Bakery Nouveau in Seattle

I think you can tell I love a bakery. Something about the smell of fresh baked anything wafting through the air is enticing to my nostrils and stomach. Sure, I know, some of it is the whole baked sweet treats for me, but also, something about it is very homey and welcoming. I mean, both my mother and grandmother did some baking of the rolls and cake kind and I am sure there is some residual memory of those times that draws me in, beyond my occasionally insatiable sweet tooth.

Bakeries have also been a starting point for me whenever I travel—in the states or out in the rest of the world. I have a tendency to do the overnight flight so I can sleep the whole way and arrive rested and ready to go. I then make my first stop the closest bakery I can find to get something tasty to get my day and trip going. Plus, many are very neighborhood specific so you can get a real feel for the city and the people just by hanging out in one. (It also helps they are open early and can give a place to camp out until room is ready) The whole concept of the bakery is pretty much the same wherever you go, as are most of the offerings. Baked bread is baked bread around the world. What varies usually is the process and the flavors that are unique to whatever state or country you are visiting. It is all like one big tasty introduction to your surroundings. The other benefit is prices are usually affordable if you are traveling on a budget. You can most likely get a filling bite for a few bucks and then just take on the go for your citywide tourist stroll. It is really a way to eat and be like a local.

It is no different when you move to a new city, at least for me. I am always on the look out for anything baked, stuffed, frosted, you name it. While I won’t say it makes in a difference when looking for an apartment, not gonna say it isn’t somewhere in the back of my subconcious mind, or stomach. Seattle does seem to have its fair share of intriguing bakeries, and these are in addition to all the donut shops (DOUBLE BONUS!). Turns out, I ended up in a little squat that just happens to be a few blocks over from a bakery—lucky me—not for my cholesterol or waistline—but whatever. Called Bakery Nouveau, it is a French inspired bakery serving up buttery, flaky bread and a host of other things to tempt you. Though, tout n'était pas bon—that’s French bitches—Google it! Since they are so close I can literally roll out of bed, throw on some nearby clothes and make my way there and back in short order. Though, sadly, not burning enough calories for the amount I am about to consume. Which doesn’t keep me from going back and back and back and back and trying a number of baked goodies. Dive down—let’s eat!

Judge a French bakery by its croissant. If they can’t get the whole buttery, flakey layers thing right then they are no bakery you are gonna want to go to. Yes they have the standard ones but I always like to level up and got the one stuffed with hame and cheese. Think of it as a sandwich, hot pocket, piroshki, meat pie, etc.—French style. Appropriately crispy on the outside with layers of buttery goodness inside along with the double bonus of meat and cheese. Breakfast or lunch this is a standard and tasty grab and go you can’t go wrong eating.

Who knew they did pizza by the slice? When I first started going to this spot I just didn’t think about looking for it but one day, I was like “is that pizza?” And sure enough, some thin crust slices with various toppings were on offer. I took the sausage and mushroom which was right up my taste alley. The crust was nice and crispy all the way through without the dreaded soggy tip syndrome. It also had a lovely crunchy, buttery crust. While my personal taste would always enjoy a tad more cheese, as is, this was one of the better slices I have had in this town. Meaning I didn’t have to be drunk or high to enjoy it.

And they also do a breakfast pizza version on weekends! I mean, who hasn’t had pizza for breakfast, but this comes with egg, sausage, thin sliced potato and a load more cheese. It is also on a heartier focaccia like crust that was soft and spongy on the inside with some nice crisp edges. Seriously, how can you go wrong with this. It was also a rather big slice, enough you could probably share—if you are a sharing kind of person.

Here is something else kind of soft in the middle and crispy around the edges, a chocolate chip cookie generously topped with cocoa nibs. Definitely gives it a different kind of crunch and flavor combined with the light sprinkle of sea salt. A big sized cookie I kind of liked with all the crunch going on and notes of bitter chocolate from the nibs. Nice twist on a classic.

Well, I did say I like to go all in on something and this was no exception with the twice baked croissant filled with chocolate and covered in almond slivers and powdered sugar. When I saw it I was suddenly struck by how much it reminded me of carnival or state fair food—in a good way. Think of it as an upgraded version of a stuffed funnel cake covered in nuts and powered sugar. It is big and even feels heavy. And yes, it is swwweeeettt. If you can get through the whole thing by yourself in one sitting then more power to you. The chocolate filling makes it doubly rich with all the additional buttery layers that will lead to sugar crash then coma—still, in a good way.

