Europane Bakery

I was walking around Old Town and decided to try out this bakery. Actually I was craving something savory and unique but didn't feel like paying for a $8 sandwich that I could make at home easily. I ended up getting a jasmine tea and a sea salt caramel macaroon which looked very interesting. In all honesty I didn't expect too much. The tea was good- it's kinda hard to mess up a classic tea like jasmine even in tea bag form. I kinda had a rough afternoon and never got around to eating the macaroon til later in the evening after dinner and oh my- one bite and I felt like I was in heaven! It's true what they say about saving the best for last. The outside was perfectly crispy and inside was a rich creamy wonderfully oozy texture bursting with caramel goodness, with just the right amount of sweetness that at the same time leaves your tongue with the taste of sea salt as though your mouth had just been to the Mediterranean Sea and back during the whole 2 seconds that the macaroon survived in your mouth. Wow! It's been a long time since I've been this impressed with non-Asian desserts and it definitely left me wanting more. I'm going to be thinking about it at work tomorrow...

They have a variety of flavors. Unfortunately I don't remember what they were all called. There was chocolate...and this green one, I think pistachio.

I should have taken a picture of it. I thought about it after the first marvelous bite but shoved the rest into my mouth upon deciding that I must return and get more anyway, so wait til next time for pics.

My complaint would be that it is not a convenient place to park and dash in and out; unless you walk you must pay for parking in the public structures and the Paseo one is right across the street. Second of all it was rather busy with a hectic environment when you're in line. And third of all, I just love it when they ask me "for here or to go" when it is obvious there are no more available indoor seating especially when one man was hogging up a table of like 20 seats. There were however a few tables outside, but it was a cloudy rainy day.

The tea and the macaroon came up to just under $4, which might seem like a wee bit expensive snack, yet it is still cheaper than a Starbuck's Caramel Macchiato and I would much rather have my macaroon with tea and eat it too.