La Boite Café

I am SICK! Absolutely SICKENED!
To hear that my MOST wonderful La Boîte is going to be leaving NOVEMBER 17^th. I have made a personal vow to not let that date pass without stopping by and grabbing whatever I can.
I just hope that when I surface from a macaron induced coma, and splash some Lavender Lemonade on my face, that it will all turn out to be a bad dream.

This is a critical review but I didn’t want to bring down the ratings because I genuinely like this place. We purchased the meal special: baguette sandwich, coffee and one macaron for $ 8.50. We then purchased an additional 4 macaroons to try all the flavors.
Baguette was a goat cheese, red pepper, arugula something. Very flavorful and delicious. I would definitely get this again for a simple lunch. Very authentically French (husband is French), a soft bread — not toasted — full of a olive oil garlic and just the right balance.
My main critique are the macarons. My comments are mainly so that they are take client’s opinions constructively. Way. Too. Sweet :/​We took the chocolate pistachio, ginger pear, salted caramel and blood orange.
Chocolate pistachio: Absolutely NO pistachio flavor. We might as well have ordered a chocolate fudge with a side of green crispy texture (the macaron). They should do one pistachio, then one chocolate. No mixing. The chocolate is good but takes over any pistachio flavor. If we expect a particular flavor combination, we want to taste it all of it.
Ginger pear: huh? No ginger, no pear. All we tasted was sugar.
Blood orange: Very very orange.good. But it almost could have been one of those sugar orange candies you get on Halloween. Again too sweet.
Salted caramel (fleur de lys) — Their saving grace. This was amazing. We ordered more of this to go.
All in all, I would go here again… give the macarons another chance…
Just please oh please, ease up on the sugar. Seriously.

Where else can you get a deliciously authentic croissant at 8AM on a Sunday morning in South Austin? I sometimes forget about La Boîte even though it’s so close, but it really is a great spot.
The almond croissant is so freaking delicious that I took a break from my very recent foray into a no-​carb, low sugar diet just to eat the deliciousness that is La Boîte’s almond croissant. (Darn you and your airy, crisp, fluffy, almondy goodness!)
I also had the strawberry macaron, and it was definitely the best macaron I’ve had in awhile. (It also helped that I was distracted so much by my croissant that I was forced to wait the requisite amount of «room-​temperaturizing» time before I tried to eat the macaron. That’s my biggest problem with the things.)
If I could, I’d do 4.5 stars, cuz it IS kind of expensive – I think I spent over $ 10 on an americano, an almond croissant, and a macaron – but sometimes you just have to treat yourself to something tasty, and I’ll give the stars a bump for fast and friendly service. :)
And for how early it’s open! Nothing like enjoying a nice, light Sunday breakfast, while taking in the serenity of a silent South Lamar.

This place is Austin.
Upcycled shipping container building, colorful outdoor seating, organic espresso drinks and uniquely flavored french macaroons that seriously rival Paris. Lavender is the best!
Situated on the grassy lawn in front of Yoga Yoga on S. Lamar, this place is perfect for breakfast, light lunch and especially afternoon snacks. Sometimes new places, and food trailers especially, have kinks to work out, but this place really is the picture of south Austin serenity.

Went here a year or so ago, upon a friends insistence for getting some breakfast, that wasn’t just cereal and milk and fruit.
Well I was in for a treat.
The person working (who I think was the owner… maybe not) was very nice and helped us select some delicious croissants and the coffee was amazing.
It was spring so sitting outside was very nice, and all in all it was a morning well spent.

Cute trailer for a nice day outside. The trailer is a walk in trailer, really unique from other Austin trailers. The CAPRESE SANDWICH is delicious and refreshing! My boyfriend got a sandwich that had a Fig spread, you wouldn’t think it would work, but it all came together as you take a bite, everything makes sense in your mouth!
There are a few small tables right outside the trailer, but there is a lot of grassy areas for kids to run around.

First time I had some macaroons here, it was good, lots of variety but it goes quick and no refills… so if it’s gone it’s gone…(nothing compared to NYC) and the coffee/​drinks were alright… nothing great…
Apparently looking at all the other reviews I tried the wrong things… I guess I’ll be back to try something else… and might edit my review!
Thanks for reading!

