The Mission area in Calgary is home to two sources of the flaky French pastry. Located just blocks apart, La Boulangerie (2435 4th Street SW) and Yann Haute Patisserie (329 23rd Ave SW), the two spots have dramatically different offerings.
The croissant has origins in Austria, but is commonly thought of as the most well-known French food item in the world. Do yourself a favour and skip the grocery store variety and seek out one of these bakeries.
With spots to sit and beverage options, La Boulangerie has dozens of varieties of puff pastry, from savoury spinach selections to chocolate hazelnut. There are crepes and sandwiches too, and a wide selection of desserts for your next dinner party.
Yann Haute is a take-out kind of place, and has a more streamlined selection. They also have twelve different varieties of macarons; buy a selection and take them to the office Monday morning, a step up from a box of doughnuts.
We checked out the two spots to see how their versions of the crescent-shaped layered flakey pastry stack up. Plain and chocolate versions were procured and “tested.”
La Boulangerie
Pros: Larger pastries, wider variety of fillings, ability to eat in, offers coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice.
Cons: Slightly dry pastry that flakes all over the place with each bite.
Yann’s
Pros: Pastry is buttery and tender.
Cons: Smaller sized pasties, must take out, no other beverage options.
Verdict:
It’s personal preference; is buttery or flakey your thing? Are you taking them home for breakfast or keen to dine out? We think you should check out both places and decide for yourself!
