I haven't written a Yelp review in months, but my experience yesterday was so disappointing that I…read morefelt compelled to dust off my account.
I stopped by this well-established "bakery" chain for a quick bite. I chose the Pinecrest location because I always thought it was the nicer one. Other locations, particularly Doral, leave a lot to be desired in terms of ambiance. That's not to say this location is anything extraordinary, but at least it feels like a place you'd actually want to sit down and visit.
It's been a long time since I last came here. I can't remember if they always stayed open until 9 PM on regular days, but I distinctly remember that on weekends at least, they used to close around 6 PM, and that by 5:30 PM the kitchen was often already shutting down. Because I generally wake up around 2 or 3 PM on weekends, this place became impractical for me long ago. I eventually found far better options closer to home that stay open later and offer a much broader selection of bakery/pastry items, all-day breakfast, while also offering sandwiches, entrées, desserts, and just about everything else.
Still, after years of rotating through the same places, my friend and I decided to venture out, especially since I had woken up "early" by my standards.
We arrived around 5 PM and I was absolutely floored by the menu prices.
Wagyu or not, a smash cheeseburger for $25? A seafood fettuccine for $36? At a 3.6-star corner bakery?
Dishes that cost around $18 a few years ago, such as the Black Forest ham and cheese scramble with coffee and orange juice, are now effectively $24 once you add the $2 extra charge for the coffee and small orange juice that used to be included.
That's a staggering 33% increase from what was already an expensive meal three years ago. And that percentage doesn't tell the whole story, because even back then their prices were already 30% to 50% higher than many of their competitors. And let's be honest: the supposedly superior ingredients didn't exactly create some unforgettable culinary experience. You'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between their Black Forest ham and the regular ham served elsewhere.
Back to yesterday's visit. I had already driven there and didn't feel like searching for another place. Plus, my usual order at bakeries is a ham and cheese croissant, and that happened to be one of the few things on their menu that hadn't reached absurd pricing territory.
At around $8, it's arguably one of their better deals, especially considering that a croissant filled with Nutella or some other typical filling costs roughly the same. Granted, it's not even a traditional ham and cheese croissant like the ones found in 99% of bakeries. It's a smaller version with the ham and cheese baked inside, almost like a pastelito. So when you factor this in, it's equally overpriced.
Naturally, destiny enjoys playing jokes on me.
The waitress informed me that they had already run out of croissants... at 5 PM... in a bakery supposedly known for its croissants.
She then explained that they had shifted "more toward their bistro concept."
I couldn't help but wonder: what bistro?
Adding a few wildly overpriced restaurant dishes to your menu doesn't magically transform a bakery into a bistro. It simply gives the impression that you've drifted away from your original identity.
And that's unfortunate because, as a French bakery, the selection here is already surprisingly limited.
Compare them to competitors like Bonjour French Bakery and the difference becomes obvious. They simply can't compete. La Boulangerie mostly offers a handful of pastries and some jarred desserts and calls it a day.
As for the coffee, both Bonjour French Bakery and Crema Gourmet Espresso Bar completely outclass them. Their coffee is richer, smoother, more flavorful, their prices are more reasonable, and their menus offer a broad selection, from all day breakfast to sandwiches, entrées, as well as pastas.
Which brings me to the giant sign in the middle of the restaurant that proudly says "BAKERY" and to the word "BOULANGERIE" itself, the French term for a bakery specializing in bread and baked goods.
Those words have never felt more irrelevant.
There's a reason this place sits at a 3.6-star average rating as of this review. Had I seen that beforehand, I never would have driven this far based solely on memories from two years ago. I have a simple rule when it comes to restaurants:
I don't go anywhere with less than four stars on Yelp.
This visit was a good reminder of why.
