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| - As the resident bakery queen of PGH, Jean Marc's bakery has been on my to visit list for at least a year, ever since seeing the favorable reviews on Yelp and the segment by Rick Sebak on It's Pittsburgh. As a denizen of the East End, Millvale isn't exactly convenient to me, but I do pass through the riverfront park there regularly on one of my longer bike routes. This past Sat., I finally decided to make a slight detour into town to check it out, and I'm so glad that I did!
Having perused the other reviews, I knew that there were two things that this bakery was known for: the kouign amann and the macarons. Thus, I decided to pick up one of the former ($2) and half a dozen of the latter ($10). For the latter, I chose the following flavors: chocolate, Nutella, raspberry balsalmic, lavender poppy, lemon, and peanut butter and jelly. The shop was pretty small, but there weren't too many people there at the time that I stopped by (11am), and the woman serving me was friendly. After having chosen my treats, I headed over to the park to consume them.
I'll preface my evaluation by admitting that I've never had either kouign amann or macarons before. Having said that, they were both absolutely divine! The kouign amann, which is a buttery puff pastry, had a great balance of flavors (sweet and rich) and textures (light and flaky). As for the macarons, all of them melted in my mouth with minimal mastication, and the fillings added a burst of moistness and flavor. The only one that seemed a bit too delicately flavored to me was the lavender poppy. However, a friend who I split it with said she could taste both flavors distinctly, so perhaps that's just my palate (after all, they are both delicate flavors!).
Needless to say, I was enamored with the baked goods I sampled at Jean Marc. I look forward to returning to try some of their other more general baked goods (chocolate mousse cake, lemon curd, etc.). While the macarons may seem expensive, they're actually almost a dollar less each than those of one of their competitors in Squirrel Hill if you buy a half dozen. If you happen to be headed in the direction of Millvale, Jean Marc is well worth a stop to satisfy the sweet tooth!
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