It Just Takes One

One voice, one idea, one person to start something good, and to build the momentum it takes to make something happen. And then one calls another one, and pretty soon, you’ve got eleven…Boulanges that is…coming together to do something big.

When Callie, one of our employees, approached me and told me she was thinking about the situation in Haiti and really wished there was something she could do to help, she had the idea that she could donate a day’s worth of her tips to help in the relief efforts. And then thought, what if the whole team donated a day of their tips? And then what if all of the teams at all of the Boulanges donated a day of their tips….that would be something. So I told her to ask her team….see what they say, and I would help by putting feelers out to the other stores and I’d let her know what kind of feedback I got. I was touched by Callie’s idea and overwhelmed by our staff. I sent an email to managers at each of our stores and throughout the day received calls, texts and replies that yes! The staff was totally into it.

So now we pick a day and go for it….what day should we pick? A day where we’re busy and get a lot of tips! Sunday! Who should we donate to? After a little research, we’ve decided to contribute to Doctors without Borders. Callie likes them because they have been in Haiti for 19 years and know the systems and have some roots established and they need the funds to keep doing the work that is needed so much now that crisis has struck. And to add a little fuel to the fire, La Boulange is going to match what the staff earns that day.

So when you are on your Sunday stroll, recovering from a Saturday in San Francisco, come on in and know that whatever you give the staff that day in thanks for their smile and service, will be doubled and shipped, on the double, to a great cause.

The Twelfth Night...

Most of us have slipped back into the daily grind of things at this point. The new year has started, and everyone has turned over a new leaf…if you need evidence of this, just go to any gym at 5:30 and wait your turn for the elliptical with the rest of us. But for Frenchies and Francophiles alike, today, the Epiphany, is the official close to the holiday season. Traditionally, the Epiphany is intended to celebrate the "shining forth" or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus. The feast is also called Twelfth Day, as it is the twelfth day after Christmas, or Three Kings Day, because as the story goes, it is the day the three kings visited the baby Jesus. And to celebrate this, many tables this evening will be completed by the Galette des Rois, a golden crown of puff pastry filled with almond cream. A tiny feve, or trinket, will be secretly placed inside and the lucky family member who finds this prize will be crowned “king for a day.” And think of all of the fun that this implies. So if you aren’t quite ready to accept the new year and need one more reason to celebrate, or if you just want to try your chances to win the right to rule the roost, and claim control of the remote, then you know where to go to get your very own Galette.

A Month of Resolutions

Kisses at midnight, Auld Lang Syne, black eyed peas for good luck…..and resolutions. I’m not really sure what happened to 2009, but in mere days we’ll be ringing in the new year. And since everyone is thinking about what they want to accomplish in 2010, we came up with a list of ideas…a whole month of them. And we’ll be tweeting them to you daily in January (starting January 2nd). We hope everyone will want to resolve to come in and check out some of these great and delicious deals. Follow us on twitter @laboulange, retweet to all of your friends and look for the buzz words you’ll need to know each day to collect on fun resolutions like these:

Resolve to eat dessert first! Today, purchase one regular entrée (salad or sandwich equal or greater than $8) and we'll give you a slice of our Galette des Rois

Resolve to use less gas! Today, show us your valid muni pass or bus transfer and we’ll give you 10% off your total purchase.

Follow us on twitter!

Impromptu....

‘Tis the season of potlucks and cocktail parties all played to the tune of Chestnuts Roasting. If you are like me, the holiday season kind of showed up out of nowhere. Wasn’t it just summertime? And now there are lights in all of the trees and garland in the windows. Not to be outdone by all of the other party planners in my life, I intend to throw an “ugly Christmas sweater” themed shindig that would blow Martha out of the water. At the Block Party on Hayes, I picked up the perfect little tree, which we’ve trimmed to perfection. We’ve decked our halls and composted the pumpkins that were lingering in the entryway and I have a great playlist of festive tunes. The problem…my calendar is rapidly filling and who has time to cook? Enter my holiday hero….catering.

So, from the comfort of my living room, I peruse the menu online. It looks like La Boulange…..It tastes like La Boulange….but its La Boulange Catering…and alongside some of my favorite pastries and salads are an array of treats and bites that will knock my party-goers’ socks off. The menu of my party, decidedly a little bit more upscale to counteract the bad clothing and “small apartment décor” will be a mix of hors d’oeuvres and specialties:

Petite Gougères
Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Crostini
Brioche Tea Sandwiches
prosciutto and fig

Charcuterie & Cheese
served with organic baguette, Dijon mustard, cornichons and mixed olives
Smoked Trout Salad
Apple, potatoes, avocado, walnut croutons, greens, citrus vinaigrette served with organic bread

French Sweets Basket
An assortment of Chocolate Fondant, Financiers, Madeleines & Canneles de Bordeaux
Dame Blanche
Petite cream puffs filled with whipped cream, topped with course sugar

Trés magnifique, n’est-ce-pas? I click my mouse and complete my order and all of this is delivered to my door, wrapped adorably in super cute packaging and ready to impress my salivating sweatered guests. Rachel Ray…Move out the way.

