Good things can take time, but man, David Carbonell has been waiting to open his North Beach bakery for more than a year, weaving his way through a quagmire of city permits and more. And now he’s about to open. Exhallllinnnnnggggggg. When we first reported on the project, it had a different name, and fortunately he decided to go with something a bit easier to remember: LE CHAT ROUGE.
The name is inspired by le pain du chat rouge, meaning “the bread of the red cat,” from a recipe that is more than 300 years old, which will be on offer. There will be an array of viennoiserie, including a frangipane almond croissant, chocolate twist, hazelnut roulé, and breads, including baguettes and pain pochon sarrasin (buckwheat bread). There will be madeleines made with baratte butter from Normandy, and macarons too. He is very committed to it being a very French bakery, with almost all of the ingredients imported from France.
The space has a rustic look, full of woods and vintage touches, including old bikes and more. The grand opening is scheduled for this Saturday May 21st. Hours will be Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, Sat-Sun 9am-7pm. 1314 Grant Ave. at Vallejo.
Look for the red building and you will find Le Chat Rouge. Photo courtesy of David Carbonell.