I almost could not find it. I was looking through all the stores along the plaza, but missing the huge blind spot in the middle. The trailer-​like place itself was very small on the inside, but there are chairs set up in the surrounding area for lounging and enjoying the baked goods.
The chocolate croissant had pretty good chocolate. The almond croissant had a lot of almonds on top, but I kinda wished there would be more almond paste on the inside. It was a bit harder/​crunchier and denser than I would have expected.
There is a good variety of French macarons. I got blueberry, lavender, chocolate pistachio, coconut, and fleur de sel. Perhaps it was because I did not eat them right away… the outsides crystallized a bit more than I would have liked, and didn’t have that slight chew to them. The buttercream fillings mostly tasted the same, and the flavors did not come through as much except for a few of the stronger ones. They did look extremely vibrant and pretty though.
Thinking back, I wish I did eat all the baked goods as soon as I got them, and wish I got to try their sandwiches. But I didn’t, so it is a 3.5 stars rounded down to a 3.

After a spicy crêpe at Flip Happy, Unilocal steered me here in search of iced green tea. That they had, tropical-​esque. Then I noticed a rainbow of macarons. I have had scrumptious macarons in Vegas and LA, but these flavors were neat. I bought 2 green tea and 1 chocolate chipotle.
The green tea filling tasted like BUTTER. Not sweetened butter, or green tea butter, but just butter… and when I took a bite, the dark green gave away to a hunk of butter… shocker. I put the other 2 in the fridge after spitting this out and thought it was a bad one — so later on in the day I decided to try the other green tea one. Sure enough — just nasty butter flavor. This was really disappointing. I took a bite of the choc chipotle but my taste buds were overrun with butter so I think any flavor got rejected. I suppose the tea is okay but I do not see a reason to make the special trip here for a pastry unless you are Paula Deen and read green eggs and ham a lot… euw!

Munching on a scrumptious chocolate stuffed croissant and sipping a refreshing iced latte, while sitting in the sun chatting with my fascinating friend, transported me to Paris.
Across the street, B&M Transmissions became «Bön Moi Temps Bistro».
The telephone pole down the road became the Eiffel Tower.
To further enhance the Parisian experience, a handsome white standard French poodle came over to commune with us.
Magic happens here.

Their macaroons are amazing!
I crave it a lot.
Their pastry’s are good, and their trailer and interior is cute.
But definitely not recommended to go in big groups. Not enough seating.

We came for the parisian macaroons which were delicious. We bought a dozen and took them (in a cooler) to a family members house.
The coffee is excellent, too.
It is very easy to miss-it’s in a shipping container of South Lamar in the same shopping center as YogaYoga (if you know where that is). If you aren’t looking you will miss it.
It has a few chairs outside but don’t expect a sit down coffee place.

For the past few days I’ve had this obnoxious craving for a pain au chocolat that just wouldn’t go away. I finally decided to lay this to rest and headed straight to La Patisserie on Annie St. only to find it closed on Easter. Poop! Thanks to my Unilocal app, I was able to locate La Boîte Café just 2 miles away, and YAY they’re opened!
I’m a La Boîte virgin so it took me several minutes to thoroughly examine the menu. Pain au chocolat available, check! Iced coffee, check! Macaroons too, double check!
Ok, here is the low down:
Iced coffee — Good subtle flavors and complimented the sugary goodies well.
Pain au chocolat — Flaky texture, chewy, not overly buttery, good amount of bitter sweet chocolate to balance.
Macaroons — The Fleur de sel (salted caramel) came highly recommended by the staff and it was amazing. I don’t even like caramel but it surly made me rethink this. The strawberry macaroon was very strawberry-​ish, not artificial tasting just very strong. The chocolate hazelnut was probably my least favorite. I tasted the chocolate but the hazelnut flavor was so faint, almost non-​existent. The macaroons in general were too sweet for my taste. The filling was a bit too generous and it just kept oozing out everywhere and became too messy. The textures of the shells were pretty good though. It was soft yet crisp and flaky. Considering that there was too much filling in the macaroons, the shells didn’t get soggy at all and held up very well.

