The French Bakery: Bellevue

The French Bakery in Downtown Bellevue has been on my list of restaurants to try out for a while now. So last Sunday, I finally made my way over to the Elements building in Bellevue with my husband and a friend to check out the popular cafe.

Nicoise salad with green beans, black olives, albacore tuna, minced anchovies, tomatoes and a hard boiled egg drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette

I ordered the Pierre crepe with ham, mushrooms and mozzarella but after trying my friend's Paul crepe, I wish I had ordered the same. The Paul crepe is stuffed with sockeye salmon, tomatoes, sour cream, mozzarella and chives. I love smoked salmon and let me just tell you, after I tried her crepe, I instantly began brainstorming how to whip up my own version at home.

Roasted turkey and havarti panini with cranberry spread

The best part about the restaurant - dessert! We ended up ordering a cheese danish and apple turnover on our way out the door. Actually, I'm not sure if the dessert made it out of the building..

This fresh loaf of bread DID make it out of the building with us.

The French Bakery is located at 909 112th Ave NE, suite 106 in Bellevue.

La Bicyclette: Carmel-by-the-Sea

Carmel is one of those places that I absolutely adore. It's not far enough from Sacramento to really consider a road trip per se, but it's not exactly a quick drive either. However, it is definitely worth sitting in a car for three hours (not to mention, once you get on Highway 1, the view isn't too shabby ;-)). One on-again, off-again overcast afternoon, a group of us arrived in Carmel just in time for lunch. My friend Sulamita convinced us to check out La Bicyclette. She'd been there before a few times, and I remembered her raving about her past experiences. I'm a complete sucker for cute cafes, especially when they are cute French cafes, so I was all in.

It would only make sense for a bicycle to be sitting out front, right?

I love the idea of a chalk wall, especially in a restaurant where patrons can leave behind short messages.

All hands on deck!

Fromage: A tasting of artisan cheeses

Charcuterie: Sweet Coppa, house made salami, La Quercia Speck & wild boar salami (served with pickled onions)

I managed to get a semi-decent action shot of our pizza dough being tossed!

Butternut squash wood-fired pizza with sage, gruyère, speck ham, arugula, and butternut squash puree

Local strawberry & chèvre (goat cheese) salad with honeyed walnuts, wild arugula and frisée served with late harvest Riesling dressing

I can't tell you what this was because we weren't the ones to order it, but I can tell you it looked amazing!

La Bicyclette is located at 29 Dolores St. in Carmel, CA.

L'Albatros: Cleveland

As soon as I stepped into L'Albatros in Cleveland, I knew it was my kind of restaurant. The French restaurant had a swanky, yet very welcoming feel to it. The decor was chic and modern, and I loved the open kitchen near the front entrance. 

A group of four of us went in for a late lunch and not a single complaint about any of the dishes. I had a really tough time making up my mind, but I eventually settled on a delicious risotto dish.

Cute little outdoor patio. 

Grilled salmon.

Risotto with shrimp.

L'Albatros is located at 11401 Bellflower Rd. in Cleveland, OH.