Mick G.
Yelp
Renaud's savory food is beyond beautiful & delicious. It's thoughtfully prepared and presented. The people at the counter are kind and patient because nothing is as simple as it seems.
The Avocado Salmon Toast w/smoked salmon, radishes, capers, onions, pickled shallots, chives, and avo is surreal on sourdough. Insanely fresh, seemingly just-picked greens for the unassumingly monikered "side salad" with a crazy delicious Dijon dressing changed my life.
The counter person gave me a choice of a side and even though it was mid-morning, I decided a salad might go nicely with the avocado toast. I was not wrong and every freaking piece of Baby Gem lettuce was sublime. I never eat tomatoes raw unless they're outstanding. I ate them and everything else in my salad. It felt like I was in the kitchen at an organic farm.
Our experience was so inspiring, we came back a few days later and ordered the same thing. This time, we asked for a "double" side salad because my girlfriend and I strained our relationship by sharing the single side on the first pass. It was a good call, as was ordering extra dressing on the side to dunk tomatoes in. We also each ordered an Arnold Palmer to drink, another excellent decision for that hot day and perfectly mixed by Renaud's.
A woman sitting 10 feet away ordered Renaud's Full Salad. I'd never have normally noticed, but in walking past her table to refill my water glass, I was stalled and seduced by the smell of something toasty, buttery, and garlic. The garlic bread balanced lightly over her salad and caused us both to swoon a little. It wafted tantalizingly over to our table teasing us. We only half-jokingly discussed how rude it might be (on a spectrum) to ask her for a bite.
But that's just the savory stuff I've tried so far.
No one should ever go to Renaud's without engaging with a pastry or three. I'm pretty sure there's a City ordinance in play.
I should say first, I'm not really a "sweets" person. I like a bit of chocolate now and then, and McConnell's ice cream, but I rarely eat pastries or go out of my way just for dessert. Renaud's has changed all that. I blame my girlfriend for bringing me an ungodly selection one morning--before I'd visited in person--to surprise me.
Yes, Renaud's does all the baked breads beautifully.
The almond croissant has so many things going for it, I don't know where to begin, but it's just the right amount of icing, almonds, and bread for me. The standard butter and chocolate croissants are both crispy on the outside, with beautiful whispy soft bread on the inside. I'm not a "dry" pastry kind of person, so the very crispy and dry Morning Bun wasn't my thing. I've yet to find a place that makes a truly moist, doughy, buttery, gooey cinnamon roll. So the Sticky Bun and the Cinnamon Hazelnut Maple Roll weren't my thing.
But what rocked my world was something called a Chocolate Decadent.
It looked like one of those chocolate things I'd take a polite bite of and then give to my chocolate-crazy family. I took the tiniest bite on a spoon to say that I'd tasted it, and lost my mind. Apparently, there's dark chocolate mousse inside the little decadent half-dome. It was as good or better than the very best mousse I've ever had in a parfait flute at a fancy French restaurant.
If that's not enough, the Raspberry Tart is worth fighting over in public. The raspberries are so freaking fresh! Do they have a hedge out back? They didn't look or taste like preserves or any of those drippy, sticky berries you see in sticky goo behind the glass at other bakeries. They're planted atop a super light cream with raspberry jam in a sweet dough crust.
I haven't tasted the Hazelnut Bomb yet, but it's on my radar along with a cookie and pie tasting, and some of that garlic bread of theirs!
Bravo to Renaud's.
It's a total treat to go someplace where you can tell the owners, chefs, and entire team seem to really care about quality.
I hope your trip there is equally magic, but be careful how long you peer at other people's food.