- ANNA MINARD
- MMMMMMMMMMMM Buttery, delicious croissants for the office.
Living somewhere outside of the good ol’ two-block radius, my commute to work includes regular pilgrimages to Le Fournil on Eastlake.
Last year, for a big group feature on desserts, I got to go interview the baker/owner and take a behind-the-scenes tour of the place: a grand, real-life Mr. Rogers–style How a Croissant Is Made video in Smell-O-Vision. Even the freezer smelled of butter and sugar and happiness. Now I love it even more, which I hardly thought possible.
- ANNA MINARD
- THIS IS THE CASE! Try not to drool.
The owner and baker, Nick, is from Nantes, and he speaks in the most glorious French accent, constantly smiling and laughing and gesticulating. You likely won’t see him; he’s not out front. He and his team bake in-house—baguettes, croissants, desserts—and then deliver goods to cafes and cafeterias all over the city in a snappy red van. But the real gem is the bakery itself, where you can get all these things steps away from where they were lovingly baked. Go in on an average weekday morning and there’s often a line, which forces you to stand for minutes in front of the pastry case filled with luscious and mouthwatering things—glossy pear and rosemary tarts, layered mille-feuilles, little coffee éclairs—while you try to hold your simple croissant-and-coffee order in your mind. It is all one can do not to buy up the whole case, move to a dessert island (different from a desert island!), and gorge yourself right to death. They will also give you a lunch special for an incredibly decent price (eight or nine bucks) that comes with an entree, a drink, and dessert, and will make the day worth getting through.
When we sent our French Intern there a ways back, even he heartily approved, citing the “delicate and unforgettable perfume” of the butter croissant and loosing a cascade of French adjectives when no English would suffice.
This is just to say: Go there. Soon. Tomorrow! It’s at 3230 Eastlake Avenue East.