Like most universities or medical centers, parking is sparse. Faculty and staff jockey for position for the privilege of a parking spot in the same city as the office. CWRU is no different. So, it should have been no surprise that as a newbie to campus, I would be assigned lot 46 on the corner of East 118th and Euclid.
The commute from the parking space to my office on foot was literally longer than the commute from my house to the parking lot in my car. At first the long walk seemed like wasted time that could have been better spent replying to e-mails or reading manuscripts. But with each daily hike to and fro, I began to appreciate the beautiful, bearable summer weather and the transformation of an area now known as Uptown.
Uptown is a recent development within the University Circle District emphasizing art and entertainment. Uptown is home to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Cleveland Art Institute. The most visible additions to Uptown are the nice restaurants ranging from a casual tavern to a fun bowling alley to hip dining.
One such fabulous and fun spot in Uptown is Coquette Patisserie. I passed its windows several times during my long walks to and from the parking lot before I actually believed what the signs were advertising---champagne by the glass and oysters! This place I had to try!
And try I have. So far I have only been twice. For the first, I invited a visiting post-doc to have an afternoon dessert and glass of champagne as we discussed the agenda for the next day (Figure 1). The desserts are decadent and French-inspired as you might expect. For the second visit, Mom and I popped in one Sunday afternoon for a glass of champagne. As mentioned in another blog posts, Mom is lactose intolerant, which is not compatible with most French desserts. Luckily that day Coquette was selling sugar fruit squares, and Mom was happy to indulge (Figure 2).
Coquette Patisserie bills itself as a little bit of Paris in Cleveland. Besides the food, the prices are reminiscent of an expensive European vacation. The locals don’t seem to mind, though, and happily line up for brunch. I’m sure I’ll find myself once again in line since I still have yet to try those yummy oysters on the half shell. Tchin tchin!
Figure 1 Le bonbon and fruit tart with champagne.
Figure 2 Sugar fruit squares with champagne. Mom calls the squares dulce de membrillo, but I don’t think these are made of quince.
Update: Coquette Patisserie permanently closed its physical restaurant April 28, 2018.
