Every Tuesday morning I meet up with C. We do our volunteer work before we have to hit the road for our day jobs. Part of the morning always includes stopping for coffee and a bite to eat. This is where I always order a LATTE and thus resulted in my adventure in the last post.
We usually like to seek out a new place that is quaint and relaxing before we have to multi-task our lives away. What always fits our needs is Amandine's, which is owned by Ryuta Toyshima and has been open since 2003. When we arrive we are shyly greeted by the same two people (Luis and Elice) who are behind the counter in white chefs smocks making your Lattes, delivering to your table, and plating your order. Behind the glass in the back you can see someone frosting their beautiful cakes that will soon be behind the glass to tempt you even more.
I time my visits to when my favorite Amandine pastry is out of the oven, the almond croissant. I don't believe I've ever had something so delicious. The croissant is buttery inside, crunchy on the outside and the sliced almonds are roasted perfectly, this is a comforting treat. I even took one to work and gave it to a coworker. I got an email back in seconds that just said "YUM, what's inside, it's so buttery?"
The fresh fruit on the pinwheel pastry is so tasty and has just enough crunch and butter to put a smile on your face.
They call themselves a European Bakery country style bakery café that features a mouth watering array of freshly baked cakes and pastries, soups, quiche, salads, sandwiches and much more. I have yet to try anything past the brioche, croissants, tarts and scones.
Their Lattes are particularly soothing with the right amount of warm delicious milk and espresso. This just puts you in the right frame of mind to face the LA commute. Every week their Olympia, Washington coffee beans are delivered within 3 days after they’re roasted, which is probably why the coffee is so enticing.
I always get to Amandine's early during the week and the line isn't too bad, but I recently made a trip on a Saturday morning, it's an interesting mix of patrons on the weekend, and the line gets long quite quickly. My favorite place is to sit in the front by the windows next to all the pastries. From here you can study the whole chalkboard menu or decide what pastry you'll try next. Or you how about the croissant aux amandes.
Amandine Cafe
12225 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
