nsxtasy wrote:

windyfoodie wrote:Floriole also makes a decent gateau Basque (no custard or jam inside, alas, but better than the version at Naha), which is difficult to find in Chicago.

Another place that makes gateau Basque is St. Roger Abbey, in Westfield Hawthorn Center in north suburban Vernon Hills (not to be confused with Mundelein ). I like Floriole's better, though.

This place looks interesting. Thanks for the info!

windyfoodie wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:

windyfoodie wrote:Floriole also makes a decent gateau Basque (no custard or jam inside, alas, but better than the version at Naha), which is difficult to find in Chicago.

Another place that makes gateau Basque is St. Roger Abbey, in Westfield Hawthorn Center in north suburban Vernon Hills (not to be confused with Mundelein ). I like Floriole's better, though.

This place looks interesting. Thanks for the info!

St. Roger Abbey discussion on LTH
St. Roger Abbey website

It's okay. The variety is comparable to Floriole, but the quality is variable. I've found hits and misses there, whereas Floriole is consistently excellent throughout their product range.

I like to try different bakeries to see what they're like. I can't even count all the bakeries I've tried around Chicago and its suburbs; it must be at least 50, maybe even 75 or more. Floriole is my favorite bakery and pastry shop in the city. I listed my nine favorites throughout the city and suburbs in this post.

our family were not fond of the canelé, much too dry.

I did appreciate the corn lime cookie.

I'd like to get back and try the kouign amann.

Sweet Willie wrote:our family were not fond of the canelé, much too dry.

I did appreciate the corn lime cookie.

I'd like to get back and try the kouign amann.

Canelé must have been off. I've had a few of theirs and never even close to dry.

BR wrote:

Sweet Willie wrote:our family were not fond of the canelé, much too dry.

I did appreciate the corn lime cookie.

I'd like to get back and try the kouign amann.

Canelé must have been off. I've had a few of theirs and never even close to dry.

With the quality that is talked about on this thread, I assumed as much.

After a couple dry bites, to everyone's plate I added 1/4 cup of wild raspberries we had picked earlier in the day, which helped offset the dryness.

As illustrated here, the Friday-night pizza offering at Floriole is due significant praise. These are distinctive pies worth the effort to track. Artfully constructed like their salads and composed plates, they pop with colors, herbs, oils, and a commendable lightness, while still somehow seeming more baker-ly than the pizza-only joints; there is a gloss and structure to the dough instead of the charred elastic bubbles like at Coalfire, Nella, and my personal favorite Stop 50. I can't figure out exactly what they're doing but admired both examples this first round for me (in great company), the red for its pitch-perfect sauce and the cherry for its novelty and restraint on the sweet (while it could still have easily worked for a dessert with a tea or coffee).

The kouign amann are reliably grand, and I can't over-recommend the flourless hazelnut-chocolate cookies on the counter, which are my more standard order with a coffee when in the neighborhood. Floriole backs up cuteness with substance every visit.

Can you guys talk about the size of the crowd and number of tables there. Is this a place you can walk in on a Friday night or do you need a reservation (do they even take them for small groups)? Did there ever appear to be a wait for a table during the evening? I've been wanting to try their pizza for some time. Thanks!

No idea if this is normal but there were tables available when we all went on Friday night at 6:45. While I was a Floriole fan at GCM, I had never been to their spot and really liked the look of the place - open, bright and airy ... it was charming and I can't wait to go back. Last friday they served a nice tiny selection of wines as well from Vinejoy. Great friendly service and low price - really sweet.

Brad,

It was very easy to make a reservation. We were 8 and it did not fill up while we were there on the 1st floor. They do take walk-ins and Mark mentioned sometimes they have to say no, summer vagaries perhaps.

They also let me pre-order the pies. And bean pre-ordered the kouign aman. I ended up getting Billy Joel tickets that afternoon so I asked that the pizzas be on the table 15 minutes after our reservation and we got them a few moments later on the table.

This was great and I've already asked Sandra Holl to add Saturday nights for pizza as well!

Thanks to both of you for the feedback - much appreciated.

Green City Market had a season-opening party the other night at Lagunitas Brewery and there were a few food offerings, including Parisian sandwiches from Floriole - ham, gruyere, mustard & butter on a baguette. Great ingredients make for a great sandwich, and every component including the baguette was fantastic. This sandwich was every bit as perfect as the ones you'd find in Paris. So I had another . . . and another. Hey, they were cut . . . and not so big. But truth be told, I could've probably eaten a hundred of them. Now I need to get my ass over to Floriole for this seemingly simple, pedestrian and yet incredibly perfect sandwich (and more).

Had a lovely brunch at Floriole on Sunday with my niece. Savory scone for her and apple kouign aman for me to start. Loved the kouign aman! The scone seemed almost cornbread like. The niece had avocado toast; I had the shakshuka. The avocado toast looked great. I was too absorbed in my dish to ask how it was. I took home a chocolate hazelnut cookie to share with Mr. X. I'm surprised it made it home. All in all, it was a delightful visit.

Quiche from today's visit to Floriole was outstanding. I took it to go as I was running errands. Even an hour later, it was still delicious. No photo as it went quickly into my belly. I'm looking forward to the latte cookie for later.