One of my biggest beefs about living in Maple Grove is the lack of locally-owned restaurants. Our food scene is so excellent in the Twin Cities, and we are a largely suburban population, but outside of Pittsburgh Blue (owned by Parasole), Maple Grove has a lot of chain restaurants.
Patrick’s Restaurant and Bakery is the creation of Patrick Bernet, opened in Richfield in 2002. Patrick is a native Frenchman, he met an American studying in Paris, they moved here, and now to Maple Grove.
You won’t recognize the old California Pizza Kitchen, as it’s been remade into a lovely French bistro.
The pastries are awesome, because Patrick used to be a pastry chef at a hotel in Cannes, he worked in LA, he’s been around. We tried the raspberry lemon, pear almond, and apricot soleil danishes (buy 2 get 1 free). Perfect. For dessert the chocolate Eclair ($3.50) was quite good, and the Ryan Cake ($4.95) was show-stoppingly fantastic (it has a pecan brownie base with a velvety milk chocolate caramel mousse.)
As for our lunch? We really enjoyed it. We started with the traditional Tarte flambé ($9.95) – which has a crispy pizza-like crust topped with bacon, onion, and crème fraîche. My wife studied in Alsace, where tarte flambé is a specialty, and she said said Patrick’s holds up well. The bacon was regular bacon instead of lardon (cubes of bacon) like she remembered, and the crust wasn’t quite as crispy as it should be (the restaurant is still new!), but the flavors were perfect.
The chicken with feta cheese and tomato quiche was unlike most cheesy quiches, in that the feta was melted and combined into the eggy batter, creating an unbelievably creamy and delicious consistency. The crust was flaky and light, this was an excellent $7.45. The side salad was very lightly dressed (as is the French style), although this was almost undressed.
We also had a bowl of French Onion soup ($5.80), and it was gooey, cheesy, salty, and excellent.
My son got the Forestier Patou Burger (a burger served on fresh baguette), and the bread was soft – not crusty. That made it easy to eat, and it is delicious. Carmelized onions, bacon, mushrooms – what could go wrong? ($9.95 served with fries)
There is a huge wine list, featuring lots of quality if unoriginal American wines (Trefethen Chard, Cline Viognier, McManis Cab). I would steer towards the French wines (a nice Guigal from Cote du Rhones for $9/glass, a tasty Bouchard Pinot Noir from Burgundy $9).
Patrick’s serves breakfast (starting at 7am), lunch and dinner. Monday is Ladies Night ($3 glasses of wine or beer, $3 desserts with entree purchase), and Wednesday kids eat free (with adult entree purchase) from 4pm-closing.
My family spends more time eating outside of Maple Grove than we do right by our home, but Patrick’s is a game-changer for us.
The Shoppes At Arbor Lakes
(the old California Pizza Kitchen)
12489 Elm Creek Blvd.
Maple Grove
763-420-7770
http://www.patricksbakerycafe.com/
(What did we spend? We ordered a lot – an appetizer, kids meal, two entrees, soup, desserts, two glasses of wine, etc. – total bill for four was $77.31)
Jason DeRusha 
