Delices Gourmands
Kouign Amann
Crescent (their spelling, not mine)
Almond Crescent (their spelling, not mine)
Pistachio Roll
Canele
Pistachio Financier / Almond Financier
Strawberry Linzer (actually Raspberry)
Palmier
Strawberry “Tart” (actually Blueberry, and actually a Clafoutis)
Napoleon (Cashier unaware of what a Mille-Feuille is)
Baba Au Rhum
Carrot Cake
Walnut Brownie
Walnut Chocolate Cookie
Opened for approximately one month, and gathering some positive word of mouth from persons often in-the-know, it was just past 10am on Friday that the pink and green sign demarcating “French Bakery & Café” was located, the corner of Valley View and Sahara certainly no ‘culinary destination’…the same to be said of Delices Gourmands.
Reportedly owned by the former team behind La Belle Terre, “they use low quality ingredients” quoted from one local Chef, *though not the one with whom I dined*, Delices Gourmands occupies an enormous footprint within a random Strip Mall and offering several housemade breads alongside sandwiches, quiches and pastries the goods are all nicely presented and average priced, both important to note as management admits the Bakery to be ramping up as a production facility soon.
Well trafficked for a new place, a total of eight parties coming and going over the course of an hour, perusal of Delices Gourmands goods shows several puzzling inconsistencies in labeling as well as ingredients, the ‘crescent’ in place of Croissant amongst the most obvious though the accented server also seemed clueless when reference was made to a Mille-Feuille she could only call a Napoleon, similar blank stares meeting the request for a Blueberry Clafoutis that she insisted to be a Strawberry Tart.
Eventually selecting fifteen items, the total charge pennies shy of $40 when accounting for tax and tip, tasting began with a twice-baked Almond Croissant that avoided the mistake of too much sweetness but fell short in terms of shatter, the effort still more admirable than a butter version that was almost completely flaccid, the quality only a notch above that of a New York Street Cart.
Disgusted by a canele that ate no different than a gumdrop, the fact apparent even behind glass as the center is puckered while the outside comes across medium yellow instead of browned, Financiers quickly right the ship with great texture and richness whether Pistachio or Natural, the Kouign Amann well caramelized and buttery but falling short of CRAFTkitchen or Bouchon while the Pistachio Snail was another fine choice, though still lacking in terms of lamination.
Executing cookies well, both a jammy Linzer and bitter-sweet Chocolate-Walnut round meeting standards of French bakeries on both sides of the Atlantic, Palmiers come across as a bit drier than several found elsewhere, though it was also less sugary – perhaps merely a different style considering regional variations across France and the Basque, but not particularly memorable just the same.
Moving on to the cold case, a brownie saved for later actually the best thing sampled at Delices Gourmands with a light crunch on the outside and fudgy interior studded with nuts, Carrot Cake was decidedly pedestrian with frosting too-sweet to be described as cream cheese, the ‘Napoleon’ an unmitigated disaster that smooshed under fork pressure with the layers already soggy despite theoretically being stacked just earlier that day.
Rounding out the morning with a crusted clafoutis that was a bit more firmly set than most yet still satisfying as a result of so much fruit, the Baba au Rhum proved a fortuitous offering considering the Chef I was dining with has been toying with the idea of putting one on his menu, the flavor “Americanized” due to a high simple syrup-to-rum ratio though the body was moist and toothsome beneath a dollop of cream that was unfortunately pasty and low-grade.
TWO AND A HALF STARS: Having recently seen the local pastry scene upgraded by Rosallie, Mothership, CRAFTkitchen, PublicUS and Kitchen Table there is simply too much great baking going on throughout the valley to seek out instead of ‘settling’ for something made to be scalable that is merely ‘okay.’
RECOMMENDED: Walnut Brownie, Pistachio Financier, Baba Au Rhum (removing the whipped cream)
AVOID: Napoleon, Croissant, Canele.
TIP: No Website, No Social Media, Open 7a-6p M-F and 8a-6p Weekends.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
