Hillsdale has welcomed a new bakery, Le Carre, into town. The French bakery has many traditional French pastries and coffee options to try. Located on 94 Broadway, Le Carre is the perfect place to hang out with friends, catch up on schoolwork, or simply grab a tasty bite.
We tried a variety of delicious pastries, but these are the overall favorites.
Almond Chocolate Croissant: 9/10
The fluffy, flakey croissant was filled with a soft, crushed almond filling and pieces of chocolate. We believe that if it had been slightly toasted, it would have been better and the chocolate would have been melted more.
Churro Cube: 10/10
By far the best thing we tried. It was buttery and flaky like their croissants, but was covered in a shimmering coat of cinnamon sugar.
Opera Cake: 7/10
A delicious portion-sized chocolate and coffee mini cake. It had a strong, sweet chocolate flavor with a coffee flavor that balanced it all out. The Opera Cake was absolutely gorgeous and great for Instagram photos. However, it had a little too much coffee in the cake and some parts were soggy. Even though there was a nice balance of flavors, it was a little too much flavor and a very rich dessert for us.
We tried a variety of fresh and flavorful macarons, all delicious and well made.
Pistachio Macaron: 9/10
It was a delicate, well-baked, nutty cookie with a pistachio flavor that was wonderfully infused into the filling. However, we thought the flavor was not 100% to our liking and could have been improved if they had added more nuttiness.
Nutella Macaron: 8/10
It had a rich chocolate flavor based on the delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread, but we could barely taste the hazelnuts. However, the cookie did not in any way taste artificial, which we thought was very pleasant.
Apple Pie: 6/10
This seasonal flavor was perfect for the autumn season. However, the apple pie macaron tasted a little too much like an artificial green apple for our liking.
Passionfruit Mango: 8.5/10
Tasting this flavor was like being transported into a world of fruit, but it got a mixed review from the group. It packs a powerful, fruity punch the moment you take a bite as if you are on a tropical vacation. Some of the members of the group thought it was a bit too overpowering, almost like a fruit gum. The flavor had a sour aftertaste and was a little bit too tart for some people.
Le Carre is an amazing addition to the community and has a friendly and warm ambiance. There is a good amount of seating, with seating on the floor and a bar-style seating option near the window. The owner of the store as well as the workers are very friendly and accommodating. All of the staff members were very patient with us when deciding what desserts we wanted to try out. They also recommended some bakery items for us to try, and we ended up receiving a free dessert that was paid for because they wanted to help with our reviews!
Overall, although we loved most of the things on the menu, some of the flavors weren’t to our liking. We rate it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
