Nadoz Euro.Bakery+Cafe

Coronado Ballroom Location

3701 Lindell Blvd.
314.446.6800

The Boulevard Location

#12 The Boulevard St. Louis
314.726.3100


Nadoz By Stefanie Ellis SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH 05/24/2007 You would've thought they left the doors open at the zoo. The day Nadoz, the stylish Euro cafe inside the renovated Coronado residences across from the St. Louis University campus, opened a few years ago, the place was as packed as Noah's Ark. The feeding frenzy that ensued seemed more Euro crazy than Euro cafe. The place was always crowded, and you'd have to wait nearly an entire lunch hour to get your food. After several months, once the staff members finally found their groove, most of them promptly left. The door to Nadoz has revolved several times since. I happen to believe everyone deserves a second chance, especially restaurants that, like the college students who patronize them, have had time to slough off their freshman status. So far, I like the new staff: the perky woman who makes my drinks and shares recipes for making homemade granita, the solemn lady behind the cash register who has an obsession with purse collecting, and the jovial fellow who prepares my food — sometimes singing, always smiling as he calls my name when my order is ready. All of these characters add to my experience, which has taken a turn for the better. The Acropolis crepe ($6.25) was bursting with kalamata olives, wilted spinach, red onions, tomatoes and briny feta cheese. It was all tucked inside a buckwheat crepe whose edges were as crisp as an executive's shirt collar and dense, yet surprisingly airy, in the middle. The acidity of the olives and cheese was cut by the nuttiness of the buckwheat. It was a nice balance. Same goes for the house salad ($5.25): Bibb lettuce mixed with a scant amount of romaine, tossed with a lemony tarragon vinaigrette, red onions, artichoke hearts and Asiago cheese and topped with buttery bread crumbs. It is a simple salad, with complementary ingredients that work well together. Can I say the same for the desserts? I remember a breathtaking voulavent with fruit, moist and airy madeleines, and a handful of desserts that were pretty, but seemed to be missing something. I took a good, long hiatus until the day they began offering a lychee and blood orange parfait. To say I'm slightly obsessed with the succulent and fragrant lychee is a bit of an understatement. That obsession is rivaled only by my love of the maroon-hued blood orange, and to see the two delicately balancing one another's sweet and tart characteristics was a marvel. I'm also a fan of Nadoz's strawberry Napoleon. Composed of a glaze of icing, puff pastry, a layer of whipped cream and strawberries, more pastry, a layer of pastry cream and strawberries, then more flaky pastry, it's one of the best Napoleons I've had this side of France. I haven't been to Tahiti, but the Tahitian Vanilla granita, with its strong notes of espresso (one shot is in the mix), rich half and half base and vanilla powder spiked with a bit of cinnamon, was nice and refreshing. Perfect for a day in the tropics or in an ark.

Nadoz
By Stefanie Ellis
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
05/24/2007

You would've thought they left the doors open at the zoo. The day Nadoz, the stylish Euro cafe inside the renovated Coronado residences across from the St. Louis University campus, opened a few years ago, the place was as packed as Noah's Ark. The feeding frenzy that ensued seemed more Euro crazy than Euro cafe. The place was always crowded, and you'd have to wait nearly an entire lunch hour to get your food. After several months, once the staff members finally found their groove, most of them promptly left. The door to Nadoz has revolved several times since.

I happen to believe everyone deserves a second chance, especially restaurants that, like the college students who patronize them, have had time to slough off their freshman status. So far, I like the new staff: the perky woman who makes my drinks and shares recipes for making homemade granita, the solemn lady behind the cash register who has an obsession with purse collecting, and the jovial fellow who prepares my food — sometimes singing, always smiling as he calls my name when my order is ready. All of these characters add to my experience, which has taken a turn for the better.

The Acropolis crepe ($6.25) was bursting with kalamata olives, wilted spinach, red onions, tomatoes and briny feta cheese. It was all tucked inside a buckwheat crepe whose edges were as crisp as an executive's shirt collar and dense, yet surprisingly airy, in the middle. The acidity of the olives and cheese was cut by the nuttiness of the buckwheat. It was a nice balance.

Same goes for the house salad ($5.25): Bibb lettuce mixed with a scant amount of romaine, tossed with a lemony tarragon vinaigrette, red onions, artichoke hearts and Asiago cheese and topped with buttery bread crumbs. It is a simple salad, with complementary ingredients that work well together.

Can I say the same for the desserts? I remember a breathtaking voulavent with fruit, moist and airy madeleines, and a handful of desserts that were pretty, but seemed to be missing something. I took a good, long hiatus until the day they began offering a lychee and blood orange parfait. To say I'm slightly obsessed with the succulent and fragrant lychee is a bit of an understatement. That obsession is rivaled only by my love of the maroon-hued blood orange, and to see the two delicately balancing one another's sweet and tart characteristics was a marvel.

I'm also a fan of Nadoz's strawberry Napoleon. Composed of a glaze of icing, puff pastry, a layer of whipped cream and strawberries, more pastry, a layer of pastry cream and strawberries, then more flaky pastry, it's one of the best Napoleons I've had this side of France.

I haven't been to Tahiti, but the Tahitian Vanilla granita, with its strong notes of espresso (one shot is in the mix), rich half and half base and vanilla powder spiked with a bit of cinnamon, was nice and refreshing. Perfect for a day in the tropics or in an ark.