There's treasure hidden on Main Street! A pirate map of downtown Hendersonville showing secret culinary treasures would have two or three big red "X's". One would be on top of 242 N Main - Picasso's Patisserie and Coffeebar.
While Strolling Main Street this past October, the window display at "tres Panache" art and clothing store was enticing enough that I went in for a browse. The layout of the store is a little odd in that it seems as if it had once been two long narrow stores that were now joined in the front and rear.
Slowly working my way toward the farthest reaches, my eyes focused on wall and floor displays of unusual shoes, bags, clothing and original artwork. Getting the feeling I was running out of store, I came up for a breather and was looking right at a coffee bar and cases of wonderful pastries tucked away in the very back! It was then I realized the nicely decorated, intimate tables for two scattered throughout the store were more than just attractive decor.
Owner Michelle Schumer is the pastry chef creating the absolutely wonderful array of treats. She has a lovely selection of European pastries along with the more traditional cookies, scones, muffins, turnovers, danish and croissants.
Deciding it was time to share this find, I invited my husband and daughter along for this week's drum lesson wait. We ordered a slice of Torta Caprese (chocolate and walnut torte from Capri) ($4.00), Baklava (Greek) ($1.00), a traditional Chocolate Eclair ($2.50) and to be fair to my son we ordered him a Pain au Chocolate (similar to a chocolate croissant) ($2.00) for after the lesson. My husband and I each had medium-roast Peaberry coffee. He had medium ($1.75) and I had small ($1.50). My daughter had a medium hot cocoa with whipped cream ($2.00) which was very rich and tasty.
Everything was delicious. A nice touch was offering the Baklava in a variety of servings. I chose the four smaller squares in a large black paper cup. Each was drizzled with chocolate and easy to handle. Ever taken a bite of a large piece of Baklava only to have honey and nuts squish out the back and sides?
Along with keeping the cases at Picasso's stocked, Ms. Schumer will also bake whole cakes and other desserts for pick-up with advance notice.
Picasso's website is currently under construction, but should be up and running soon. Update 4/4/08 - Picasso's Patisserie and Coffeebar website is live.
Brochures detailing Picasso's offerings are available at the shop for those who would like to keep a comprehensive list of goodies and other information for easy reference.
Picasso's
Patisserie and Coffeebar
242 N Main St
Hendersonville, NC
(828) 694-0907
2 comments:
I recently ate at Picasso's Patisserie (Nov 2008). My food was delicious, but as they're trying to be upscale, they're missing the mark on a few things. At a $30 sit-down lunch for two, they brought my coffee in a styrofoam cup, and my water in a plastic one. Pretty poor for a place with an entirely separate specialty coffee menu. And to top it off: a $0.25 charge for the water. Come on, Picasso's. You are pricey and your food is good -- go the whole way and dare to be a classy place to eat.
Hi nc girl,
If you get a chance, and are interested, I've just published (12/8 - motivated by your comment) an article on why some Hendersonville restaurants choose to (or must) use plastic.
Regarding the $30 meal and .25 charge for water - I did the following exercises:
1.AVERAGED all of Picasso's entrees, including salads, added coffee ($1.50), a $2.00 dessert (some are $4.00),(no water charge- I forgot) tax and tip and came up with a $15.00 meal for one.
2.Here’s a SPECIFIC example
--Chef Salade - $7.95 (reasonable)
--Coffee - $1.50 (specialty coffee/latte is more)
--Water - .25
--Dessert - $2.00 (very reasonable)
--Tax - .82
--Tip - $2.34 (20%)
--TOTAL - $14.86
3.Then I went back and looked at my latest receipt for lunch at Picasso's, at which I had a $4.00 dessert and my meal totalled $15.00.
So, your statement that a sit-down meal for two cost $30.00 was right on.
As for the .25 charge for water. I think it's ridiculous. When you purchase plastic cups wholesale by the 1000's, they cost pennies (I've done it) apiece. Picasso's owners would be better served by incorporating that cost into their food charges if they feel the need. Irritating customers over .25 is not good business. No one likes paying for water.
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