Restaurant of the Week: Paris Pastries Cafe

Paris Pastries Cafe, 8220 Haven Ave. (at Foothill), Rancho Cucamonga; open 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily except until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday

I still think of this corner spot in the Chaffey Town Square center as Pei Wei, although it’s been a restaurant or two since the Chinese fusion place left. It’s been Paris Pastries for a couple of years now. I made it in earlier this month for a weekday lunch with a Francophile phriend, er, friend.

My visit was prompted by reader Charlene Comeaux, a regular there, who emailed to tell me the owners moved to Rancho Cucamonga from southern France, are fluent in French and thus serve authentic French cuisine and baked items.

Several of the patio tables were taken, a nice sight, and inside the restaurant was being enjoyed by several more, so maybe Paris Pastries is catching on. Besides the tables and chairs, there’s a sofa, which was occupied and gave a homey touch. The dining room was decorated in pastels, and a long bakery case offered enticements: macaroons, cakes and more. You order at the end.

The menu is short, with a couple of salads, a few sandwiches, quiches, plates and crepes, plus coffee drinks including espresso.

My friend had been here a couple of times before for croissants on weekends but had not had a full meal. He ordered the quiche combo ($11): a spinach and goat cheese quiche, a salad and a drip coffee. He pronounced himself satisfied, if not quite transported to the French countryside.

I got the crispy chicken pasta ($10.49), with fried chicken breast, pasta, cream sauce and mushrooms. This was plenty filling, and the bread pudding I ordered ($4) about finished me off. But I finished it off first.

It’s a cute place and one of the very few spots locally with French cuisine. Mention should also be made of the little corner designed for children, with a small table and chairs, books and play objects. I found it adorable — which I’m mentally saying in the French way.

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Restaurant of the Week: Crepes de Paris, RC

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Crepes de Paris, 7876 Monet Ave. (at South Mainstreet), Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga

This was a pleasant surprise. They sell crepes both savory (entree-style) and sweet (dessert), plus salads, hot and cold sandwiches, French onion soup and coffees. I ordered a chicken-spinach crepe ($9.95) and, while it appears I ended up with a chicken-mushroom crepe, it was large and tasty and, the place being crazy-busy and the staff shorthanded, I had no complaints. There are cheerful French cartoon drawings on the wall. A better-than-average dining option, especially if you’re tired of the same old same-old.

* Update: Evidently my tastes haven’t changed much in three years: Turns out I ordered the exact same thing when I went back in 2011 for photos and lunch. Same price for the chicken-spinach crepe, too. And this time it had spinach.

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