Foodie Finds: Floriole’s Savory Galette

By Melissa Wiley in Food on Aug 30, 2012 6:00PM

The savory galette is the superhero of pastry products. No, it doesn’t wear a cape, but it doesn’t have to—for one thing, flying food just doesn’t need to happen. Proving every bit as omnipotent as a pastry needs to be, however, the savory galette is filling enough for a light lunch, light enough for a hearty nibble, unsparing on the vegetables and fresh cheese, and sweet around the edges. For our purposes, it meets every gustatory impulse in one (maybe two or three) delectable bites. And it's only $5.50 at Floriole.

For the few of you not au fait with Floriole Café and Bakery, this rustic pastry paradise rivals many a deity, including the venerable Jon Bon Jovi and his philanthropic Soul Kitchen, for its dispensation of all-out goodness and plenty. That’s assuming, of course, that you’re partial to the freshest in organic French pastries, sandwiches, and salads. A Lincoln Park culinary landmark and Green City Market veteran, Floriole and its elevated peasant fare can’t fail to please your palate.

The Floriole menu adapts gracefully to the seasons, with the chefs deriving fresh inspiration from the vegetables and produce au courant and the galette fillings following suit. The latest we’ve tried on the evolving menu was filled with tomatoes and goat cheese and ensconced in a flaky, buttery dough pinched in spinny pinwheel fashion. In truth, this staple French pastry couldn’t be simpler, meaning we should in theory be able to make one just as tasty ourselves at home. But why tamper with superhuman baking when it’s so manifestly there for the offing in Lincoln Park? Vive la galette!

Floriole is located at 1220 W. Webster.