JEDDAH, 5 June — It’s almost perfect! It’s been around for approximately eight years and it’s filled with many happy memories. La Baguette is a place I’ve visited so many times it’s not even funny.
I used to go at least once every fortnight with my friends during my college years. Ah those were the days! Happiness meant missing lectures, postponing tests and eating those scrumptious waffles with whipped cream, syrup and extra hot chocolate sauce.
But that was then, and this is now. As you know, college days are over; now I face different kinds of tests, which can’t possibly be postponed and the yummy waffles are no longer available at good old La Baguette.
Apparently, the guy in charge refuses to replace the broken waffle maker (hint, hint). One of the waiters told me that there have been many complaints from the customers so why don’t they listen? Then again, the place is filled with many other delicacies.
As you enter the realm of what seems to be a French bakery and patisserie, you feel taken by the counter displays of cookies, cakes, croissants, muffins and salteens. They even have a cone zone filled with interesting ice cream flavors.
Naturally they have fresh warm baguettes. They are so good you could just eat them plain. You would be doing yourself a favor though, if you decided to eat them with some jam and butter.
La Baguette also makes wonderful decorated cakes for special occasions. They have coffeecake, vanilla, chocolate and chocolate mousse flavors.
As you make your way upstairs to the family section, you’ll notice a lovely print on the wall accompanied by some cute plants. When you sit at your table, you enjoy a pleasant atmosphere. Although it’s not too spacious, the balcony gives the place an airy feeling. You don’t feel cooped up and imprisoned there. The decor has straw outlining the windows along with some wooden birdhouses on top. It’s adorable!
It’s a place where you can have breakfast, lunch, dinner or just tea and a snack. For breakfast, you can have French toast or fresh fruit. You can even have an oriental omlette, cheese or chocolate crepes, croissants or eggs any style. And now for the pancake section along with my pancake story.
They have them all or so they say. There’s pancake William topped with grilled almonds and pear slices, pancake Georgette served with pineapple and sugar; they even have chocolate pancake, orange pancake, jam and natural pancake.
I personally ordered the wonderful gourmet pancake and with it my story begins. It’s served with fresh strawberries, sugar and cream. Doesn’t it sound grand? I thought so too.
I love strawberries; they’re my favorite fruit, and so you can imagine both my surprise and disappointment when I got apple instead. By the way, I dislike apples — to put it lightly. Haven’t they heard the saying “You can’t mix apples and oranges”? That goes for all fruit. You can’t mix apples and succulent strawberries. it’s just not done. I almost had a coronary. “Where are my strawberry pancakes?” I demanded some explanation.
“We are out of strawberries,” the waiter said. I was astonished. Why wasn’t I informed before? And furthermore, who eats pancake with apples? He said that many customers liked them so I told him that I wasn’t one of them. Luckily they had my tuna sandwich to soothe my pain. That concludes the pancake story. I can’t even look at a pancake in the same way to this day.
Anyway, the tuna was great. They also have club sandwiches, chicken, turkey, salami, roastbeef, toasted cheese and smoked salmon with cream cheese.
For lunch or dinner, you can have the soup of the day, French onion soup or vegetable soup. As for appetizers, try the calamari pane or the mozzarella sticks. I wasn’t crazy about the onion rings with blue cheese dip.
For salads, I recommend the chicken and the shrimp. For the main dishes, there’s the sirloin de boeuf champignon, which is beef with mushroom sauce.
There’s also beef stroganoff, chicken with mushroom and vegetables and French crepes with chicken, mushroom and mozzarella cheese. It seems they’re really big on mushrooms.
They also serve, poisson hammour au vapuer and fried shrimps with garlic and lemon — mmmm.
As for beverages, they have everything from fresh juices to cocktails to coffee. In fairness, La baguette has food that is satisfying and savory.
The prices are reasonable and the service is friendly. Like I said, ALMOST perfect.
La Baguette is on Jeddah’s Hail Street at the Fakhry Center.
