La Belle Terre Bread French Bakery Café
Baba Au Rhum
Kouign Amann
Butter Croissant
Almond Tart
Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie
Palmier
Blueberry Cream Twist
When I heard rumor that an independent French Cafe was turning out superlative Kouign Amann just down the street from my new house I knew a visit was imminent – IE the day we started unpacking – and not only are the stories of stellar French pastry true…they even come from a condescending French baker with uncompromising style and skill. Admittedly a bit turned off by the “premade” croque alongside the fact that almond croissants would not be ready until the ambiguous “later” it was a relatively large sampling of the restaurant’s wares that we selected on Saturday morning and aside from a slightly doughy blueberry cream twist the results were textbook, inclusive of two of my very favorite items. Beginning first with a quartet including a warm butter croissant, flaky and natural almond tart entirely devoid of frangipane, and a Kouign Amann still warm liquid at the core it was actually the dense Baba Au Rhum that proved the shocker of the morning with ample booze but gentle sweetness beneath the light cream. Impressed enough to purchase some items to go it was perhaps the delay in consuming the twist until later that rendered it flaccid and unable to suffer the same fate both the chocolate chip cookie and more so the buttery palmier would prove the best I’ve found in the Southwest; all the more impetus to call in advance before my next visit to make sure the Almond Croissant is warm and ready.
