La Patisserie -- Sweet AND Savory!

Just a few yards from the hustle and bustle of South First and Annie Streets lies a charming little house,  La Patisserie. This French bakery opened their renovated bungalow in the fall of 2010 at 602 W. Annie Street  (just a few yards west of South First), and has been going strong ever since. I was invited to come try some of their new lunch items, and had a wonderful chat with owner Soraiya Nagree.

Regular offerings include the always-popular (and colorful!) macarons. I am partial to the toasted almond variety, as it was my winning suggestion for a "new flavor" contest they had back in 2011!

There is always a case full of sweet breads for breakfast, such as croissants and morning buns, which is like a cinnamon roll, but without the goo. They have a new flavor, orange almond, which is one of the items Soraiya sent me home with. See the little burned spot on top? Yeah, that's from my toaster oven -- this this was so tall, it hit the heating element! I know you can't gauge the size of it here, but this was about baseball-sized. I've always loved the contrast between it's crusty and slightly caramelized exterior and the wonderfully soft buttery crumb inside.

Speaking of butter, La Patisserie uses Plugra, which is a European-style butter, meaning it has a higher butterfat content than your standard American butters. And while 2% difference may not seem like a lot, it is! Everything just tastes a little bit richer. That was evidenced in the mushroom savory tart I took home. When I heated it in the toaster oven my kitchen just smelled of butter. They're making a great crust on the tarts, as it puffed lightly and was nice and flaky, and of course buttery. (And I am picky about my pie crusts!) They were also the perfect size for one person; add a salad and you've got a nice meal. Right now, they have mushroom, turkey swiss and tomato ricotta tarts.

Other new lunch options include chicken salad and rosemary cream cheese "croissant-wiches". And of course, there's always a great selection of desserts, such as eclairs and the Paris brest, which my friends and I were dying to try after seeing La P's Instagram picture earlier this spring, and it did not disappoint!

La Patisserie is also available for private rentals -- a great place for a shower or tea party. More information about rentals and special orders is available on their website. So whether you need something for breakfast, lunch, dessert or just a pick me up snack like these strawberry pop tarts, there is something for everyone over at La Patisserie!

Dolce Neve Gelato

My little Bouldin Creek neighborhood has undergone quite the transformation in recent years. South First Street is starting to look like South Congress, and a plethora of quality eateries have been popping up along the way. While we still have "the Mexican Mile" (El Mercado, Jovita's -- RIP, El Chile, La Mexicana, Polvo's, Little Mexico) and a couple food trailer lots, we now have a triumphant trio of sweet shops within a two block radius -- Sugar Mama's Bakeshop (cupcakes and other baked goods), La Patisserie (traditional French pastries), and now Dolce Neve Gelato.

Dolce Neve is owned by three Italians (Marco, his sister Francesca, and her boyfriend Leo) who all moved to Austin last year to specifically open up this shop. I met Marco back in December at the shop when it was still under construction. He told me they looked long and hard to find what they felt would be the perfect location for their shop. Gelato is what they are passionate about; Francesca went to gelato school back in Italy, and placed in a national gelato talent competition. They use an old-fashioned method to make their gelatos. Ingredients are sourced locally, and everything is made from scratch, as opposed to a mix, and they make everything out in the open, so hence their slogan "We do it in front of everyone." No secrets here!

Last night was their official media tasting. On a daily basis, they will have 20 flavors, including vegan and savory choices, as well as cookie sandwiches, gelato pops, and semifreddo gelato cakes. I tried the pistachio, salted caramel, tiramisu, meyer lemon sorbet, and Parmigiano Reggiano, which tasted just like a cold piece of nicely aged parm.

Their passion translates to the quality of their products, and the quality is high. So whether you live in the neighborhood or you're coming to eat, stop by Dolce Neve. Your sweet tooth will thank you.

La Patisserie

Earlier this fall, I heard a new French bakery would be opening. And then I found out it would be just blocks from my house! I found La Patisserie on both Facebook & Twitter, and anxiously awaited news of their grand opening. So I was thrilled last night to see that they would in fact be up and running this morning. They open at 7 am, and I walked over around 8 am, and was immediately greeted by a trio of friendly women behind the counter, including pastry chef and owner, Soraiya Nagree.

Located on Annie Street, just off South 1st, La Patisserie is in a converted old house, most recently a chiropractic office. The front two rooms are set up cozily with seating areas, an enclosed play area for the babies, and some commercial sweets & treats as well. The light-filled back room is the bakery counter, with work space off to the left. (They do the actual baking in their commercial kitchen space in East Austin they said.) Coffee, espresso, hot chocolate, and tea are all available too.

Everything looked good enough to eat! Ha ha ha.... Seriously though, I had a hard time deciding WHAT to get. I asked what the "morning buns" were, and Soraiya told me they were one of her favorites. It's like the French version of a cinnamon roll. Yes, please! And an almond croissant, and a mini-palmier, and 3 different macaroons, and she threw in a cookie that I would have called a madeleine, except it doesn't have the ridges... I can't remember what she called it, but I do remember she said brown butter. So she put everything in a box, and I headed back home.

I dove right into the morning bun. I don't think I've ever had anything quite like it! It is like a cinnamon roll in that the dough is covered with cinnamon & sugar, and rolled up though not as tightly as a traditional cinnamon roll. These appear to be baked in large-sized muffin tin, and there's a little bit of a hollow space created by the loose rolling. It's lightly crunchy on the outside from the caramelized sugar, and as you peel back the layers, you see the multitude of them, though not flaky like a croissant. As you get towards the center, it's that squishy, tender just-barely-baked dough core. The whole thing is a wonderful contrast in textures, and you don't come across this kind of flavor by using margarine. There will most certainly be more morning buns in my future.

Almost four hours later, I am still full from my morning bun, but I have managed to nibble on the some of the others for the sake of getting this blog post done! The palmier -- nicely flaky and very light. All three of the macaroons have really distinct (in a good way!) flavor to them: the peppermint chocolate, cardamom orange honey, and caramel fleur de sel. The cardamom probably surprised me the most; I absolutely love the flavor of cardamom, and am usually disappointed because I find the flavor isn't prominent enough in things like this. Not in this case. It took a moment, but the cardamom really pops through. The brown sugar thingy is barely crisp on the outside, with a solid, yet tender crumb. It would be a great tea cookie. I only nibbled on the end of the almond croissant, but it's nice and crunchy on those outer tips, and there seems to be a multitude of almond paste inside! Hopefully, I can save it for breakfast tomorrow.

And there's a multitude of things to go back and try! Opera cakes, madeleine, brioche rolls, eclairs....This is going to be very, very bad, so close to my house! Congratulations to La Patisserie on their opening today, and here's to years of sweet success!

A closer look at some of the sweets: