North Shore Boulangerie — Restaurant in Shorewood

**I've only had pastries here, and not the food, so that's all I'm reflecting.

I've been here many times before (pre-covid), and the decor is so pretty. It's great for some coffee with your girlfriends, or for a date with your lover, though some guys may find it too French? but I haven't been here since covid and I'm not sure why I never wrote a review for the place. Their pastries are truly delicious.

About 2 weeks ago, a friend made us a care package with about every pastry they had, and I really liked the plain beignets.

Beignets: The raspberry filled I didn't like, but that's a personal preference - I just don't like fruit jelly in my pastries. any kind. The hazelnut was good, but the plain tasted better. Somehow, the wasn't the same thing with just a hazelnut filling added, but more like two different kinds of pastries altogether. This is also true of their croissants.

Croissants: The plain one is flakier and butteri-er. Even shaped differently. chocolate croissant is shaped more like a rectangular donut. I can't remember what the almond croissant looked like? Bad memory. But one thing I know is that I'm never a big fan of croissants that are rectangular. I like the looking like crescent moons.

Macarons: we got a bunch of different flavors and I liked some more than others, but I can't remember what they all were. You must have these when they are fresh. Do not let them sit for a day. Even a day later they just don't have the same chewyness level. If you're going to do that, get the frozen ones at Trader Joe's. Otherwise, enjoy these right on the spot!

Bombe du nord: Looks beautiful, a chocolate dome with gold flakes. Kinda like a chocolate mousse, very, very rich, but oh so satisfying. I can only eat a quarter piece at a time, it's that rich.

Then there was this long rectangular pastry/dessert that I don't know the name of. It had some gummies fruit layers, some cake laters, some cream layers.? I don't know what it was, but it was so good. I didn't see it the next time we visited. And I don't know why I didn't take pictures of this. It was so goooooood.....

So Saturday morning, we picked up 2 plain beignets and and 2 macarons. Macarons: chocolate - it was very full of chocolate flavor. like, infused. But I didn't like it too much. I could just eat chocolate mousse or something. Oh, I don't know when these were made, but the chocolate one was definitely made before the strawberry one, maybe even a day ahead. Not as soft and chewy, but rather harder and crumbly. strawberry - ok, so I say strawberry, but it may have been another flavor. I can't tell what it was. all I remember is that this one was a piece of the moon. So good. There was just enough hint of fruitiness, chewy amazingness, and even some cream filling surrounding it that just brought everything together. I was sad I...

Espresso 8.4/10 Ice Vanilla Latté 9.0/10 Muscles 9.2/10 French toast 8.8/10

One of the best brunch/breakfast places in the Milwaukee area. The muscles were perfectly cooked and drowned in a tomatoes based sauce that I would have drank straight out of a trough if they had served it in such a way. And the bread that was served with it, a beautiful sponge center to soak up all the juicy goodness with a crunchy crust that balanced the texture without destroying the roof of your mouth. Honesty top three muscles I've ever eaten and I've had them in Michelin star restaurants in France.

The French toast was great and not drowned in high fructose corn syrup, thank the heavens. It was instead served with a generous drizzle of their in house made raspberry spread. The light sweetness of the berries and rich creaminess of the whipped cream paired perfectly with the franch toast.

The secret is out, so if you plan to come on a Sunday or Saturday for brunch, book a reservation.

The owner and Master Baker has a PhD in Yeast biology and studied in France, and buddy does it show in the breads...

I used to love coming here and have been a regular for years. Today, a quiet Monday morning, I stopped by for an americano and quiche and tipped like I always do. It was about 10:30 and the place was empty. I sat in one of the tables by the window. Barista approached me to say that at 11am a woman is coming in and she likes to sit at that table and I’ll need to move at that point. I smiled and said ok, shocked at the absurdity of the statement. I also enjoy this table, which is why I sat there. I’ve lived in NYC most of my adult life and have never seen such VIP table nonsense as this. At 11am the cafe is still mostly empty and I’m still enjoying my coffee. I resolved not to play the game. But then the manager approaches me, offers me a to-go cup and tells me I need to make the table available. After being made to feel so unwelcome, I won’t ever go back. Hope the shorewood VIP enjoyed her lunch, you’ve lost a...