A Concord Pastor Comments: Pain D'Avignon

Photo by Pain D'Avignon

A post for those who enjoy reading about my vacation dining...

A great dinner last night at Pain D'Avignon: a bread company/cafe/boulangerie in Hyannis, off Route 132, tucked down a service road behind Friendly's! Be sure to read the history of this fine little restaurant here.

My dinner began with a ceviche of striped bass. The fish was almost melt-in-your mouth tender, seasoned lightly to complement and not compete with the bass, and crowned with frisée.

The mozzarella for insalata caprese is usually sliced before it's plated but here the semi-soft cheese arrived in its full form atop a bed of heirloom cherry tomatoes. The mozzarella was very good and certainly homemade but especially in mid-August, I'd have preferred some healthy slices of native tomatoes.

My entrée was a generous portion of seared tuna, generously sprinkled with small chunks of tomato atop a thick slice of Pain D'Avignon's famous bread. Unfortunately, the tuna was cooked past searing but was good nonetheless. The bread was certainly hearty enough to provide a base for the fish and tomatoes and I especially liked the dark crust which added a textual contrast to the rest.

Dessert was a classic crème brûlée, the custard as light as one might hope for and the carmelizing just the way I like it: easy on both the sugar and the torch. The cappuccino might have been hotter but it still provided a worthy accompaniment to the end of dinner.

A few quibbles here but a fine evening of dining in a spot I highly recommend. (At this time of the year you'll need to make a reservation.)

It's a custom at Pain D'Avignon to send the diner home with a loaf of bread fresh from the bakery - a very nice custom!