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| - Corbeaux Bakeshop is located on uptown 17th avenue SW where Melrose Café use to be. According to my French gf, Corbeaux means crow or raven and it is pronounced Korb?.
Amanda and I were due for a catch up and we both wanted to try Corbeaux so we planned for a visit Sunday afternoon. It was around 3PM when we walked up to Corbeaux and there was a long line. We just decided to go with the flow of the crowd. Confused, I asked the couple ahead of us if they knew how the system worked because all I saw was a line passing the display of sandwiches and pastries, I wasn't sure how we got a seat and if we were going to get one. They were unsure as well. There was a host up front which didn't seem to be doing anything but standing there, so curious me went to ask her a few questions. I was told that the kitchen is closed and the seating area is first come first serve until 5PM then the kitchen opens after 5 and they start seating people restaurant style (not sure if this is only during weekends). I think she mentioned that the window seats are for people just ordering from the bakeshop during 'restaurant' hours.
We first passed the display of sandwiches and croissant-wiches, cinnamon buns, cookies and then next a display of beautiful cakes, tarts, eclairs, and macarons. While we stood in line, we were offered a fresh cinnamon bun sample which was nice. "Have you been helped yet" says a girl peeking over the display - she then takes our order. I ordered a grilled cheese with tomato and bacon and a carrot cake with a London fog. Amanda ordered a croissant-wich with cheese and different cuts of meat, she also got the lemon tart and some madeleines and macarons to go. There was a bit of confusion at checkout because they didn't remember who ordered what but we got it sorted out. My three items came out to $21. Lucky for us, by the time we paid there were some tables available so we got to sit down. There is a station where you can your coffee lids, utensils, plates, napkins and water is even free. My grilled cheese was good, it was hot and the cheese was stringy. The bread was nice, it had kind of a croissant texture but it wasn't anything to phone home about. The carrot cake was good, there was a white chocolate layer on the bottom which was tasty but I found that there wasn't much cake in the carrot cake, it seemed to have more cream than anything. My drink was the same as if it was from any other coffee shop. Amanda on the other hand, her croissant-wich wasn't hot and the cheese wasn't melted. I told her to go up and ask them to reheat it but she didn't want to bother. She really enjoyed the lemon tart though.
Don't get me wrong, although quite pricey, Corbeaux is one beautiful place but I feel it just needs more time to settle. With some organization, instruction and customer attention right from when they walk in the door, I think Corbeaux has a lot of potential for success. Because sure you can have pretty pastries but you need some kind of flow, you don't want to be known as the fancy cafeteria with no flow..
Maybe dining during the restaurant hours is a different story but to me it was confusing right from the gecko. I'll give you another try Corbeaux.
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