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Belle Epicurean: Seattle's Best Brioche Pastries

richards1052
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richards1052

richards1052

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For those of you who love French pastry, Seattle has a wonderful purveyor of the art: Carolyn Ferguson, owner of Belle Epicurean. She sells her creations at the U District Farmer's Market on Saturdays.

My favorites are the chocolate walnut bun and the ham & cheese galette.

Soon (in the fall) Carolyn will be opening a retail shop in the Olympic Hotel. I'm delighted that Food & Wine Magazine read my post about her in my blog & is interested in including her work in an article about artisanal bakeries. I'd love to see her get her "due" in a national food publication! And I'm so jazzed that I could be the matchmaker!

Here's the link to my post: http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_ol...-best-pastries/

(I have no commerical interest whatsoever in Belle's Buns)

Richard

Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place: A blog about politics, culture and food

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mamster

mamster

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Iris and I, long regulars at the Belle Epicurean farmers market stand, have been down the bakery twice now, with side trips to the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont.

The pastries have been discussed quite a bit, although they have an expanded dessert selection. What's most striking about the place is that it looks like no other bakery in Seattle. It looks European-serious, with tile floors, marble tables, and a big glass case. It resembles Le Pichet more than it does any other bakery, but if anything it's even more of a formal design than Le Pichet.

I love it. Expect to hear more from me about Belle Epicurean in the Times soon.

Matthew Amster-Burton, aka "mamster"

Author, Hungry Monkey, coming in May

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tsquare

tsquare

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Iris and I, long regulars at the Belle Epicurean farmers market stand, have been down the bakery twice now, with side trips to the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont.

The pastries have been discussed quite a bit, although they have an expanded dessert selection. What's most striking about the place is that it looks like no other bakery in Seattle. It looks European-serious, with tile floors, marble tables, and a big glass case. It resembles Le Pichet more than it does any other bakery, but if anything it's even more of a formal design than Le Pichet.

I love it. Expect to hear more from me about Belle Epicurean in the Times soon.

I haven't been in a long time, but isn't Le Fournil similar? Or even Le Panier?

Did drop in to the newly remodeled Biofournil, now Boulangerie

Nantaise. Doesn't resemble this at all - more like a 80's version of a french cafe, but more cafe friendly than before (it was originally envisioned as a wholesale bakery with limited retail sales.) The goods remain the same, with perhaps more lunch options.

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LEdlund

LEdlund

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Belle Epicurean is dangerously close to my office, I can tell this is going to be a problem. :biggrin: I have eaten lunch there the last two days! I am hooked on their jambon et fromage. The butter they use is so rich and salty and the baguette (which they make) is perfect: flavorful with just the right amount of tooth.

Practice Random Acts of Toasting

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kiliki

kiliki

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I agree about the baguette-it is wonderful.

It looks European-serious, with tile floors, marble tables, and a big glass case.

I just wish it (or anyplace in Seattle!) had the kind of selection that a Parisian patisserie would have.

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bbqer

bbqer

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Belle Epicurean is dangerously close to my office, I can tell this is going to be a problem.  :biggrin: I have eaten lunch there the last two days! I am hooked on their jambon et fromage. The butter they use is so rich and salty and the baguette (which they make) is perfect: flavorful with just the right amount of tooth.

Dangerously close to mine as well. Stopped in this noon for the jambon et fromage which, as you reported, was superb. Can't wait to stop in on the way to work for a brioche and coffee.

You're absolutely right, LEdlund, this is very, very dangerous! But then again, I enjoy flirting with danger. :smile:

Sacred cows make the best hamburger.

- Mark Twain, 1835 - 1910

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tsquare

tsquare

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Belle Epicurean is dangerously close to my office, I can tell this is going to be a problem.  :biggrin: I have eaten lunch there the last two days! I am hooked on their jambon et fromage. The butter they use is so rich and salty and the baguette (which they make) is perfect: flavorful with just the right amount of tooth.

