With the massive influx of listening to the French band Daft Punk on a everyday basis because of one of my good friends, I have been obligated to be a little more French, and by being a little more French, I mean going to Amandine, in the West L.A. suburbs of Brentwood, conveniently about a 10 minute bike ride away from campus, so us college kids that don’t have a car can get there.

Once you step in the restaurant, you feel like you’ve gone into a small Ethnic enclave, but instead of Chinatown, this could seriously be called Frenchtown.  Upon entering, the rich, sweet, succulent smell of fresh pastries, entered through my stuffy nose,  and tickled my senses. Also,  the rich scent of coffee, emulating like all other Frech cafes were definitely very prevalent.  Other things that were pretty interesting were the interior of the building; it looked like it  could be in France, and the tables and chairs lined up outside. The vibe in the restaurant seemed like more working class individuals, taking a good coffee break on a regular long day in the crazy world of Los Angeles.

As my my senses were being tickled, I felt the obligation of  finally ordering something. Peering into the glass, I saw a pastry called the ” Banana Carmel Danish”, and I must say my mouth started drooling once I saw it- a custard like base with bananas drizzled with caramel sauce over it. Of course, again, I would definitely be obligated to  order even though I thought $3.75 seemed a bit overboard for a pastry. Along with that pastry, I order a generic cup of coffee, so that’s not to amazing.

The coffee was, as I said a cup of coffee. However, the Banana Carmel Danish, was wow…something definitely out of the world. Once I had a small bite, my taste buds were bouncing off the walls. The sweet succulent taste of bananas with fresh new crispy pastry bottom made me go crazy. In addition, the caramel drizzled on the top, topped it off with just the right hint of sweetness.  There was a good medium between the sweetness, not too sweet, and not too bland… just perfect.  Since the pastry was  same day fresh, I would definitely say that made a big difference because you could definitely taste the difference between something you buy at Ralph’s and Amandine.

In conclusion, go here because it’s pretty reasonable for  what you’re getting. go here because you go to to France without the place ticket, go here because pastries are good. just go here and give it a shot!

-Dj Swaggerlicious