We visited Wild Rye downtown to try their bread and also picked up a croissant while there. It's a pretty nice location with full windows on the exterior of the building, perfect to watch the bakers perform their magic. The order area is pretty tiny, however, with no seating and essentially only a display case and register. It's definitely not a place to hang out at. Takeout only! Montparnasse Almond Croissant ($5.50) - This has a good sweet sugar glaze on top, making the croissant glisten. The outside is baked hard until crisp. The lamination quality seems to be suspect, which allows the creation of two huge air pockets. It could be from steam unevenly rising from the almond frangipane if it was applied while the croissant was still hot. I'm not sure but considering that the croissant is cut in half to apply the filling, it seems like they wait for it too cool down a little first. The fragipane itself is smooth and strongly almond flavored. It's sweet and dense almost to the point of becoming marzipan. (3/5) Stella's Sourdough Rye ($8) - I'm not sure when this boule was baked, perhaps way earlier in the morning? Unfortunately by the time we cut into the bread an hour or two after purchase, the crust had softened in the Seattle winter humidity, rendering it tough and leathery rather than having a crusty crisp. The flavor is interesting, it does have the earthy rye notes, but it isn't super robust, kind of young in taste if that makes sense. Like the starter wasn't set out to ferment long enough to develop all the complex flavors. There's still a distinct tender sour tang from the sourdough starter. The interior is very moist, not dried out at all. (3/5) I found the bread and pastries served at Wild Rye to be just okay. I wonder if it's because they don't have very high traffic, so they let their baked goods sit out for too long. As it stands, it's not a bakery I'd go out of the way to visit again. read more