Hungrygrrl

I’m not a huge pastry person, but I have a weakness for french bakeries. I fell hard for bakery nouveau, and of course the old standby Besalu. This past Sunday Sheela and I decided to check out Honore’.

I used to live in Phinney and in the few years since I left it has sprouted. The little strip on 70th that used to house nothing more than a yoga studio now has a bar, a few cafes and this cute little place.

The pastry case is teeny in that perfect little french way. They have croissant and quiche and macarons in pastel colors and these perfect little canele, a pastry so rich it is rumored to stave off desire in nuns. We decided on spinach gouda quiche and a salty croissant (koenig? I didn’t quite catch the name).

The quiche was warm and creamy with gouda, the crust that perfect mix of crunch and substance. The croissant was sadly not warm, but it was light flaky and enrobed in a delicate salty caramel. Salt and sweet is a favorite taste combination for me.

This place is tiny though. There are 6 stools and a few chairs gracing the front. Not bad for a nibble, but it began to get crowded and we were still hungry so we decided we would do a little french bakery taste-off at Besalu.

Once you’ve started on pastries, it seems a shame to stop.

Besalu is just a few blocks away and usually has lines out the door. Luckily by the time we arrived it was near 1pm so we slipped in and even found a table.

The atmosphere at Besalu matched our mood. Peach colored walls, Billie Holiday on the stereo, tiled floors and the smell of pastry—the perfect place to wile away a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Sheela was excited by the well-stocked pastry shelves. Pear tart, apple danish, several quiches, croissant and cardamom pretzels, not to mention a beautiful checkerboard black and white cookie.

In the back a serious frenchman rolled pastry dough, his apron dusted in flour.

We felt we should do a head-to-head quiche comparison so went for the spinach, which proved a mistake as it was slightly overcooked and the crust almost tasted burnt. Sheela liked it better, declaring it more substantial, but I found it too solid. But then, I like my eggs a bit runny. I also missed the gouda.

I’ve had their quiche in the past and the crust is better when perfectly cooked. Perhaps we should have tried the leek.

A lemon tart had a rich custard but was so big it could’ve fed 10 frenchman. Perhaps it was meant as dessert for a crowd and we mistakenly shared it. We had no problem finishing it. The pate sucre was perfect.

The cardamom pretzel is Sheela’s favorite, a bit of savory with the sweet. Again it would have been better warm, but the light flaky pastry competed with that of Honore’.

In the end? They both win. On this day the pastries at Honore’ were slightly better, but the atmosphere at Besalu really won me over. Twist my arm, I might have to go back to both and compare again.

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Honore’
1413 NW 70th St
Seattle, WA 98117
(206) 706-4035

Besalu
5909 24th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 789-1463