Vanille Patisserie

Surprisingly, despite having dozens of positive mentions and having been nominated for esteemed accolades, Vanille has but one very old semi-dedicated thread. It's time to change that, because Vanille Patisserie is a true standout - a diamond in the relative rough of Chicago pastries.

As the title of the linked thread hints, the croissants at Vanille are wonderful. They're very flaky, and they taste powerfully of the high-quality butter used by the talented husband and wife team that owns the bakery. I get frequent cravings for Vanille's croissants and variants like the incredible pain aux raisin.

Last night we brought in an assortment of entremets from Vanille, and they were a justifiably big hit with the crowd.

Assorted Vanille Entremets:


With pastries like this, too often there's an inverse relationship between beauty and taste. Not here, where every one of these tasted as fantastic as it looks. Everyone around the table had their favorites, but the highlight for me was definitely the intensely pucker-worthy lemon tart with light-as-air meringue. All of these shared 3 characteristics: airy texture, intense flavor, and pleasant, tongue-coating richness.

For whatever reason, there seems to be less talk about Vanille than other bakeries around town. It deserves all the praise it gets and more.


Vanille Patisserie
2229 North Clybourn Avenue
(773) 868-4574

The original Vanille location is way out of my way. I'd travelled there to sample the croissants, which deserve their praise, but neve tried their desserts. Now, however, with the new outpost in the French Market, as a commuter I've gotten to sample several of their pastries. I fully agree with your comments that these kinds of items usually look better than they taste, and also agree that Vanille's taste every bit as good a they look.

Jonah

Kenny,

I am delighted that you are doing this. It was on my agenda for 2010. I nominated Vanille for a GNR in 2009, and was planning to do so again in 2010 by starting a dedicated thread. I had intended to take some photos myself.

I wonder if the moderators can bring some of the GNR posts to this thread, so they can all be in one place? (I can't find posts for GNR nominations that are not selected).

Vanille is deserving of LTH love for their pastries and entrements and their commitment to quality.

I am also a long-time fan of Vanille. They made a most beautiful and delicious cake for my wedding in late 2007. We had the most difficult time choosing just 2 flavors, but ultimately went with a double-chocolate and (the showstopper) a brown sugar caramel apple. We boxed the cake and sent it home as favors, and I got so many calls and texts the next day telling me how great the cake was.

Great call on this thread. Somehow I'd missed Vanille until late this year. Best local macaron, especially pistachio. The pastries are really high quality, only a few working at this level locally in French pastry, Peter Yuen comes to mind when he's on, but for consistent well-crafted product Vanille is very hard to beat.

Agreed, this is certainly the best macaroon i've had in chicago, though I do wish they'd do assorted fillings.

MJN wrote:Best local macaron

Better than L20? In either case, I'll definitely have to try it.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

MJN wrote:Best local macaron

Better than L20? In either case, I'll definitely have to try it.

=R=

Much as I love Vanille - no, not even close to the L2O macaron. I like Vanille's macarons just fine, though they're inconsistent, not always at prime freshness, and not - imo - the best representation of what the Patisserie has to offer. (edit: which, I should note, is really saying something. Because I agree with MJN that they're the best local macarons that are readily available through a Chicago retail outlet)

Kennyz wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

MJN wrote:Best local macaron

Better than L20? In either case, I'll definitely have to try it.

=R=

Much as I love Vanille - no, not even close to the L2O macaron. I like Vanille's macarons just fine, though they're inconsistent, not always at prime freshness, and not - imo - the best representation of what the Patisserie has to offer. (edit: which, I should note, is really saying something. Because I agree with MJN that they're the best local macarons that are readily available through a Chicago retail outlet)

I feel exactly the same way. I once bought one of each flavor (about a dozen?) and downed all at once. Not all were of the same texture, strangely, and a couple were not defrosted completely...

Yes, everything Kenny says is true, and generally what I meant, best available at retail. It's not like you can walk in to L20 and take a dozen to go.

MJN wrote:Yes, everything Kenny says is true, and generally what I meant, best available at retail. It's not like you can walk in to L20 and take a dozen to go.

True but if the consensus is that they're not as good as the ones I've already had at L20 -- which seems to be the case -- I feel a lot less compelled to make a special trip.

Thanks,

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

MJN wrote:Yes, everything Kenny says is true, and generally what I meant, best available at retail. It's not like you can walk in to L20 and take a dozen to go.

True but if the consensus is that they're not as good as the ones I've already had at L20 -- which seems to be the case -- I feel a lot less compelled to make a special trip.

Thanks,

=R=

That would be something if the macarons at Vanille measured up to those from L20 because the ones at L20 are about as good as macarons can be.

My thoughts on the macarons at Vanille are a bit mixed. Some of the macarons I've had at Vanille have been excellent, others have been mediocre, largely because they were dried out (probably kept/refrigerated too long) but occasionally because the flavored fillings were a little too subtle for my liking.

MJN wrote:Yes, everything Kenny says is true, and generally what I meant, best available at retail. It's not like you can walk in to L20 and take a dozen to go.

Make a trip to GNR Delightful Pastries instead. Their macarons are consistantly very good and, I'd venture to say, cheaper than those being sold at Vanille.

stevez wrote:

MJN wrote:Yes, everything Kenny says is true, and generally what I meant, best available at retail. It's not like you can walk in to L20 and take a dozen to go.

Make a trip to GNR Delightful Pastries instead. Their macarons are consistantly very good and, I'd venture to say, cheaper than those being sold at Vanille.