La Boîte est un petit Paris, dans un petit cube! Spending an afternoon at La Boîte with an iced latte, almond croissant, macaroons, and someone to share it with is my definition of a perfect day.
I’m a pretty big fan of their whole schtick: the nice design, the repurposed shipping container, composting, outdoor seating, french pastries, and great coffee. The pastries are all made by an excellent chef who delivers them fresh every day. The macarons are adorable and positively delicious. Definitely try more than one; the flavors change frequently (and you won’t want to stop at just one.)
Their sandwiches are made every morning as well, and the selection changes (one meat, one veggie; check their twitter). I’ve had the fig, brie cheese and turkey sandwich, was a great combination. The bread was really nice– flavorful and soft. You can also get them to heat it up for you! It seems that both options go pretty quickly, so go on the early side for lunch.
I only wish that they a) were open at night, and b) had a few table options. There are only little stools that serve as both tables and chairs. Another option, of course, is bringing a blanket and enjoying your coffee on the hill. En soit, vous allez adorer La Boîte!

Should I ramble on and on and on?
OK, I went back with friends, got some more of those little round colorful things called macarons. We got about a dozen of them of various flavors!
We also got some of them there Mexican cokes. Yeah a drink not drugs.
Yep, thumbs up! Yummy, yummy in my tummy!
Would I (we) go back? You betcha!
(BTW: the other place is on my list)

Austin — known for Live Music and Food Trucks!
La Boîte Café is a cute coffee shop set up very nicely in a shipping container in the South Austin area.
Upon stopping by, a friend and I ordered their French Pressed Coffee & Almond Croissant. The Almond Croissant was more pastry like instead of a fluffy croissant like texture. Flavor was all there. YUM!
Shipping Container to house the Café:
Worth a stop by for French Pressed Coffee. There are a few stools in front of the café to allow you to enjoy the sun when the weather is nice.
Rating: 4.5

My friends and I stopped by La Boîte for a quick bite before heading to San Marcos. We didn’t really know what to expect because we stopped by the first trailer we saw, but they left a very good impression on us.
Their trailer was very neat and modern. The staff was also friendly and helpful. A lot of bikers also stopped by to grab a bite to eat while we were there. La Boîte had awesome sandwiches and French press coffee. I believe we had the pain au lait sandwich with peppered ham, dijon mustard, and sun-​dried tomatoes. Wow, I could taste all of the individual ingredients, and it mixed so well! Their menu changes weekly, but I’m excited to try what else they have to offer.
The only downside was that the seating was quite awkward. There were small stools from IKEA all around the patio, so we sat across from each other with our food in our laps. However, I really want to try this place again. So unique and delicious!

I came back from ye olde Germany and London having suffered through the water (in Munster; do not drink) and the flu (in London; do not get). I wanted all things good, wholesome, Austin when I got back, and also had never tried La Boîte. Yeah, with my kind of sweet tooth.
Folks, you know he’s a keeper when he:
— walks and picks up after your pup while you’re gone;
— absorbs your flu without complaint when you return;
— brings you La Boîte goodies*.
The goods: a rich flaky pastry with almonds that was decadent. Smaller macaroons unlike macaroons I’ve known before (smoother, no nuts). Pistachio and rose flavor, I believe they were. Chewy and yummy, even after a brief stint in the fridge.
*Yes, he has been rewarded justly.

