Marc Heu and Moonflower

Except for one perfect pastry at a night market last year (when it was still a pop-up), I had not made it to Marc Heu yet. I always got going too late, or the line was too wrong, or I had not ordered ahead and they were only doing curbside, or whatever. Let's just say I am so glad to have finally broken that curse and made it there this last weekend!

Basically, the croissants were perfection — which is a lot for me to say, because I am strongly addicted to Bread and Chocolate. We tried a plain chocolate , a chocolate pistachio, and a chocolate almond croissant — all large, and flavorful, and flaky, and fantastic (I should have found a word that means "big" that started with an "F" there...). With the Times and dark coffee, it made for a perfect Sunday morning.

The pastry case looked equally enchanting, maybe even better than when I used to work at Napoleon's. It strongly reminded me of our favorite patisserie in Paris:

It's take-out only, which is just fine! I'll get croissants (or eclairs, or anything else) with you there anytime!

Driving back, I noticed signs for "Moonflower Pizza," a pop-up behind French Hen on Selby that's open Thursday through Sunday nights.

So that evening we walked down to check it out. It's a small, open place set up in the old greenhouse for Fleur de Lis (or whatever it's called now). With a small, open-air space and plenty of gardens, it's got a funky, Madeline Island vibe.

We grabbed a couple of beers ($2 each), and a table on the dog-friendly gravel patio to wait for them to make our pizzas (it's kind of a tiny pizza oven, and it was a busy night). I guess we were not the only ones in on the secret; there were a couple of other tables, and a few cars pulled up for take-out.

The pizzas were fantastic — after all, they are self-described "pizza nerds." A nice size, good sauce, piping hot. I always judge a new place by their cheese pizza, and this definitely made the grade. Patrick's veggie pizza had tons of fresh vegetables on it, without a canned mushroom in sight. 

We'll be back — maybe even we'll bring Brutus and become regulars! (we would meet you there, too...)

Both places were especially great because they were like little vacations, like getting away to other places that we love. Because enjoying a meal with the people I love most, in a new and different place that somehow makes you feel at home right away, is one of the things I miss most about traveling.