Café Vanille – a Taste of Paris at the Mall
Café Vanille at the Chestnut Hill Shopping Mall – a Parisian “Find” in Boston
Parisian ambience, or as near as you can get to it, is always welcome in a café on the U.S. side of the Atlantic, and we happened upon one today, during a shopping trip to the Chestnut Hill Shopping Mall—one of Boston’s best shopping centers, about a twenty minute drive from the city via Route 9—or accessible by Green Line “T” from Park Street to the Chestnut Hill stop, near the venerable Longwood Cricket Club—Boston’s oldest private tennis club.
After a successful foray to Bloomingdale’s in search of some special event clothes, we discovered “Café Vanille,” on the first floor of this section of the Mall, and were pleasantly surprised at the coziness and the European quality of the patisseries.
First, we noticed the Paris look of the curved coffee bar, upholstered banquette, and the hammered copper top round tables, then the selection of petite French sweets and pastries – from fruit tartlets, to an assortment of croissants and other sweet breads, to bonbons and regular country inn sandwiches on whole grain bread.
The service was friendly and resourceful. When I asked for a special café mocha concoction, though it wasn’t on the café’s regular list of coffee blends, the accommodating café manager, Angela Spike, quickly offered to improvise, instructing the barista on how to blend the ingredients, with a fine froth on top. That, plus the light and flaky chocolate croissant, perfectly satisfied the a.m. chocolate craving as we gloated over our purchases from the morning’s shopping.
The European visitors sitting next to us raved about their hearty sandwiches, the quality of the bread and the perfect salmon salad they had ordered. A touch of the wild west blended unobtrusively with the Continental vibe on one wall at the back of the café, decorated with varicolored tiles in desert hues, and an assortment of cactus plants and rocks.
For a quick snack or a coffee, as well as a shopping break, Café Vanille is one we’ll plan to re-visit whenever we’re in the area. The café has a second location in Boston, at 70 Charles Street, at the base of Beacon Hill, and a third patisserie called “French Memories” on Boston’s “South Shore,” at 459 Washington St., Duxbury.
Bloomingdale’s at this location, incidentally, rates an A+ for women’s and men’s fashion, designer selection and overall quality and variety--the place at the Chestnut Hill Mall to find something special to wear for the all-important occasion—or just for everyday.
- Barbara Sealock
Photo by Paul Keleher