Cake! Any self respecting French bakery gotta have cake. And if there is cake, I will be eating it. We all know this since my blog is littered with slices of cake from around the world. These are airy moist sponges layered with either lemon or raspberry curd then covered in buttercream frosting. The lemon was nicely tart and tangy like I like. The raspberry was sweet but with small bite the berries can give to keep it from being too sweet. As noted in previous posts, you have to let the buttercream get to room temp so it is soft and creamy and these were no exception. I will say, the frosting was merely colored and not flavored, I might have liked some flavor in them but let’s face it, did not stop me from eating either one of these.

And while those slices were nice, I think we know my love lies with carrot cake and cream cheese frosting. Fortunately, they got one of those too! Look at those lush layers and all that frosting! How could I go wrong? For the most part, they did not. They cake was moist, the nuts were tiny small, non distracting pieces and the frosting was lovely and creamy. My only gripe—why you gotta go and mess it all up by adding those coconut flakes to the outside edge? I’ve mentioned I am no coconut fan flake or otherwise and to me it really has no place on a carrot cake. It adds nothing I tell ya’! I was able to scrape most of them off and without it the cake stands well on its on. (Though I’m still giving the edge to the one I had at Sugar Bakery)

Pretty much everything I have had at Bakery Nouveau has been a treat from first bite to finish. But not all was up to snuff or at least not up to my expectations and wants. Which, sadly, leads me to what I consider to be the biggest disappointment in baked goods I have come across since the Whole Foods cake fiasco. Not as severe mind you, but for an aficionado of cream cheese frosted cinnamon rolls, I have to say, I was bummed!

Let’s get right to what is not working for me with these. The cream cheese frosting. Obviously, they know how to make it, just look at all that creamy lusciousness on the carrot cake. The breakdown here seems to be in timing of application. It looks like the rolls had not cooled down sufficiently enough before said frosting was applied leading to some melting and ultimately some separation of the butter and cream cheese and then after sitting out the butter itself seemed to have re-congealed in some places in what seemed like clumps. We all know I like me some butter, but this was messy. Plus, the separation made the frosting come across as too sweet and bit gritty instead of smooth and creamy. (Again—see carrot cake!)

Then there was the cinnamon brown sugar mix filling, or more appropriately, the lack there of as you can see in the photo on the right. Cinnamon rolls need to have copious amounts generously spread through their many layers. They are called cinnamon rolls for a reason. Here is seemed to be an essence of or a mere whiff of what makes these rolls what they are. Make no mistake, these things are big, but that just means more bread. And without all the needed cinnamon sugar mix to bake into the bread, the inside is quite crumbly and dry. It doesn’t have to be all icky and extreme like Cinnabon, but come on, there has to be more than there is. Such a shame, such a waste. No amount of me heating this up, adding more cinnamon or trying to remix the frosting helped. A small part of my cinnamon roll soul died as I dumped the leftovers in the trash.

Sometimes you hold out hope that things are just a one off, maybe the kitchen wasn’t having a good day. I’ve worked a lot of restaurants, it happens. Maybe part of the recipe got missed, things get rushed, orders get behind. These are the things I grasped onto as I decide a month later to get another cinnamon roll in hopes it was just a bad. Yet, from the pics above you can see, same things, different day. Separated frosting, lack of cinnamon brown sugar mix, overly dry dough and this one was even a little too dark brown on the outside. Just ugh. I guess I really wanted these to be something I could go back to over and over again since they are so close, but alas—their version of a cinnamon is dead to me from here on out.

Beyond such a tragedy, I will forgive Bakery Nouveau for their cinnamon roll transgression and continue to go there as they have more than enough other things to assuage my saddened soul and temp my stomach. The pizza, the colossal croissants, the cake slices and more. I know not everything is going to be a winner and when a bakery is only two blocks from my abode, I know I am going to find more than enough things to keep me coming back over and over. This is one of the better bakeries in town and with three locations, more than worth your while to stop in because surely you will find something tasty. And I will I continue to turn a blind eye to my cinnamon roll disaster of 2023 and pretend it never happened by eating my feelings with any number of other baked goods. See, forgotten already!!