The Village Baking Co. Boulangerie is located in a posh neighborhood of Dallas, Texas called Lower Greenville at 1921 Greenville Ave, not far from Downtown. I had heard of this Boulangerie when I posted about French Bakeries in Dallas and after tasting the almond croissant that one of my students kindly brought to French class, well I simply had to get another taste!
Almond paste is one of my pêché mignon like we say or my very guilty pleasure! I just adore any pastry made with almonds, crème d’amande, or Frangipane especially our traditional Galette des Rois, Pithiviers cake, as well as the pear almond tarts! Oh, and let’s not forget the Marzipan creations that are shaped like mini fruits.
As I walked in, I was surprised by the size of the Village Baking Co. Boulangerie because, in France, a Boulangerie is a place where the Boulanger (ère) makes the bread every day in the back oven. (I think that Village Baking offers wholesale bread so they must have another baking location for their bread.) A Patisserie, on the other hand, doesn’t make the break on-site but makes a variety of desserts and cakes.
This Boulangerie was more of a display boutique with a long vitrine of goodies including all sorts of croissants (even bacon and cheddar cheese), Pain au Chocolat, and of course my favorite and huge Almond Croissant. There were cakes, tarts, XXL Palmiers, and other goodies, as well as a variety of sandwiches in mini baguettes and of course, the legendary French ham sandwich called Jambon Beurre!
The verdict? Well, the pastries looked wonderful especially the Tarte aux Poires and the Ganache Chocolate cake. I was struck by the super-size croissants compared to their flaky buttery French cousins. The Almond Croissant tasted a little different (more baked) than my first bite but I ate it all. It tasted more like a pastry than a croissant so I’d say that Village Baking has its own specialty there. The Jambon Beurre sandwich, unfortunately, was disappointing. The sandwich bread was quite heavy with lots of dough and lacked the crunchy rustic crust of a baguette. Inside the sandwich, there was Black Forest Ham and Mozzarella or Provolone cheese… so it left much to be desired to come close to the French iconic sandwich.
I took home a pair of Pains au Chocolat and Almond Croissants, as well as two Fruit Tarts (pretty hefty bill), and the big kids’ verdict (empty box), was very favorable!
Next time, I’d like to taste the Village Baking rustic bread, which we call La Boule, and of course, try the Chocolate Almond Croissant! :)
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