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Holy Smokes! New French Bakery A Parisian Delight

Dinner & A Movie

Since my return from Paris, my heart has ached for a baguette; I dream of croissants and French press coffee; and I long for a macron.

You could color me dazzled when I stumbled across Pardon My French, a new bistro in Grover Beach that has all the elements of a Parisian café.

Owners, Lalo and Jamie Tejeda bought the Lickety Split Bakery in May 2016. They are as kind as they are talented. They still offer the wonderful cupcakes that Jan before them specialized in and have expanded to some very tasty French pastries.

I started with a croissant prosciutto and Gruyere breakfast sandwich and a pot of French press coffee. I was instantly transformed back to the streets of Paris. I took home for the pastry king, six macrons in a rose and pineapple-coconut flavor.

French macrons are not the lumpy coconut goodies you find in other bakeries, these subtly delicious items are light sandwich pastry with a filling in between, the upscale Oreo, the delicate, sweet cookie.

A macron is a sweet, meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring.

The baker, Lalo, grew up helping in his parent’s Lompoc deli and always had a passion for baking. He pursued that desire by attending Le Cordon Bleu in Minnesota, specializing in pastries. Lalo has worked extensively at exclusive resorts creating pastries and desserts. He comes from a family of bakers and is thrilled to work in his own bakery now.

On my second visit, I needed an afternoon pick up and tried the delectable salted caramel chocolate tart. Holy smokes! It was the perfect blend of sweet and salty and I took another home for an evening snack.

The smiling girl at the front helping you is Jamie, who has a degree from Cal Poly specializing in hospitality and event planning. She has been in the wine and food industry for 14 years and always dreamed of owning a coffee and pastry shop where people could come and relax, do their homework, read a book, or enjoy friends.

I came back with my Grands and they were thrilled. Izic tried coffee cake for the first time (after we convinced him it was meant to drink with coffee not taste like coffee) and Izabell had a peanut butter cookie and blueberry scone. Jamie brought out small bottles of milk and paper straws for the kids.

Then we dove into a French baguette, which is the best one I have found on this side of the pond. I took one home for dinner and a Mousse Bombe for Gary. I had the breakfast croissant with bacon and cheddar this time. This will be my new breakfast habit.

On their 1-year anniversary of owning Lickety Split, they changed the name to Pardon My French Bakery to make it their own and upgraded the menu to showcase more of a French cuisine.

Pardon My French Bakery currently specializes in pastries, gourmet cupcakes, special event cakes and weddings. They will accommodate most special requests with advanced notice. There’s a happy hour (Thursdays-Tuesdays) from 5-6 p.m. Enjoy $1 off select display items when you mention happy hour.

I am a fan and as I write this I am planning to drive over there for a afternoon treat of hot tea and a Financier (a light and moist small cake that contains almond flour, crushed or ground almonds. The distinctive feature of the recipe is beurre noisette (brown butter/hazelnut butter). Other ingredients include egg whites, and flour.

Pardon My French is open Thursday through Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Wednesdays. You can call them at (805) 481-3255, located at 1544 West Grand Ave., in Grover Beach.

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