Belle Epicurean: Seattle's Best Brioche Pastries

[RandyB]

After reading this thread a couple of days ago, I made my first trip to BE on 4th Ave today. I had a croissant immediately, took a ham and cheese in pastry for my lunch, and a chocolate something for dessert tonight.

They weren't too sure of what some things were called or had some mixed up labels. The chocolate torte was labeled Chocolate Boca Framboise. That is english, italian, and french, but the server said the sign referred to some other pastry.

In any case, the croissant gets a B+. To give you a scale, I give Cafe Besalu an A+ (= top 5% in Paris) and Fournil an A- (sometimes less, they can be inconsistent). The outer layers were nicely flakey. The inside was a bit doughy. All together, it was definitely too salty. Expensive at $3.

The ham & cheese pastry was very nice, but also overly salty. The pastry was excellent for a filled shell. It was enough for a modest lunch, and also expensive at something like $5.65.

I should add that both items were obviously very fresh. The ham/cheese thing was still hot.

[RandyB]

I tried the chocolate framboise (raspberry) whatever - sort of a log shape sliced perpendicular to the axis.

Sorry to say, it was awful. I couldn't tell anything about the chocloate quality (heavy, liquidy mousse texture rather than a ganache) because if felt like someone had slipped with the sugar and poured so much I could feel the crystals. The actual raspberry in the middle would have been a nice touch otherwise.

[tighe]

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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I've gone by the Market location a few times, far too close to my office.

I'm wondering if they got by on the technicality that the Market Location is 'Belle's Buns' and not 'Belle Epicurean'. The actual product is the only thing th two have in common, as the Market location is spartan at best.

[tsquare]

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.

←

I've gone by the Market location a few times, far too close to my office.

I'm wondering if they got by on the technicality that the Market Location is 'Belle's Buns' and not 'Belle Epicurean'. The actual product is the only thing th two have in common, as the Market location is spartan at best.

←

I think I read that they had started the Market process before they opened the "2nd" shop, so they technically didn't have a store when they applied.