La Maison du Pain

Unless you were looking for it, you'd probably never notice La Maison du Pain, the little Filipino-owned French bakery near the corner of Pico and La Brea. It's really great though, and something you definitely should look for. I suppose it's a little high priced for a bakery, especially in that neighborhood, but what isn't overpriced these days? I brought some baked goods in for a coworker's birthday and then Chase and I went over one weekend. Both instances were pretty good, but they both cost about $30 and no one was really feeling full afterwards. The best thing I have had from there was the ham and cheese croissant, which I dare say is better than SK's (though about $1.50 more each). It's much better quality ham (black forest ham I believe) paired with gourmet Swiss. The chocolate croissant is also quite good. They have both regular and petite size for many of their baked goods, including the three varieties of quiche. Naturally, I had to try them all so Chase and I split one of the small sizes of each flavor. My favorite was the roasted pepper, but the ham and leek and the spinach quiche were also delicious. The macaroons, which come in coffee, lemon, blackberry, and raspberry, are also quite good. We had the lemon and it was pretty tart. It kind of reminded me of a Lemonhead candy. The brioche was pretty good too, but really rich. La Maison du Pain is also pretty popular for their fresh baked breads, so we tried a Rosemary Epi loaf, which was good, but hard in traditional European fashion. I'd really like to try lunch here as they have croques and tomato basil soup on the lunch menu. One of the restaurant's greatest features is the charm of the physical space. It's full of vibrant colors contrasted by steel tables and chairs and a frosted glass between the common are and the bakery in the back. The workers are generally friendly, though the older workers much more so than the young guy and girl who are there on weekends (it's a true family-owned business and I believe this is the niece and nephew of the owner). Overall, it's a great place to get a quick bite.

http://www.lamaisondupain.net/