Bonjour to all my French food lovers, I have a very special treat for you – Maison Kayser is now open in DC!
Maison Kayser, an authentic artisanal French Boulangerie, meaning that bread and other baked goods are mixed and baked on-site all day long, is now opened at 1345 F St NW. A second location opens on 2/22 at 650 Massachusetts Ave NW. The cafes are divided into two sections: a grab and go which features coffee, salads, sandwiches, and pastries and a sit-down dining room where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch on the weekends! Founded by Eric Kayser in Paris in 1996, Maison Kayser makes you truly feel like an American in Paris without needing to grab your passport.
The light and airy feel of the restaurant is the perfect backdrop to the windows that you let you glimpse into the intense 12-hour bread making process. I sat there marveling the ovens, which can bake thousands of loaves a day, while I stuffed my face with an assortment of sourdough, walnut bread, buckwheat baguette, ancient grain, and cheesy bread. This is a place where “getting full” on the bread basket is actually a very, very good thing.
What’s Inside…
The dining room at Maison Kayser
About that freshly baked bread…
Assortment of fresh-baked breads
We sampled the tartines which are all made with Tourte de Meule, a round sourdough bread that is the ultimate rustic french bread. The salmon on the “tartine saumon fume” is perfect with just a light smokiness. Be sure to also check out the “tartine crabe & avocat” which is served with guacamole, crab, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, and finished off with a dijon vinaigrette. It was pure bliss.
Still hungry? Good because next up we dove right into the entrees including the classic French beef bourguignon. The roasted chicken was juicy and came nicely sauced with a mushroom gravy. The mushroom and kale farfalle pasta was light and tossed gently with oil and seasoning and topped off with a rich pecorino cheese. Last but certainly not least, the beef bourguignon was simply excellent. The short ribs were extremely tender and melted in your mouth. The red wine sauce gave real rich flavor to the beef and the accompanying carrots, onions, mushrooms and potatoes. This is a must order item, you’ll thank me later.
Hope you saved room for dessert because Maison Kayser does not skimp on the sweet stuff and offers a large assortment of pastries in both the cafe and dining room. They were all delicious but a few stand outs include the Mon Amour, a special seasonal offering for Valentine’s Day (I mean can you think of a cuter dessert for your sweetheart?), the fresh apricot and pistachio tart (you can write this off as health food right?), and the adagio, a dark chocolate mousse cake with a passion fruit center.
Assortment of pastriesMon AmourFlourless hazelnut & dark chocolate cake, caramelized hazelnuts & dark chocolate toppingPlie Au Chocolat & Pain Au Chocolat
Au revoir for now Maison Kayser, I’ll be back real soon.
