French Imports At La Boulangerie Bakery In Logan Square

The crêpes at Logan Square's new La Boulangerie, spread thin on a wide, round French griddle and stuffed with savory and sweet fillings, are superb (try the ratatouille with goat cheese, $8).

As are the crusty French baguettes ($3.50) and flaky croissants, worth the $20 up front.

But it's the bakery's shelves of French imports that have us most excited. Specifically, sweets from La Mére Poulard, a historic bakery and inn in Normandy.

Confiture de lait ($8)–the French dulce de leche–is a sweet, caramelized milk-and-sugar spread ideal for slathering on cakes and sweet breads, or eating straight from the jar. Pomme Tatin ($6), a pot of caramelized apples like you'd find atop a tarte tatin, is guaranteed to revolutionize your morning toast.

Owner Vincent Colombet (of Cook Au Vin) has stocked La Mére Poulard fig, cherry, apricot and blueberry jams, too, and boxes and tins of their crisp galettes (cookies).

Also fodder for a Gallic pantry boost: Teisseire soda syrups in strawberry, peach and mint ($7 to $9), and a tub of Griottines, France's most famous maker of morello cherries in liqueur.

Of all the recent Logan Square openings, this is the first with a French accent–and we say merci, Monsieur Colombet.

La Boulangerie, 2569 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-358-2569 or cook-au-vin.com/cafe