You Asked For It – PB Boulangerie

Judging by the number of yelp reviews and people searching for it, the PB Boulangerie is one of the cape’s more storied eateries. I vacillated about whether to post a review at all, but decided that since my experience was mostly positive I could add depth to some of the gushing yelp reviews by managing expectations and supplying some caveats.

Let’s get the positives out of the way first – and the positives are substantial. The croissants are the best I’ve ever tasted.

The baked goods are at the level you’d expect from a master French chef. The baguette upon which we enjoyed a turkey club sandwich was flakey and crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. The ginger apple bread we bought and are continuing to enjoy us exceptional.

Let me also say this review pertains only to breakfast, as the entire operation changes for dinner.

For breakfast, however, the Boulangerie is essentially a glorified version of Zabar’s on New York’s upper west side – one with at least triple the wait time. A single waiter would solve the issue – a small handful of patrons wait in line for more that 40 minutes to order at the counter while an entire dining room sits empty – but the restaurant appears unwilling to hire one.

Spend enough time there and a disquieting picture emerges – the Boulangerie’s selling point is its pastries, it has a bottomless supply of European tourists apparently looking for exactly the same experience in America they could have at home less the cost of international airfare, and details above and beyond the most basic of service – haphazardly assembling orders after many reminders – are apparently not of concern to the owners.

It would be on-par with many-a-soho bakery, but here on the cape, where standards seem higher, the Boulangerie’s inattention to detail is all the more exceptional.

Recommended, but not our favorite.