Nov
28, 2002 — As
we enter the heart of holiday havoc, many of you who are already
familiar with La Vie En Rose French bakery on Holly Street
downtown may be readying your orders for holiday cakes and pies.
This pastry palace offers an abundance of impressive dessert
options.
Sure, we all love pumpkin pie, but consider La Vie En Rose
jewels like a black satin raspberry cake or chocolate Grand
Marnier cake. How about a pear lemon ginger pie?
This is the place for fantastic finishers for any special
meal, but it's also a dream lunch spot for those days when I
wish I were sitting at a Paris cafe, not schlepping around town
trying to find just the right gift for my faraway family
members.
La Vie En Rose on Holly Street mixes the charm and
sophistication of a French bakery and cafe with the relaxed
welcome of the Pacific Northwest.
A lunch hour a few weeks ago found me popping in to peruse its
sandwich selection, so I could grab lunch on the run.
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La
Vie En Rose |
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Location: 111 W. Holly St.
Phone: 715-1839
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday Serving: Memorable sandwiches, side salads,
quiche, pizza and pot pies that go beyond the expected
lunch hour fare, plus a plethora of pastries, breads,
cakes and other delectable desserts. Menu items sampled:
Turkey sandwich $4.85
Roast beef sandwich $4.85
Pizza slice $2.75
Dilled
pasta salad $3.95/pound
Lemon cream cheese cookie $1.40
White chocolate chocolate chip cookie $1.60
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I chose a turkey, jack cheese, spinach and tomato sandwich on
a fresh-baked crusty baguette, coupled with a small container of
side salad and a cookie for dessert.
My order to go was served swiftly and packed carefully in a
brown bag, which I was delighted to discover included a
decorative doily for that added je ne sais quoi.
The substantial sandwich was wrapped jauntily with a strip of
red and white checked wax paper, reminiscent of the scarves
found on fashionable French women.
I had also chosen a dilled pasta salad from the small
selection in the deli case.
Chockful of pasta spirals, large slices of red onion, green
pepper, red pepper and zucchini, then mingled with feta cheese,
a dab of olive oil and fresh dill, it made a satisfying
complement to the sandwich.
The lemon cream cheese cookie that I found to finish out my
sack lunch was so magnificent that a Bon Appetit
reader recently suggested it for the magazine's popular "R.S.V.P."
feature, where readers request a particularly loved restaurant
recipe.
The ginger-colored cookie's crunchy edge gave way to a soft
center, every bite bursting with lemon tang, with an extra bit
of sweetness from the liberal dusting of powdered sugar atop the
sizeable cookie.
A week later I felt compelled to return to the charming
eatery with its exposed brick wall peppered with colorful art
pieces on one side and a Parisian-influenced mural on the other.
Again I mulled over the handful of pre-prepared sandwich
choices, both vegetarian and nonvegetarian.
This time I chose a roast beef sandwich on a wheat rye roll,
topped with spinach and tomato and finished with a generous
smear of sandwich spread made of tomato pesto, horseradish and
cream cheese.
The friendly server behind the counter offered to warm it up
for me, which brought out the intense flavor of the sublime
sandwich spread.
When I asked about the best bakery item to accompany my
sandwich (from a case chock full of divine cookies, brownies and
bars), she pointed me to the just-out-of-the oven white
chocolate chocolate chip cookies.
This insanely fabulous cookie wasn't just warm, it was hot — so soft it practically folded in two.
It was another memorable lunch, indeed.
I now find that I pop in once a week or so. I've enjoyed its
simple and tasty avocado, tomato and Swiss sandwich on a tall,
chewy, round roll. And its pizza slices are unlike any other
pizza you'll find around here. I stopped in just the other day
and had a fresh-out-of-the-oven rectangle of thick, chewy
sourdough crust surrounded by crisp edges and topped with
caramelized onions, fresh rosemary, gorgonzola, mozzarella and
parmesan cheese. Other days of the week offer different toppings
ranging from fresh garlic to pesto to kalamata olives.
La Vie En Rose also serves a variety of quiche and pot pies.
You can even grab a loaf of more than a dozen different types of
fresh-baked bread to go.
I've gone on and on about their lunch selections, but La Vie
En Rose is also an apt destination for a breakfast bite, serving
up scones, muffins and pastries galore, washed down with a cup
of Tony's coffee, my favorite.
All doughs and mixes and such for items sold at the
Bellingham La Vie En Rose are made from scratch in its Anacortes
bakery, but many treats, like those heavenly white chocolate
chocolate chip cookies, are baked on-site at the Bellingham
location.
Visit its Web site at www.laviebakery.com
to learn more about their line of artisan breads, cakes,
pastries and desserts — all of which can be ordered and
purchased for any special occasion.
