Trip Report: Pâtisserie Philippe
Posted by TheShot on 31 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Local Brew
This French bakery and café resides across the street of a parking garage in a roadside “strip mall” of sorts. It’s in a very odd part of the city that consists of modern-yet-plain software company office buildings clustered together. Imagine if SF opened a theme park based on downtown San Jose, and you get the idea. (Can a downtown-San-Jose-themed Las Vegas casino be far behind?)
Chef and namesake co-proprietor of Pâtisserie Philippe, Philippe Delarue, of Le Mans, France, makes some serious French pastries here — including macarons and many meringues of pastel colors. (As a French bakery, they do a great job.) They also serve salads, croissants, and cookies.
The walls are covered with color photos of pastries and framed mirrors. Along a long, windowed storefront, they’ve laid out a few nice wood and black marble café tables. There are (faux) flowers and, of course, the obligatory large café au lait bowls to be found about.
Using a two-group E-91 Ambassador Faema supplied by Mr. Espresso (they also use their beans), they produce a rather delicate espresso with a thinner layer of darker brown crema. It has a sweet aroma, a good body from its appropriate size, and there’s a little bite at the end of the finish from a cup that has a robust spice and herbal pungency to its flavor. They serve it in a short, cylindrical demitasse.
This is no French espresso. And on CoffeeRatings.com, that’s a compliment: it’s actually quite good.
Read the review of Pâtisserie Philippe.
No Comments »
