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!

St. Philip Pizza Parlor + Bakeshop

About a month ago, I met a group of friends for dinner at the new St. Philip Pizza Parlor + Bakeshop in Sunset Valley. St. Philip was the patron saint of bakers, and perhaps coincidentally (or not), the project has been helmed by Phillip Speer, longtime pastry chef extraordinaire of Uchi. And while St. Philip is owned by the Uchi Restaurant group, this is clearly not a Japanese restaurant.

They took the old Cannoli Joe's (nee Wolfe's Nursery) on Highway 290 next to the Toney Burger Center, and converted it into a very modern, streamlined building. In addition to St. P, there's Stouthouse Coffee Pub and a new branch of local spa Milk + Honey. So you can go have a meal (they do B, L + D) at St. P, get all relaxed with a facial or massage at Milk + Honey, and then get caffeinated again at Stouthouse. Good plan! St. P is on the east side of the complex (closest to the Burger Center) and has a lovely shaded patio area as well as some outdoor dining spots. The inside isn't as large as I expected, but at 6ish on a Friday night, they were already packed to the gills with families, couples, small groups, you name it. I didn't get too much of a chance to gawk at the interior given the hustle and bustle, but it's got a warm farmhouse modern appeal to it.

Service was very friendly and once we ordered, dishes came at a pretty good pace. I should also add we had to wait about 15-20 minutes for a table, and they had servers outside taking drink orders and also coming around with warm pretzel bites and mustard for nibbling. Once seated, we started with the house meatballs (beef and pork, I believe) and paired them with the brodo sauce (you can pick from three different types of meatballs and three different sauces); these were served with potatoes. They were tasty, but not the most tender, and fairly small (not quite golf-ball sized) for the price. {Looking at their menu online now, they may have cut back on meatball options, as I am now only seeing two choices of each meatball and sauce.}

These ricotta dumplings with corn, Serrano ham, mushrooms were delicious, but the housemade umami sauce was a bit overpowering for the light and tenderness of the dumplings (I'd call them more like gnocchi or gnudi). It was a flavorful sauce, but both dark in color and in taste, and to me it took control of the dish. Maybe a lighter hand with the sauce or just lightening the sauce altogether would have made this one more of a winner for me.

Everyone who I knew who had been to St. P before me said "get the cauliflower." So we did, and yes, it's quite tasty. The cauliflower is lightly fried to a golden brown and served with a Greek yogurt sauce, pine nuts, and golden raisins, which I could have done without. You can now make this at home, as the Austin American-Statesman obtained the recipe for it!

We picked the roasted veggie pizza with its almond Romesco sauce. I liked the chewiness (but not too chewy) of the crust, but felt the Romesco needed more acid (sherry vinegar?) to bring out the contrast. I have heard the clam pizza is quite good.

From the daily dessert board, we went with the brownie a la mode with a salted caramel sauce. Definitely tasty, though certainly a small portion.

Overall, I felt the food was decent, but could use some little tweaks. Yes, I am being a bit picky, but I am comfortable with my palate to know when something needs a little more acid or a little less umami. But I really felt the portion sizes are small for what you are paying, especially the meatballs and brownie. I would like to go for breakfast one day; they have a separate pastry counter for eat in or take out and some beautiful items in there. Given the buzz and hype of St. Philip even before they were open, I am sure this place will do well.