The weekend before Christmas we made it out to the bonfires to see the masterpiece deer that was to be torched. But first we stopped at La Boulangerie to pick up lunch.
Going to La Boulangerie is quite the effort for us. Lines are long and it’s a walk through a warren of tables, so we decided it was best to pick up, though when we finally made it there close to closing time, it would have been okay to sit. We still didn’t have time though to make it to the bonfires before dark so we just picked up the enormous order. Because of our circumstances we do a lot of eating in the car. It's not ideal, but better than nothing.
La Boulangerie is part of the Link group, and the food choices are staggering. As usual we couldn’t control ourselves. We got a breakfast sandwich, a smoked salmon sandwich, a turkey sandwich, a cheese straw, two baguettes, two bagels, a chocolate brownie, a cookie, and a biscuit, as well as potato salad.
I would have ordered the biscuit with the original order but I didn’t see it on the online menu. When I arrived to pick up there was one left in the case, so I went back to the car to get the wallet and add it to the order.
The breakfast sandwich seemed silly since it was 3pm, but I got it anyway. I’m glad I did because even though it was the homeliest breakfast sandwich I’ve encountered, it tasted good. It was housemade pork sausage so I had to try it. Donal Link, after all. What I liked about it was the bread. Declared an English Muffin, it was deflated and rumpled with only a slight crunch on the edges that reminded me it was an English Muffin. I loved this bread.
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The egg had been cooked in a barrier, making it a perfectly round fried egg. Only the white was visible from the edges. A slice of melted cheddar poked out from the edges and the pork sausage was delicious. Chunky and spicy, it perked up this sandwich into something special.
Tom was delighted with his L’Atlantique, a smoked salmon sandwich which was served on toasted olive bread, dressed with arugula, red onion, and avocado with a lemon mayo. Judging by the degree of relish with which he consumed it, the sandwich was a hit.
I also liked my Le Dindon, a sandwich made with Butcher turkey, arugula, avocado, tomato and basil mayo on a 6-grain toasted bread. I would have gotten the Croque Monsieur but I was a little Croqued-out. This too was a delicious sandwich, but I didn’t eat much because I had already finished off the breakfast sandwich.
I only had a bite or two of the potato salad, mainly to taste it. I was not tempted to eat more. It was odd. Large chunks of boiled red potatoes were tossed with fresh herbs like tarragon and parsley in a Dijon white wine vinaigrette. Chopped cornichons improved it, to me at least.
We snacked with a bite or two of the “cheese straw,” which I would describe as an elongated croissant embedded with cheese, which oozed out and crusted nicely around the edges. This was much better heated up later.
About half this order was consumed later. The brownie was a late evening snack with a glass of milk. It was sensational. Devoid of any helpers like chocolate chips or nuts, this also-homely thing was ultra rich dark chocolate with the perfect not-really-chewy consistency. Terrific!
Tom had what they call the Black and White Cookie, though I missed anything that looked black. It was covered in icing and had a snowflake imprint.
I didn’t get around to tasting the chive biscuit until the following day for breakfast. It was an enormous thing from the cut biscuit universe, and was surprisingly devoid of much flavor. It was also so dense the texture in the middle was like a wad of flour. Disappointing. Gorgeous biscuits that aren’t very good are really disappointing to me.
There were two bagels that we got with cream cheese. An everything bagel and a plain bagel were both very good, though they are not housemade. Both come from New York.
I made crostini for Christmas from the baguettes. The bread had a lot more holes than I expected, making crostini a little trickier to make. We managed.
What is interesting to me about ordering online from La Boulangerie is the detail. You have almost a survey of things like double-toasted, on the side, and every imaginable way to avoid misunderstandings. Good for them, though it tends to be more time consuming. And still I was missing a bagel and had to go back inside to get it.
La Boulangerie is interesting in that it is hip and traditional at the same time. There is truly something for everyone here. And it is reliably delicious. No wonder it’s always so packed.
