Investigating the Menu: Roux & Loucia
There's a many places in Dubuque that it'd describe as beautiful. After trying Roux & Lucia for the first time, it has now joined that list.
Refresher!
Chocolate Chip Muffin + Ham and Gruyere Croissant
Roux & Lucia is a quaint bakery on Bryant St, across from the school that shares the same name as the street. It's been on my watchlist for a while, but I haven't had a chance to stop by. I saw they had recently added ice cream to their menu and were working on opening an eatery so I thought I'd try it out.
I did not know their parking lot had 9 parking spots. My car eats curbs for breakfast and so the Roux & Lucia employees may have watched me struggle a bit. Turns out I entered on the wrong side. I need to mention that this is out of Roux's control and moreso on the odd patch of property. It's on the "corner" of South Grandview and Bryant. Corner is a generous word for this acute angle they were given to put a shop on.
The inside was equally as compact. A large metal shelf and a very nice employee greet you when you enter. Adorable ice cream counter to the right, main baked good counter to your left. It was a large room, with a kitchen behind the metal shelf. It was pretty interesting to see what was happening back there. I was more distracted by the shelf of goodies in front of me. Small containers of candies, fancy olive oils, and even some baking utensils. As a foodie, I can appreciate a fancy collection of kitchen items.
Here's what I ordered and my thoughts:
- Refresher
I love a iced fruity beverage. Hard not to love them. This one was exceptional, though.
You get the option of having it with water or lemonade for an extra dollar. Obviously I got the lemonade. It's like having hot coco with water, it's better to go all out. They also had the option to include boba, which I also took because I love those fruit boba things. They're like an edible version of those beads you put in water and they expand. We've all wanted to try those, don't try to lie to me.
As for the drink, it was very good. It's incredibly refreshing, as the name suggests. Didn't feel as overloaded with sugar like other drinks, which I can appreciate. Even as a sugar addict, I need a break from hyper sweet drinks. This is a nice reprieve.
- S'mores Mocha
Now I know I don't usually order coffee but this drink looked too good to pass up on. I believe I ordered it incorrectly, however. I saw on their Instagram, a beautiful photo of a chocolatey drink with marshmallows on top. I had to have it. Coffee orders always allude me, I don't know what half of the options are and I could not tell you the difference between a latte and a mocha. There must have been a malfunction between my brain and mouth because I ended up with a iced s'mores drink with sadly no marshmallows. There was something called cold foam on top, which I assume is a whip of some sort. When the staff member making my drink asked if I wanted any, I said sure. My mother loves it in her coffee, so it had to be good.
The cold foam actually was very good. Fluffy and pleasant in combination with the drink. I've ordered a good few mochas before but this was my first time having an iced one. It was incredible. The espresso flavor was on the back burner and there was a faint marshmallow taste that I enjoyed. I understand that, logistically, marshmallows probably wouldn't work well in a cold drink, so I'm not too upset with their absence. Hopefully next time, I'll learn how to order coffee. Still got a very nice drink out of it.
- Ham and Gruyere Croissant
The very nice staff member who helped me said that this is one of their favorites. My thoughts? I think that I need to stop this review right here and get another one. Maybe a dozen, who knows? It's truly incredible.
It's a large croissant with ham and gruyere cheese delicately wrapped into the rolls of the flaky pastry. I believe it's also topped with everything bagel seasoning but I may be incorrect. Seasoning identification is not my strongest.
Dear readers, when I bit into this pastry, it had the worlds most satisfying crunch. As satisfying as the crunch of leaves under your shoe in the fall. My partner even commented on how good the sound was.
The flavors were just as delightful as the texture. Nothing about it felt like supermarket deli quality. I'm a lover of all things ham so I could tell this wasn't cheap lunch meat. The ham was wonderful, but paired with the cheese, it was amazing. I'm not familiar with gruyere but I could taste a difference from regular cheeses. Nothing too crazy from what I'm used to, no crazy smells coming from this delight. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a savory treat.
- Chocolate Chip Muffin
This might be the best muffin I've tried here in town yet. It's very familiar feeling and I can't quite place it. The texture is immaculate and where I think the familiarity stems from. Nice and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Reminiscent of homemade muffins fresh out of the oven. They don't skimp on the chocolate chips either, this things full of them. It's almost beautiful in a way. The taste is just as good as the texture, not too sweet, just right.
- Carrot Cake Muffin
This is the only menu item I wasn't a huge fan of. It's your classic carrot cake muffin with some cream cheese frosting. I love carrot cake, but it felt a bit more carrot than cake. At least to the degree I'm not familiar with. Typically, they try to make you forget about the carrots in this treat, but I can't say I hated the ratio. It took a few bites to come around to, but I actually enjoyed it. It's a nice little muffin if you're not big on chocolate.
The cream cheese frosting however, not my favorite. I'm not huge on frosting so take this with a grain of salt, stuff's just too much sweet for me. This frosting tasted a bit sour, though. Maybe the flavor profile wasn't configuring in my brain correctly but I mostly ate around it. As a frosting avoider, I can appreciate the normal amount of it on this treat. Easy to take or leave.
- Chocolate Chip Cookie
A classic so you know I had to see their take on it. I was not let down. Soft and chocolatey, almost melting in your mouth. The texture was similar to that of the Muffin Top from Panera. Huge fan of that treat and same for this one. Both their regular chocolate chip and the chocolate chocolate chip were really solid.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Roux & Lucia is a gem. No questions about that. Everything I had there felt high quality. Nothing was too sweet or overpowering, just delightful. Customer service is great, the prices are reasonable for the quality, and their eats are incredible.
There's a lot of potential in Roux & Lucia and their future ventures. They're working on opening a café nearby and the building looks gorgeous so far. I can't wait to go when it opens. Based on everything I've seen, I bet they're going to knock it out of the park.
THE RATING:
Space: 7/10
Price: 9/10
Service: 10/10
Drinks: 10/10
Food: 9/10
FINAL RATING: 9/10
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