L'Amande French Bakery

Finally, an authetic French bakery in the South Bay area. The bad news is if you expect pastries like mousses, cakes, cream puffs, you are out of luck but it's o.k. because we already have a couple of those in the area. The great news is if you like french bread, croissants, omelette, salads with a french flair, this is the place to go.

Yesterday,I sampled some of their wonderful breads; my favorite was the raisin walnut and the big french rolls. The taste and consistency was that what you would find in a Parisian Bakery. I had it at home with butter and jam.

I found out they open at 7:00 a.m., Hallelujah! I hate bakeries that open late like a bank. So today, after my workout at the gym at 7:15 a.m. I decided to jog to the the bakery (burn a few more calories) which is located in the same parking lot of the 24 Hour Fitness at the Rolling Hills Plaza in Torrance. I ordered a cup of coffee which was strong without being bitter like the ones in France and the raspberry cream cheese croissant. I also ordered the raisin croissant to take home to my husband.

The server brought my raspberry croissant and the raisin croissant on 2 plates. I asked for a bag since the raisin was for my husband. I consumed the raspberry in less than 2 minutes. It was the BEST ever. They apparently make their own jams and that made it really special. The raisin croissant looking lonely on the plate whispered: "Please take me...Now!" So I did. It was very good as well, really flaky and it had a ton of raisins.

I had a long conversation with Ana, the owner. She went to school in Switzerland and later opened a chain of 25 Le Coeur de France bakeries in the Philippines. She and her husband later sold all of them and moved to Palos Verdes in California. Before I left, she introduced me to her very sweet French husband, Goncalo. Make sure you say "Bonjour" the next time you see him.

I will have to go back numerous times and be sure to blog about the other items. There are a few coffee houses in the vicinity. I felt like jogging to each one of them and announcing to the customers to try L'Amande for they not only have great coffee but wonderful breakfast selections unlike the dried up pastries they sell at these coffee houses.

Till then......