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| - I thought I'd review Le Gourmand so that I'm not just here on Yelp handing out five star reviews.
The cafe is gorgeous and truly feels European. I used to live nearby when it opened, and back then I could still eat gluten, so I would love to enjoy a latte and some phenomenal croissant (the kind you want to instagram) and enjoy feeling a sweet escape.
If you want a latte and pastry, I'd say give it a go. Those two things are probably great. Like many European cafés I've been to, you're not there for the service. It's all behind the counter and waiting around, a little confusing. Kind of nice if you want to feel like you are travelling and are having trouble speaking the language. Romantic, non?
Let's be clear: All the stars here (all two) are for the baked goods (which I did not eat) and the atmosphere. If those two were any less sensually appealing, my last visit would be one or zero stars.
I popped in there recently for the first time in years, remembering that they also had a chalk board menu beyond the baked goods. I was nearby and wanted breakfast, not much else was open at that early hour.
I waited in line, and the girl with tongs smiled at me and asked if she could help me, so I ordered the eggs with bacon. She just smiled and said okay, then changed her gaze. Clearly she was just there to pluck pastries with tongs. She didn't say that to me, it was sort of implied. She wasn't rude, just maybe a little nervous.
When I got to the woman at cash, I ordered again. Eggs and bacon. Over medium. No toast please. And a coffee. She said okay, and I paid. No smile from her.
Then I'm waiting around by the counter, enjoying the display of beautiful chocolate bars and spices. I wait a while. Then the woman at the cash sees me and says, "did you get your coffee?"
It's been sitting on the counter, behind a crowd of people.
I admit, I get unreasonably cranky about how coffee is done when I'm out for breakfast. So consider my mood a little. I have a coffee there, cooling on the counter, but no meal. And this isn't the kind of place where the mugs are the size of pho bowls and someone comes around refilling it every time you take a sip. That was it. One little teacup of not-hot-anymore coffee.
Like I said, I get cranky. Another person, maybe you, might just smile and request a warm cup. I'm not proud to say that I most often will take the cold cup and scurry away to my journal. I'm an introvert. And I was hungry.
Then I get my meal handed over on a big plate by another non-smiling woman behind the counter. I take it and sit down.
I think the staff is probably doing the best with what they are given. There didn't seem to be much of a system. Not everyone has to be smiling all the time. The girl with the tongs smiled, but all in all there was little to no communication. I'm not here to rag on the staff.
Let's talk about this breakfast.
First thing I notice is there's toast. I asked for no toast. I know this might not sound like a terrible thing, but it is if you miss eating bread and don't really want to stare at it while eating the rest of the meal. It's also making me feel bad, because it's obviously going to go to waste whether I throw it out or "return" it.
The eggs were o-kay. Actually over medium, which doesn't happen often. Very flat, white, like they belonged in a sandwich.
The bacon. Two strips that kinda fused together at one end, so it was like a little bacon "V". Each strip about the width of old juicy fruit gum, you know the thin floppy sticks of gum wrapped in silver? Actually I think the bacon was smaller. It was crispy though, and I like that.
Except, and I'm not sure how this is even possible, but it was cold. Crispy, but cold. Maybe not ice cold, but way colder than room temperature. It was a bit of a shock.
Just for kicks, I poked the toast to see. Yup. Also cold.
And there was a pile of greens, the mixed kind with bits of purple in it, tossed in a vinaigrette. A little limp but not unbearable.
This whole time my coffee wasn't getting any hotter.
So if you are looking for breakfast, I would go elsewhere.
If you want to feel like you are in Europe for a few minutes, stop in and try the pastries, they looked amazing.
The tiled floors were almost enough to soothe me...but I'm a sucker for beauty.
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