City farmer market...is this near Columbia City bakery? Thanks for the tip!

Wednesday's only, 3-7, walking distance.
6 of the markets

[Ling]

Ok thanks...I'm only in Seattle on certain Fridays and Saturdays, so I'll have to catch them at Magnolia or U District on Saturday.