![]() "After, people had to make do with bread-old bread-eggs and milk, so French toast was born," Chi-minh said. ![]() The right ingredients, the right recipe and that's it." Is French toast really French?Ĭhi-minh Pham-dinh, co-owner of Baguette et Chocolat, has been asked by numerous guests if he serves French toast. ![]() "Simple things can be awesome," Chi-minh said. The restaurant offers both French savory crepes ($6.29 to $7.19) and sweet crepes ($3.49 to $5.39). "Everything is made from scratch with French recipes," said Chi-minh, who imports his chocolate and pastry ingredients from France through a Florida company.Ĭhi-minh said the pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant, $2.99) and baguettes ($1.99 to $3.99) are top customer favorites.įor those who have never been to France, Chi-minh recommends the Parisien Brie Sandwich ($7.29), with its French ham, triple-cream brie, tomato, cucumber, olive oil and romaine lettuce. Anne-lise says that the cafe evokes pleasant memories for those guests who have recently traveled to France. The next day, a line of customers formed at 6 or 6:30 a.m., and we didn't open until 7 a.m."Ĭhi-minh credits the success of Baguette et Chocolat to his commitment to the authenticity of French cooking and baking. "A car pulled up and someone knocked on the door asking us what time we were opening. "We opened on a Saturday, and the night before, we were having dinner," Anne-lise said. However, Baguette et Chocolat became a success even before it opened May 15, 2010. "It was scary because Bee Cave was kind of dead then," Chi-minh said. When the Pham-dinh's unlocked the doors of their current location just outside of the Uplands neighborhood, only a bank and dry cleaners were operating out of the small strip center. A close friend told Chi-minh about the West Austin neighborhood's future growth potential. In 2009, Anne-lise and Chi-minh took a chance on a new shopping area in Bee Cave. "It's green, affordable and everyone is nice." "From the drive out of the airport, I fell in love with Austin," Chi-minh said of his first visit to the Lone Star State. The couple ultimately chose Austin as their home. and accepted positions with a French bakery in Colorado. After visiting Austin and Chicago, the two became enamored with America and in 2008, moved to the U.S. ![]() "When I was a little boy in France, my grandmother told me, 'One day you're going to be a cook, a pastry chef.' I realized that I love too much-I had to do it."Ĭhi-minh learned the art of pastry making and French cooking while Anne-lise worked as a lawyer to support the two of them. "I've always loved cooking and being around kitchens," Chi-minh said. In France, cooking and baking are not admirable professions, reserved for students who were not good at school, Chi-minh said.īefore working in the culinary department of a store, Chi-minh spent years at a stressful job as an insurance agent before deciding to follow his lifelong dream of becoming a cook and baker in his own restaurant kitchen, he said. "What I love about this country is that you have the freedom to do what you want," Chi-minh said. Once inside, diners are greeted by French music, colorful sweets and the aroma of fresh brioche, the exact ambience owners Anne-lise and Chi-minh Pham-dinh sought to create when they moved from their native Paris to the U.S. 71 sits an authentic French bakery and pastry cafe-the real thing but without the jet lag. Restaurant offers a slice of Paris in Bee CaveĪt the end of the small Uplands Shopping Center on Bee Caves Road near the intersection of West Hwy.
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