I like Delightful Pastries for many things, but - with apologies to Dobra - macarons are not one of them

I was at the original Lawrence Ave location of Delightful Pastries this past Thursday, buying rainbow cookies. While I was there, I also got some of their French macaroons; they were hand-picked from the case, not the ones they also have pre-packaged. As Brad has noted about other places, freshness can be a major issue with French macaroons and this was a perfect example. Some of them were stale and hard; others were properly fresh, with a slightly crispy outer edge but otherwise very tender. Theirs are also a bit bland in flavor. In my numerous visits, the ones I've had at Vanille are much, much better.

In fact, most of the items I've had at Delightful Pastries are pretty darn ordinary, with the rainbow cookies as the sole standout. OTOH I've been very impressed with almost everything I've had at Vanille, including not only their French macaroons, but also their amazing entremets and their croissants. The only reason I haven't posted to this topic until now is that I didn't have anything new to add; Kennyz captured my opinion exactly with his articulate opening post, particularly these parts:

Kennyz wrote:Vanille Patisserie is a true standout - a diamond in the relative rough of Chicago pastries.
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With pastries like this, too often there's an inverse relationship between beauty and taste. Not here, where every one of these tasted as fantastic as it looks.
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For whatever reason, there seems to be less talk about Vanille than other bakeries around town. It deserves all the praise it gets and more.

Well, the inconsistency is the issue, but when they're fresh and on, they're as good as L20.

HI,

Maybe when purchasing macaroons, why not take the approach used at Penguin Argentine ice cream? At Penguin the ice cream made the same day was wonderful. Anything kept longer suffered from their freezer.

Why not ask when the macaroons were made, then select from those made most recently?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Maybe when purchasing macaroons, why not take the approach used at Penguin Argentine ice cream? At Penguin the ice cream made the same day was wonderful. Anything kept longer suffered from their freezer.

Why not ask when the macaroons were made, then select from those made most recently?

Regards,

good advice, but...

Cathy2 wrote:Why not ask when the macaroons were made, then select from those made most recently?

Based on my experience last week at Delightful Pastries, the texture (and, I assume, the day they were made) varied among macaroons displayed on the same tray. There was no way to identify and separate fresher ones from less fresh ones.

nsxtasy wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Why not ask when the macaroons were made, then select from those made most recently?

Based on my experience last week at Delightful Pastries, the texture (and, I assume, the day they were made) varied among macaroons displayed on the same tray. There was no way to identify and separate fresher ones from less fresh ones.

Were these the same flavors, or different flavors on the same tray? It is likely that they bake one flavor per day, so if there were different flavors on the same tray, it might very well be possible for them to tell you which are freshest.

Kennyz wrote:Were these the same flavors, or different flavors on the same tray? It is likely that they bake one flavor per day, so if there were different flavors on the same tray, it might very well be possible for them to tell you which are freshest.

Nope. The ones I bought were all one flavor.

BTW, I was specifically referring to Vanille's inconsistency. That being said, the best thing about these small bakeries is you can always ask which flavors are the freshest. If they're honest and good people, I think they'll steer you in the right direction.

I agree that fresh macarons are better than older ones, there is definitely a noticeable texture difference. However, I still like them even when they're a couple days old.

MJN wrote:BTW, I was specifically referring to Vanille's inconsistency. That being said, the best thing about these small bakeries is you can always ask which flavors are the freshest. If they're honest and good people, I think they'll steer you in the right direction.

But if you visit one of these small family bakeries, and you ask one of the owners for a macaron which is in the case, and the owner then sells you that macaron, as far as I'm concerned the owner is representing that the macaron is fresh and of fine quality. I don't think you have to ask if they're going to serve you a fresh macaron . . . I certainly wouldn't walk into Mado and ask Rob and Allie if they're going to serve me a good meal with quality ingredients.

MJN wrote:BTW, I was specifically referring to Vanille's inconsistency. That being said, the best thing about these small bakeries is you can always ask which flavors are the freshest. If they're honest and good people, I think they'll steer you in the right direction.

Yes, you can always ask. But as I noted in the link above, sometimes the honest and good people will honestly and goodly tell you that they have no idea which are the freshest macarons.

For those looking for an excuse to go to Vanille, they are selling La Galette de Rois through the end of January. We picked one up today and it's outstanding.

Glad people have brought up the issue of inconsistency. My girlfriend and I bought a dozen macarons and 6-7 other desserts last week. We thought the peanut butter tart was excellent, as were the passionfruit tart, lemon meringue tart and the croissants. Everything else, including the extremet vanille was just okay. The macarons and the sacher torte fell below our expectation.

I agree the La Galette de Rois was fantastic. If you find a green bean inside, you will win a box of macarons. When I was at the French market a few Saturdays ago, even though it was not at all busy, the clerk told me that the owners had made four product replacement runs that day. This would sure indicate freshness to me. My husband informs me that it is not my duty to single-handedly keep them in business when he recognizes their lovely boxes!

The almond croissants are good at vanille flaky and chewy all at once with a good filling. They are better than the old french bakery that used to be down the street on Clyborn. (years ago in the strip mall ....there used to be a travel store next to it.... but I forgot the name of the bakery.)

I tried their Chocolate-hazelnut macaron today as well as the Ambre dessert, with a crisp caramel-streusel base, lemon madeleine biscuit and salted caramel cremeux, and loved them both. The Ambre was amazing, I loved the complexity of textures and flavors and it wasn't too sweet at all.