La Boulangerie

La Boulangerie is a French bakery/cafe that is tucked away in a little corner of Anna Nagar. Opened by a young Frenchman, Alexis de Ducla, it began as a noble NGO. Mr. de Ducla began La Boulangerie to help young adults from underprivileged backgrounds, get a career going by teaching them to bake and manage a bakery. Foodstuff from the bakery was sold to the cafes at Amethyst, the Park hotel, Amma Naana and Maison de Gourmet.

He then opened his own little cafe/bakery. After reading a lot of press about the cafe, we decided to give it a test run. So on Sunday afternoon, we set off there, to have some "coffee and cake".


The ambience is very nice. They have a little outdoor terrace with seating, and in-door furniture (for those not brave enough to weather the Chennai heat). There is a selection of croissants, bagels (yes, the first time I've seen bagels anywhere in Chennai), flavored breads, cakes and pastries.


The less said about the bread, the better! It all sounded very good, but tasted ... disappointing. I sampled a mushroom quiche was "ok". The only thing that was very good was the little tea cakes that came with the cappuccino we ordered.


I think they have a long way to go before their food resembles, in taste, a Parisienne cafe. I wish them good luck - god knows Chennai needs a great bakery/ cafe.

Contact information and address on their website. (the site is under construction, but the basic address and phone numbers are there).

Satsanga

Despite the name, Satsanga is a great little French bistro in Pondicherry. We ventured out there for lunch today (its an easy 2 hour drive along the ECR from Chennai).



The cafe boasts French and Italian food. We stuck to the French. We ordered a mushroom and spinach crepe, some roasted vegetables, chicken in a cream sauce and a chocolate crepe for dessert. The savory crepe was superb - it has been a long time since I had a good crepe after moving back to Chennai, and this was very good. The roasted vegetables were nice but nothing to write home about. My husband loved the chicken and the dessert crepe.



All in all, a very satisfying meal. The staff were pleasant and it was just great to be able to have a cold glass of Foster's at non-five star establishment and really hit the spot this warm afternoon.

13, Bussy Street
Near Law College
Pondicherry Town
Phone: +91-413-224572