Patisserie Melanie
★★★★☆ 4 (138)
"Where do great chefs come from?Chef Melanie Dunn is not a TV cook or game show participant, so she doesn't produce whiz-bang, "look what I can do," flavor-free Insta-cuisine. Chef Melanie holds the Diplôme de Pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and she respects and builds on traditional ideas, processes and results.She's a marvelous cook, which requires training and innate ability, but muscle memory and talent will only carry a person as far as they can see. The best chefs are guided by a sense of mission, and something more: raison d'être.In chatting with Chef Melanie, I've found her to be charming, humble and sincere, and, importantly, enthusiastic about her personal purpose: through her creative efforts, to inform and educate.I assume she was so motivated before Le Cordon Bleu, through the many years she taught English at San Diego's Crawford High School. I know that now, she's in the business of suggesting that we "please try this thing you've never tasted before."I've learned a lot from Melanie Dunn, so, maybe great chefs come from Crawford's English Department.**********The original Pâtisserie Melanie was tiny, just the front of the live/work space that Chef shared with her husband, Axel Schwarz (another Crawford teacher) and their child.Happily, Pâtisserie Melanie survived the burdens that COVID-19 laid onto small businesses, and in 2023, Chef moved her operation to a larger space on 30th Street, with a kitchen full of high-end baking equipment and a dining room with seating for a dozen or so lucky diners. Any changes that occurred were good ones. The menu of baked goods has expanded a bit, and the place now offers some savory dishes, as well. Chef Melanie's is a varied menu of the usual suspects, and features some surprises, too.Croissant are there, of course; the original - all tuile-crisp and buttery - and pistachio and chocolate, too. But Chef Melanie wants you to try new things, so she makes almond and rosemary croissant, and smoked paprika & cheddar, and, when you're not looking, she'll bring out a chocolate custard roll called "pepito" that will make you regret, then rethink, your diet."And since you're exploring," she'll ask, "why not try a cannelé?" - small, custard-filled caramelized tea cakes from the Bordeaux region of France, lovely bits that are one of Chef Melanie's several unexpected masterworks.Pâtisserie Melanie offers a variety of macarons in typically Parisian fashion: floral in the springtime, spiced and dusky in the fall, and light and flavorful all year 'round.What else? Cookies and caramels, preserves and tarts, croques messieurs et mesdames, and whatever comes next.**********And finally, there's Pâtisserie Melanie's best seller, my obsession, the simple Breton butter cake called "kouign-amann."But before I discuss that KA (as I'll abbreviate the name), please allow me to present my bona fides:- I've eaten KA in 27 bakeries, in 17 cities, in 12 states.- I've eaten the best KA in America, at b. Patisserie in San Francisco. It's to my detriment that theirs was the first I ever tasted, because all others will compete for the #2 spot, forever.- I once bought two KA, to go, from Manhattan's Dominique Ansel, then shot uptown to Bouchon Bakery to compare them, side-by-side, against Thomas Keller's version. I spent $70 on Uber rides so that I could evaluate $17 worth of baked goods.*When I first read that Pâtisserie Melanie mades kouign-amann (specifically, "Kouignettes", the original kouign-amann being more like a cake than the hand-held version pioneered in the Bay Area in 2010), I rushed to Hillcrest, calling ahead to ensure the shop hadn't sold them out.I liked them then, and I've enjoyed them more as time has passed. They're butter-basted layers of slightly dense croissant, their edges palmier-like, crispy, and tenderer than I'd imagined. The rest of the bite is chewy, like good Italian bread.Each mouthful is a treat, as flavors mix and meld: yeast, caramel and dairy; a wisp of cardamom; pleasant hints of cinnamon and salt.And when I crave those flavors, Pâtisserie Melanie satisfies, and though I might still do so, I no longer need to visit San Francisco for a top-quality kouign-amann.**********b. Patisserie: https://www.yelp.com/biz/b-patisserie-san-francisco-2*Dominique Ansel won by a mile: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dominique-ansel-bakery-new-york?hrid=6rZALIHNkL-JJNFpWci7OABouchon Bakery: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bouchon-bakery-and-cafe-new-york-2?hrid=MwuB"
"My wife and I bought a few pieces of baklava chocolate pieces from these guys at the La Jolla Open Aire Farmer's Market last Sunday.We thought they were absolutely scrumptious.We'll be back for more soon."
"I'm shocked at the flavor this vegan gem packs. I don't often choose vegan but tried them today and I didn't even realize the sausage croissant I was eating was vegan until halfway through it. Service was fast and friendly. Small but cute interior."
