There’s a relatively new player in town when it comes to croissants – Ines Patisserie in Madison Valley. In the space that used to be Suess Chocolates, Nohra Belaid has opened a small but delightful cafe selling sweet and savory snacks.
There isn’t a huge variety, and nothing’s cheap, but everything is good. Very good. It took me ten minutes of drooling over the various items displayed in the counter to decide on a flaky tomato and goat cheese tart, which I ate as I debated over desserts. I watched as Nohra bustled around behind the counter (it seems she does everything – serving the customers, mixing the batter, popping things in and out of the oven) and enjoyed the cozy atmosphere of the cafe.
In the end, I decided on a chocolate bouchon (a rich little muffin-shaped chocolate dessert) and a chocolate croissant. The bouchon was the highlight for me – not much flour with a very intense, dark chocolatey flavor. Chocoholics take note – this is a must-have. I saved the chocolate croissant for the next day:
I warmed it up for breakfast the next morning and thought it was perfect. I found no hint of dryness that reviewers on Yelp had complained about – instead it was just buttery, flaky, crispy-on-the-outside goodness. In my opinion, Ines has croissants that rival Honore and Besalu… might be time for a three-way taste test??
Tags: chocolate bouchon, chocolate croissant seattle, ines patisserie, ines seattle, madison park patisserie, madison valley desserts, Seattle croissants, seattle patisserie
June 25, 2011 at 4:45 am |
[...] shopping downtown, we stopped by the local goodnesses like Bill the Butcher, an organic butcher, Ines Patisserie, a new French pastry shop with amazing delights and presentation and City Peoples, the neighborhood [...]