My cat asked me to write this review.
She relays that the bergamot date tarragon orange tart, that is like a fancy lemon bar not only because of its triangular shape, was delicious. Or in her words, "It was my meow."
As her owner, I might not have had any idea what she was talking about, after finding only the crust left on the table, but cat-breath-germs-be-dashed, I still dared to take a bite of the dregs.
"There are no dregs when baked goods are involved," she purred, encouragingly. And if this is the last review I pen due to some cat-borne illness, then at least you'll have two votes for the quality and allure of their pastries.
Granted, she did not so much as sniff the Valrhona *where does that h go?* chocolate tarte, which means she, at least, will live to see another day. And as to be expected, it was rich and delicious, but by the time you read this, it may be a thing of the past since the menu changes frequently. Don't fret. Anything with chocolate here is good (including the chocolatines aka pains au chocolat).
But what my cat doesn't know about Fournee is that the first thing I ever ate here, two and a half years ago after giving birth to my oldest son and effectively replacing her/demoting her, naturally leading to a series of vengeful acts for the years that followed, the likes of which you can surely surmise from this post, was ACTUALLY the lemon mousseline. A yellow orb, nestled yolk-like in the middle of a praline cake, I think I swooned. I also will never forget the Myers for being the ones to bring it to me in my postpartum haze. Thanks guys.
The Bread Garden, which set the stage for Fournee after decades of baked goods in the Elmwood part of Berkeley, ultimately had to shut down because of the next door competition from Peet's coffee and their newly expanding food and pastry offerings. It doesn't look like Fournee is at any risk of being one-upped by the generic croissants (rubbery looking) that Peet's sells, but don't make the wrong choice. This is the only time I will say anything mildly nonsupportive of Peet's (because I'm a Berkeley peetnik loyalist, even now that they've gone and globalized): get your coffee at Peet's and your eats at Fournee. Of course, Fournee sells out of everything they make, with or without you, me, and my cat, so it may not be your fault if you do end up buying that knockoff pastry out of necessity. But if you are in the area, and in time to grab one of their creations before the 10 people in line behind you do, don't hesitate. Just swipe it. read more