Croissant Brioche French Bakery & Cafe

It was a lovely cool morning in Houston, and I decided to visit Croissant Brioche French Bakery & Cafe in Rice Village. They had Napoleons and a few other pasties we had to try. The Napoleon had the required white and brown icing, so I was happy just seeing that part. The pastry cream was very fresh, great texture and you could see vanilla bean pieces, so I am definitely impressed with the filling. The puff pastry was flaky, but seemed a bit stale/soggy. French Riviera's pastry is still #1 at this point, because they managed to keep it fresh, flaky and perfect all the way.

The atmosphere was very European with all the tables close together and the long stretched out tables placed so that you're close/sharing with people you don't know. It was very busy, so we got our order to go. Contrary to some reviews about the people being rude, our service was just fine.

Other items we bought included an Almond Croissant that had almond paste on the inside and outside with tons of almonds on top. It was OK, but André's was better. We got 2 Eclairs 0ne with traditional pastry cream which was wonderful, and another with chocolate mousse filling. The taste was good, the filling was a bit stiff. I also got a piece of Symphony cake that I haven't tried yet.

I will post a photo of the Napoleon shortly.

French Riviera Bakery

Yesterday I visited French Riviera Bakery on Chimney Rock. I bought a variety of pastries and YES, they had a Napoleon (see my picture on right). The Napoleon was actually pretty good. The pastry cream was very nice and delicate, the pastry flaky and it was all very fresh. It did fall apart a bit more than usual, but in the end it all goes down the same way, right? The only disappointing part about the Napoleon is that it didn't have the classic icing on top that you expect to see on a Napoleon, it just had a bunch of powdered sugar. I am not complaining too much, though, since so far this is the best one I have found, but the search continues.

Other pasties I bought include an Eclair (very good), Almond Chocolate Croissant (good, but I am not sure I like chocolate and almond paste together), Sausage Croissant (NOT worth it, two tiny weenies thinner than my pinkie and about 1/2 as long all dried out, you're better off just getting a plain croissant), a Cream Horn and Orange and Raisin Brioche that I haven't eaten yet.

Thierry André Tellier Cafe & Pastry Shop

I had breakfast at André's early on a Saturday morning. They have great pancakes, croissants and coffee. They also had a Napoleon, Eclairs as well as an almond croissant that we took home for later.

The Napoleon was very small, less than 2" x 2", it was cute with orange and brown on top instead of the usual white...for Halloween. It was OK, but the pastry cream filling was very airy and overly whipped, it was almost like they added a bunch of whipped cream to the custard, which just didn't taste the way it was supposed to. So, the search continues...

French Gourmet Bakery, Houston, TX

Last weekend I stopped by French Gourmet Bakery on Westheimer in Houston. You'd think that having French in the name would lead to amazing pastries, and of course a Napoleon. But, with great disappointment, I had to settle for some inferior pastries and go on my merry way! Apparently they used to have Napoleons, but for some reason discontinued them. How sad. Unfortunately didn't have many other French pastries to pick from, but I had to get something.

I got a slice of something called the Espresso, it had chocolate and coffee mousse between layers of cake. It looked great and the mousse was OK, but the cake was very dray and disappointing. I did however have a gingerbread ghost cookie that was awesome! The baguettes were also good.

It is too much to ask?

Is it too much to ask to walk into a pastry shop that claims to be French and buy a Napoleon? It is after all one of the most basic French pastries around. La Madeleine used to have a pretty good one, but now they only have one with mushy strawberries in it! I am not asking much, just a simple little slice of yummy deliciousness!

I am going to try every French bakery in the Houston area in hopes of finding one that stacks up to what you would find in a Paris cafe. I'll do some reviews on the ones I have found and would really appreciate anyone's input as to where to find a Napoleon, not just in Houston, but the whole of Texas and beyond!