Le désamour

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first! Ernestine Ulmer

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“Désamour” is a French word meaning « falling out of love ».
It can happen to anybody, anytime and it just happened to me.

I fell out of love with La Boulange (we are still friends) my oasis in the wilderness of Marin County for many years.

This state of affairs usually happens when you come across somebody or something that looks more attractive than what you are used to.

I was accustomed to go La Boulange (still one the best “snackaria” around) and I never looked anywhere else.
It was convenient and the food was varied and decent.
But since La Boulange is scheduled to close its doors at the end of September, I decided to look for a new breakfast/lunch place.
And when I came across the Rustic Bakery (owned by Carol LeValley) in Larkspur, it was love at first sight.

One morning, upon biting in a ham and cheese croissant I realized that this place’s offerings were superior to those of La Boulange.
I also discovered that the Rustic Bakery bakes its mouth-watering pastries on the premises, and you can tell right away if you are dealing with a stale leftover or a freshly baked delicacy.
As somebody who cut his teeth on croissants, I sure can tell the difference.

All the pastries exposed under glass looked fresh and tantalizing.
If I may use a bawdy analogy, they looked as bewitching as the girls showing their wares in Amsterdam’ Red District windows.

Talking about food… I just heard in a French movie (naturellement) the following line spoken by the leading lady:
“I don’t cook, but in I am good in bed.”
Well then, if you ask me, never mind “boeuf Bourguignon” or “crêpes Suzette”…
But that’s just me…

Excuse my digression…

The prices at the Rustic Bakery are a little higher than at La Boulange, but it is worth it.

My only area of concern is organization.
With at least 10 people working behind the counter, you should not have to wait more than 5 minutes to be taken care of.
But I did. Especially for lunch when there is a long line of people waiting to be served.

The fresh-faced young people working behind the counter seem to be running in all directions at once and bumping into each other without being really effective.
There ought to be a well-defined routine to better serve the customers and so far I don’t see any. This place would greatly benefit from an efficiency expert.
Once they do this, the Rustic Bakery will be ready for prime time.

Otherwise, I still warmly recommend this place, especially for breakfast.
Give it a whirl, you won’t be disappointed.

Alain