Lyla D.
Yelp
"When you're STRESSED, you eat ice cream, chocolate, and sweets. Why? Because stressed spelled backward is DESSERTS." --Anonymous
On several occasions, my brother-in-law mentioned eating fabulous croissants and loaves of bread from one of his favorite nearby patisseries in Beverly Hills. At the same time, we explored some of my ethnic food bookmarks while balancing savory flavors with my sweet tooth. I had an authentic French boulangerie bookmarked in Culver City, which has gotten rave reviews for its Viennoiseries, where I had my eyes set on getting croissants and Kouign-Amann. However, since my brother-in-law's recommendation was only a 16-minute drive from home and I trust his gourmet palate, I didn't push too hard to drive out further.
It was a cold and rainy morning when we drove out to Pascal on Beverly, and my brother-in-law suggested that I bring out my "Parking 'aumākua" as parking on South Beverly Drive is unpredictable. Luckily, we snagged street parking at the corner of Charleville Boulevard and South Beverly Drive. We quickly jogged into the fragrant and warm bakery and got in line along the display cases. I followed my brother-in-law like he was the Pied Piper and selected the luscious Viennoiseries while considering that we were getting enough for four people.
While standing in line, my eyes danced at the sight of the Böreks (Bourekas) and quiches but popped while looking at the beautiful dough lamination (layers) of the Palmiers. I looked ahead and saw the croissants (plain and almond), pain au chocolat, and pastry "snails." I had to control my drooling after making the selections and shoved my way to the cashier before my brother-in-law conked me on the head, saying it was his treat. Hahaha.
Lucky for us, we were near home, and I brewed a pot of coffee before tearing into the buttery and tender layered croissants. All of the viennoiseries (plain, pistachio and almond croissants, pain au chocolat, and "escargot") that we got that day were, in my opinion, as authentically layered or structured and flavored as at Paris, France's famous boulangeries, Laurent Duchêne or La Maison d'Isabelle.
I can't wait to return to try Pascal's Cafe menu, which features breakfasts, salads, sandwiches (made with their in-house breads), and paninis.