Europane Bakery
I first discovered Europane Bakery while salivating over tasty-looking creations on the picturing_food livejournal community. A picture of an egg salad sandwich had arrested my wandering eyes. The sandwich looked small, but extremely appetizing. After hassling the owner of the photo for a couple of days, I found out which restaurant made the sandwich.
I arrived to find that Europane Bakery had outdoor seating on the street; inside was a short line of people trying to place orders. The line quickly grew to be a lingering snake inside the little bakery. There was a beautifully painted ceramic pitcher of free water balancing itself on a divider. I was impressed with the atmosphere almost immediately. It was hip and a perfect place to have a cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day. Not only that, but tantalizing loaves of bread line the shelves on the wall. I even found a loaf of bread intricately craved into a picture. The only drawback in the ambiance was its limited seating. It was hard to navigate (especially when the line got longer) and it felt as if I could not have a private comfort zone.
I ordered what originally enticed me there--the egg salad sandwich--on wheat, and also a chocolate dessert which caught my eye while I was waiting in line. Since I don't have photos this time around, I'll use my words to describe just how amazing the food was.
While I waited for my sandwich to be made and brought to my table, I dug into the chocolate dessert. It looked kind of like a cupcake, except it wasn't, and was topped with milk chocolate shavings and a raspberry. Honestly, the milk chocolate shavings were probably the best part of the dessert. Although it wasn't dry (but definitely not moist), I was offended by the lack of fudge or any other kind of filling inside the round dessert. I felt that it had too much flour substance, though I won't deny that the quality chocolate taste was evident and that that was the main reason for actually somewhat liking the dessert. Before I go on to rave about the sandwich, I need to say two more things about this dessert: it was more expensive than expected and locating its price prior to buying it was impossible. I could not find its price (nor the prices of the other desserts or the names of this and other desserts) on its display and I certainly couldn't find it on the written menus on the wall.
Let's continue onto the something more spectacular: the sandwich.
When the sandwich was brought to me, I was blown away. In addition to its tomato pesto sauce, and fresh, dark green lettuce, the egg's yolk was just oozing a bright yellow and orange. I will not lie: it looked--and I later discovered it was--delicious. Despite the fact that the actual salad dwarfed my wheat bread slices because the toasted bread was so small, I had no complaints about the sandwich. I could clearly taste the pesto sauce whenever I bit into the bread and the bold taste of egg yolk was rampant. It was so bold that I wondered if any egg white was even used. It was very very good.
My total for this meal came to $12.02, the sandwich being around $6.85, which makes the ambiguously priced dessert to be around $5.00. I would say this is a moderately priced bakery, but the sandwiches seem to be worth every cent, if not more, of their prices. Although I wouldn't suggest eating at the restaurant itself due to its seating arrangements, I do suggest stopping by even for just a cup of coffee. The quality of the food is mostly superb.
Europane
950 E. Colorardo Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 577-1828
Sun 7:00AM to 2:00PM
I arrived to find that Europane Bakery had outdoor seating on the street; inside was a short line of people trying to place orders. The line quickly grew to be a lingering snake inside the little bakery. There was a beautifully painted ceramic pitcher of free water balancing itself on a divider. I was impressed with the atmosphere almost immediately. It was hip and a perfect place to have a cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day. Not only that, but tantalizing loaves of bread line the shelves on the wall. I even found a loaf of bread intricately craved into a picture. The only drawback in the ambiance was its limited seating. It was hard to navigate (especially when the line got longer) and it felt as if I could not have a private comfort zone.
I ordered what originally enticed me there--the egg salad sandwich--on wheat, and also a chocolate dessert which caught my eye while I was waiting in line. Since I don't have photos this time around, I'll use my words to describe just how amazing the food was.
While I waited for my sandwich to be made and brought to my table, I dug into the chocolate dessert. It looked kind of like a cupcake, except it wasn't, and was topped with milk chocolate shavings and a raspberry. Honestly, the milk chocolate shavings were probably the best part of the dessert. Although it wasn't dry (but definitely not moist), I was offended by the lack of fudge or any other kind of filling inside the round dessert. I felt that it had too much flour substance, though I won't deny that the quality chocolate taste was evident and that that was the main reason for actually somewhat liking the dessert. Before I go on to rave about the sandwich, I need to say two more things about this dessert: it was more expensive than expected and locating its price prior to buying it was impossible. I could not find its price (nor the prices of the other desserts or the names of this and other desserts) on its display and I certainly couldn't find it on the written menus on the wall.
Let's continue onto the something more spectacular: the sandwich.
When the sandwich was brought to me, I was blown away. In addition to its tomato pesto sauce, and fresh, dark green lettuce, the egg's yolk was just oozing a bright yellow and orange. I will not lie: it looked--and I later discovered it was--delicious. Despite the fact that the actual salad dwarfed my wheat bread slices because the toasted bread was so small, I had no complaints about the sandwich. I could clearly taste the pesto sauce whenever I bit into the bread and the bold taste of egg yolk was rampant. It was so bold that I wondered if any egg white was even used. It was very very good.
My total for this meal came to $12.02, the sandwich being around $6.85, which makes the ambiguously priced dessert to be around $5.00. I would say this is a moderately priced bakery, but the sandwiches seem to be worth every cent, if not more, of their prices. Although I wouldn't suggest eating at the restaurant itself due to its seating arrangements, I do suggest stopping by even for just a cup of coffee. The quality of the food is mostly superb.
Europane
950 E. Colorardo Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 577-1828
Sun 7:00AM to 2:00PM