Stopped by here on my way home from walking Town Lake to buy some Macaroons to-​go. I had tried them the previous week at the Cupcake Smackdown, and wanted to bring an unusual but tasty treat for dessert. The plan was to take them to the last concert of the season that evening as dessert. Bought 3 Lemon Ginger and 3 Fleur de Sel caramel. They are $ 1.75 each or $ 4.95 for 3.
Almost out the door with just the evening order, I spy the almond croissants. Well, I DID just walk Town Lake, how bad could it be?
Almond croissant in a separate bag, I left with my tasty treats.
Driving home, I was thinking about that croissant, so I removed it from the bag and took a little bite. It was buttery and good, but damned if that thing did not rain powdered sugar all over the front of my sweaty work out shirt. Did you know that powdered sugar and sweat make a sticky paste? Several bites later, it was totally demolished, as was the front of my shirt.
It was less of what I envisioned an almond croissant to be, as it seemed to have equally as many layers of almonds as croissant. Almond croissants I have had in the past are filled with almond paste and have some almonds on them. This was assembled more like a rice crispy treat with almond paste, croissant and butter stirred in with the almonds. It was good (I mean, I ate the whole thing)… but not as good as the macaroons are. I actually think it would be better as a small cookie (less mess on the eater).
The macaroons… I kept staring in the fridge all day at those things. Calling my name they were. I remember them from last weekend, light, airy, melt in your mouth bursting with flavor goodness.
The lemon ginger is so lemony and gingery at the same time. And the Fleur de Sel caramel is just buttery caramel goodness in the middle. I have not tried any of the others yet, but my mouth is watering so much now, I may have to raid my ½ dozen box for the evening down to 4 or 5. If I do, No Macaroons for me tonight.
They do serve sandwiches daily and they change it up. There is always a vegetarian and carnivore variety. The sandwiches remind me visually of the ones you see in the café windows in Paris, simple fare on a tasty baguette. I will have to come back and try those too.
They have other croissants, I will need to try those too… I just need to pace myself. As, I am not from the family of «everything tastes better with butter,» even though I love butter.
This is a great place to pick up special treats for the office, or just stop for a sandwich and a macaroon.

«I overheard you are out of the roast beef, right?»
«Yes, but we can still make another sandwich.»
«What do you have?»
«Salami and cheese.»
«OK, sounds good, I’m easy to please.»
«Do you want mustard?»
«No, but do you have mayo?»
«Yes. Do you want any greens?»
«Sure, give me some green stuff on it. And I need something cold to drink.»
«We have lemonade, iced coffee…»
«I’ll take Lala’s Lavender Lemonade. Hold the alliteration.»
Best damn lunch I’ve ever had from a cargo container.

(sigh…)
1. A 16-​ounce cup of lavender lemonade and one bottled water — $ 4.25
2. The last sandwich in the case filled with what seemed to be a feta spread and red peppers — $ 6.44
3. Hanging out with a group of Unilocalers outside a converted storage container in the middle of August while scoring a divine white chocolate macaron from a ginormous platter of macs provided by Kelly S. — Pretty freakin’ cool.
I have to confess that sometimes it’s the people I’m with that makes or breaks a place for me.

Voulez-​vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?*
Translation: M. A. C. A. R. O. N. S.
In the past WEEK I have tried the following new or rare macaron flavors… made by the owners and served fresh daily:
Blackberry: made from fresh blackberry pulp and all purply and amazingly flavorful and fruity.
Chocolate with vanilla: buttercream filling, not a fan, crust too chewy.
St. Germaine: made with the best St. Germaine liquor for a citrussy, herby finish… excellent but be warned: herb gardeny sweet hint of citrus.
Maple Syrup: tastes like you just ate a condensed bullet of pancakes.
Pistachio with chocolate: buttercream filling, not a fan, chocolate is good but overwhelms the macaroon… almost too much. (rather have the pain au croissant if in the mood for chocolate)
Caramel fleur de sel: BIG BIG FAN. by far, still my favorite. Apparently, Victoria gets this amazing salt from Paris and they have somehow managed to master this one… it is never too chewy, always perfectly salty and sweet, and always feels cold in the mouth… delightful, refreshing. Ecstasy.
In addition to the sexy macarons, I tried a sandwich for the first time this past week… Turkey, Brie and Fig. The bun/​baguette was perfectly soft, slightly firm on the outside, not hard and flaky at all (like a traditional baguette which I like but do not like the hardness nor the mess). The turkey proportions of salty Turkey to creamy Brie to sweet Fig were just perfect.
Seriously, La Boîte, ce soir?
*With all respect to ABBA, Dead or Alive, Christina Aguilera, Lil Wayne, R-​Kelly, and Swizz Beatz, I write this very formal fucking invitation at the conjured behest of ee cummings who published «little ladies more» in 1922 which contains the phrase «voulez-​vous coucher avec moi?» twice. I delight in the irony that someone striving for such literary informality would have gone to the strained formality of combining «Voulez-​vous» (very formal) with «coucher avec moi?» (very intimate) and such an accepted American French sexual invitation that invites only a smirk in France. Seriously, try it.