Let's Celebrate the Season

Thanksgiving: over. Christmas: not here yet. But it’s Friday night and you’re feeling merry. It’s time to channel your inner child and get excited. The shops are all lit up in pretty white lights and we’re feeling festive. Already the place to be, complete with delicious food stops, galleries, design stores and boutiques that would make anyone’s home and closet the envy of all their friends, Hayes Valley is kicking it up a notch to start the holiday season off right with the annual Holiday Block Party. A long running tradition, everyone who’s anyone should come and strut their stuff in trendy Hayes Valley tonight and check out what San Francisco’s perfectly posh have in the way of holiday spirit.

And when the chill in the air gets to be a bit too much, come cozy up in our corner with hot apple cider or a bowl (oh yeah!) of hot chocolate. Listen to some carols and savor the sweets of the season.

Game Day

In the midst of a new store opening, one can imagine the energy, the excitement, the exhaustion that comes along with it. We are in the home stretch before opening our new location in Noe Valley. Yesterday, the construction walls in front of the store came down, revealing the first lavender boulange. The smiling staff has been training all week and every day, new furniture or equipment arrives to get us closer to our Tuesday opening date. So what do you think the highest point of tension in the last weekend before a new store opening might be? Well, this time around, it is the World cup play-off match between Ireland and France.

To appreciate this completely, we’ll need to rewind a bit. As you are certainly aware, the whole of La Boulange is made up of Frenchmen and Francophiles who are clearly rooting for the red and blue. But among us is one lone Irishman, Adrian, who manages our kitchen operations, and over the past few weeks, he’s done a fair share of smack-talking leading into this match. There is a soccer ball in the office above our pine street store that is kicked around regularly and the opposing fans rib each other incessantly. From an outsider’s perspective, I’ve been trying to learn a bit about all of this soccer stuff, and from doing my research, asking other citizens of the world who follow the sport, and listening to the verbal battle in the office, the gist of the situation is this: Whoever wins this match tomorrow, as well as the second leg in Paris on Tuesday, will get to go to South Africa in 2010 to play in the World Cup. And the smack-talking story behind that is that the French team is the better team that did not win enough matches to make it into the World cup based purely on their season, so they must now play in a play-off, and since there are some French heavy-hitters on the FIFA board, they decided to “seed” the teams, ensuring that a “beatable” team, like the Irish, would be put against them, hopefully ensuring victory. I asked my non-French, non-Irish soccer source point blank, “so who’s going to win?”

His response without even pausing to consider, “the French…they’re very good.”

And so, although the Irish are the clear underdogs in tomorrow’s game, if they are anything like Adrian, they might just be scrappy enough to do some damage, or (dare I say it?) even pull off a win…

We’ll be working furiously on the final touches in Noe, no doubt checking in online on the score. And there is a bar just down the block, The Dubliner, where Adrian can celebrate with like-minded individuals (or drown his sorrows) depending on the outcome. Vive la France!

Sliding into Autumn...now we're cooking.

It’s November 4th….which means if you have a sweet tooth like me, then you have already polished off all traces of Halloween candy in fun sized packages. I never have understood the power people possess, who are able to make it last until Christmas or even longer. Strange. But now, with All Hallow’s Eve under our belt, the holiday season is officially kicking off. Bloomingdale’s has had their glittery Christmas trees on display for a couple of weeks now and Union Square will be decked out in no time, no doubt.

With all of this holiday fuss underway, I am sitting in a Boulange, channeling Thanksgiving with a slice of pumpkin crème fraîche tart, appreciating the little autumn chill that crept in this morning after a string of sunny San Francisco days of Indian summer. Although we are French, we absolutely feel thankful each year that we are here in San Francisco and relish making a few traditional items for the holiday table, with our personal embellishments, of course. They are all available for the tasting now, and if you are like me, life seems to spiral into busier and busier days as the holidays approach. My secret? Order early.

Pumpkin and Crème Fraîche Tart
(makes one 9 inch tart)

1 ¼ cups (10 ounces) solid pack pumpkin puree
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 extra large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 chilled, unbaked deep 9-inch tart shell
¼ cup crème fraîche for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Add the eggs, then whisk in the heavy cream until well combined. Pour the filling into the chilled tart shell. Dollop on the crème fraîche and , using a knife, swirl into an attractive design on top of the pumpkin filling.
2. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the filling is set. Cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan. The tart is best at room temperature the day it is baked, but it can be kept, covered and refrigerated up to 3 days.