Dangerously close to mine as well. Stopped in this noon for the jambon et fromage which, as you reported, was superb. Can't wait to stop in on the way to work for a brioche and coffee.

You're absolutely right, LEdlund, this is very, very dangerous! But then again, I enjoy flirting with danger. :smile:

me too. I mean, dangerously close...maybe that's where I am headed now.

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bbqer

bbqer

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Tres dangereuse, indeed. Stopped in for the first time at breakfast and had a Pain au Noisette. No, that's not "noisy bread," but a wonderful pastry with butter, chocolate, and hazelnuts and...did I say butter? It tasted like it was drenched in it. They heated it for me and I took it across the street to my office and devoured it with my morning coffee. Oh my, a slice of heaven for $3.50. Next to try, the Caramel Apple "Tatin' Bretzel, or perhaps the Fresh Berry Brioche, or maybe the Chocolate Walnut, or Pear Almond, or Classic Pecan? Decisions, decisions.

And then there's lunch...Black Forest Ham and Gruyere Cheese Feuillette with Mornay Sauce perhaps? Be still, my aching artery-clogged heart!

Edited by bbqer (log)

Sacred cows make the best hamburger.

- Mark Twain, 1835 - 1910

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tighe

tighe

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Made my first visit this morning as well. Got one of the buns with chocolate and nuts. Damn tasty! This place is way too close to my office....

Most women don't seem to know how much flour to use so it gets so thick you have to chop it off the plate with a knife and it tastes like wallpaper paste....Just why cream sauce is bitched up so often is an all-time mytery to me, because it's so easy to make and can be used as the basis for such a variety of really delicious food.

- Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink, 1946

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hungry_moose

hungry_moose

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That was a nice article.

I was able to get some hot buns on my way to the Koolhaas library.

Beautiful shop, nice workers, excellent location.

I enjoyed the chocolate walnut bun and the classic pecan.

I think the oven was having an "off" day, the croissants were all charred, funny that they were still displayed in the case as it made the other buns less appealing.

I never had a brioche sticky bun before so it was a very nice treat.

Peace in the New Year!

-Moose

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tsquare

tsquare

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I think I heard somewhere they are going into Pike Place?

You know, I heard that too - but they can't be "in the Market" if it is their second location - no chains allowed, unless they start cloning after the Market. So, they must be looking on the fringe - like the little ex-Tully's space at Union - that building isn't in the Market proper.

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LEdlund

LEdlund

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I think the oven was having an "off" day, the croissants were all charred, funny that they were still displayed in the case as it made the other buns less appealing.

They list them as "twice baked croissants" which I've never heard of. The first time I saw them, I assumed it was a way to sell a mistake, but they are there in the case every day.

I had lunch there again yesterday. This time I tried the roast beef panini. It's very good, with gruyere, horshradish mayo and nice herbed foccacia. But I think I'll stick with the jambon et fromage from now on. I am totally addicted to it. Yum! Oh, I also brought one of the ham and cheese buns home for hubby, which he heated up for breakfast this morning. It smelled sooooo good and he said keeping it until the next day didn't harm it at all.

Practice Random Acts of Toasting

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mamster

mamster

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I don't exactly have the inside scoop on Belle Epicurean, but I can tell you two things:

1. After going a couple of rounds with the market boards, their stand is going to be in the market proper, across from Delaurenti, duking it out with the donuts.

2. The croissants aren't supposed to be blackened, and they promised me they're fixing the problem.

Matthew Amster-Burton, aka "mamster"

Author, Hungry Monkey, coming in May

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tsquare

tsquare

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I don't exactly have the inside scoop on Belle Epicurean, but I can tell you two things:

1. After going a couple of rounds with the market boards, their stand is going to be in the market proper, across from Delaurenti, duking it out with the donuts.

Oh my - is the Market lightening up? This could be a bad precedent, though not a bad decision.

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