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| Opal Noir at Fresh Baguette |
Good News and (Mostly) Meh
Cleveland Park has had its fair share of bakery options over the (many) years I've lived here. Fresh Baguette may not be the best, but it is the prettiest. That makes going inside a treat. Trouble is, the taste and value fail to inspire. Ditto for a convoluted menu that never changes (but always seems to cost too much.) There's room for (massive improvement) but I doubt they're open to the necessary changes to achieve it. In the mean time, let's explore some previously unreviewed menu options.
Let's start with FB's three baguettes. They're made fresh daily, but I find them frustratingly inconsistent. The Organic Rustic Baguette ($5.09) is made with a combination of organic rye, white and whole wheat flours. Its ends are tiny and hard, but overall, the baguette is usually underdone. This results in a non-crispy exterior, with a soft flesh, full of holes. Too chewy for me, so I rarely order it. Grade: D
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| Organic Rustic Baguette |
Next, FB's yeast-based Parisian Baguette ($4.29) is advertised as, "a light and fluffy texture with a thin crust." Affirmative on the crust, and the inside's soft but far from fluffy with zero visible holes. Serviceable as an everyday bread, but unmemorable. Grade: C+
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| Parisian Baguette |
Yes, I prefer a crusty baguette, so it's no surprise that Fresh Baguette doesn't impress yours truly. Bread is subjective (perhaps even sacred to some) and I'm a huge fan of Bread Furst, about a mile up the Avenue. That said, we'd be remiss to skip FB's (allegedly crustiest) offering, their Organic Traditional Baguette. It's usually my favorite of their lot, but "perfectly crunchy?" Hardly. In fact, I found this one the flimsiest of the three. Downright soft and easily bent, it was clearly underdone. Nice flesh inside, but when it's this soft on the outside, all I can think of is the bread you get at Giant or Safeway late at night. You know, the one everyone else squeezed in dissatisfaction before passing on it. That's unacceptable, and at least on this day, so was this. Grade: D-
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| Organic Traditional Baguette |
Surely their croissants are better, right? Thankfully yes, but not without a hiccup or two. Their Plain Croissant ($4.19) looks beautiful (it literally glistens) but lacks the fluffiness one expects inside a croissant. FB's website says they're "freshly baked throughout the day," but it doesn't always taste like it. Normally, I'd give it a solid B, but this one... Grade: C+ (P.S. $4.19 for one average croissant? Tsk, tsk.)
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| Plain Croissant (A- for looks) |
More of those aforementioned hiccups show up with FB's Chocolate Croissant ($4.39.) This should be decadent, no? Sticks of dark chocolate tucked inside croissant dough, but there's one problem. There's hardly any chocolate. I have to wonder if this is an unofficial "DC thing," because most places in town rarely put any filling inside their baked goods. I'm not looking for a sugar coma, but you be the judge. Shouldn't every bite have a bit of chocolate in it? Or at the very least, every other bite? It's a shame too, since the interior was quite flaky this time around. Consistency counts. Grade: C+
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| Chocolate Croissant |
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| Where's the |
Speaking of chocolate, let's press on to the better news. Fresh Baguette's pastries, which are very pricey, but sometimes well worth it. Case in point, the Opal Noir, which sets you back a tidy $8.59. This is dark chocolate at its very best. Unbelievable textures, supreme creaminess and pretty to look at to boot. Places a close second to FB's $2.49 Mini Pastries (straight from Heaven.) I say order it every time. Grade: A- Less attractive, the pint-sized Cannele ($3.89) which is pretty moist (custard interior) but bitter with a faint aftertaste of rum. Did I mention pint-sized? One bite wonder, it ain't. Grade: C- (4 bucks for one average bite? No thanks.
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| Cannele (You might have to squint) |
