Arely French Bakery Cafe- Excellent food!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation.  Cathy is just letting you see some of her meals, versus Kirk showing you what He ate.

Hi again.  The Mister and I were on a quest for some weird items the other day (among them, helium quality balloons and an Old Maid card game), and ended up at the 99 Cent Only store in Clairemont Mesa mall.  When we were leaving, of course I was hungry and I looked over at Woody's Hot Dogs, where I have enjoyed a few good meals. (I still can't figure out how to put up a link to the post that Kirk did on Woody's.  Look it up under the "hot dogs" section of the blog on the left column here; and, really, we have heard all the Woody jokes already). I noticed on the corner right on the other side of the parking lot, the old Liquor store was gone and a pick Up Stix was in its place.  Then I looked for the Viking Bakery and it, too, was gone and in its place was this signage.

Now for some reason, I have been seeing and going to a number of French Bistro places around the county lately and had intended to go back and blog them, but hadn't had the time  Fortunately, I had my camera with me, so here it goes. 

This one, Arely, is the smallest of all I have gone to, but also the least expensive.  There isn't much atmosphere,but the food was *excellent*, and I mainly talk about the food in this blogging forum, so that is what I will concentrate on.

There are 3 tables inside, two tables out in front and the menu is on the wall (in all the other French Bistros I have gone to, there is a menu you can sit down and read, then you go up and order and sit back down again).  This way, at Arely, is fine though.

We decided to try some "basics" to see how well it was done.

The Parisien sandwich-ham with Brie, lettuce and tomato on a baguette ($4.50).  The bread is fresh made in the store. The ham was black forest, and excellent, and, I dare say, too much ham was in the sandwich...the Brie was not warm, but cut into chunks with the rind and I could taste it, and it was good.  I would have been happy with just the Brie and bread, actually...and the lettuce  was crispy and tomato slice had flavor (unusual these days).

We got a wedge of the spinach and cheese quiche- only $2.95. A quarter of the made in store quiche, filled with fresh spinach, a nutty flavored swiss cheese, creamy eggy custard, nutmeg and a delightful, light crust.  They offer 3 flavors a day  the spinach and cheese, ham and cheese and vegetable) and you can buy a whole quiche for $12...of course, I would just buy 4 individual slices...(this is when Basic Math comes into play in real life).

We also wanted to try the French Onion soup ($3.50), since it is a French Cafe... DO NOT be put off by the styrofoam cup.  The ambiance is the *only* thing lacking here.  You are not paying for it, you are paying for good food, and that is what you get. 

The soup was superb; filled with a fresh herb-y, beefy broth topped with  slice of fresh bread and more of that wonderful swiss cheese (it tasted close to Jarlsberg, so nutty in flavor).

The bakery items are made in store and are beautiful.  I saw one person eating an omelet and it was quite large.  I will go back for breakfast. 

This place has excellent food.  If you are going to the movie theater just on the other side of the mall, this is a place to go to either before or after.  They have just extended their hours (used to be open only until 3 p.m.).  Give it a try, you will not be disappointed.

Arley French Bakery Cafe 4961-a Clairemont Mesa ( in  the Clairemont Mall at Clairemont and Clairemont Mesa; Two places down from Woody's Hot Dogs) Open 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mon-Sat, 7:30 - 6:00 p.m. Sunday

Comments

[nhbilly]

Nice review...talk about mouth watering.

[Cathy]

Thanks, Bill. I sometimes try to be funny or overly creative with my writing. This time I just wanted to get across one main point- it's good!

[Joe Monroe]

That is way better than a hot dog! SOunds yummy and I'll stop by there. The area has changed... I think the Acapulco Mexican was raxed and a Chili's is there? Also, I ate at a small corner BBQ place in that mall last year... OK, is it still there? Is Krispy Kreme, the dissapearing doughnut act still there? I remember being there at 5:00 a.m. the first day they opened back in 2000? Anyway, I love your reviews... And I love the way you find the little mom and pop shops. I know how hard they work! There's love in that styrofoam....

[Cathy]

Hi Joe! Yes Acapulco, the restaurant of a coupon a week, is sadly gone. I didn't see the BBQ place this last time, but did not look. Krispy Kreme is still there: it may be the only one in San Diego that is still here. Do you remember the Leaning Tower of Pizza? Another building just like it is now a yogurt shop in El Cajon. The Mister and I have never been afraid to just walk into any place to see why it has business (This comes from his being in the Navy and travel all over the world, I suppose). Almost always, we are pleasantly surprised. I like sharing these "finds" kind of anonymously with the world! Thanks for the kind words.

[Roland]

Great place Cathy. Went last night and had the Brie and Ham sandwich. Excellent with tons of Brie. Wife got the Brie salad. Pretty plain salad but the side of Brie was great. Apple tart had a great slightly sweet custard with tart apples, a perfect combination. Got there around 6pm and they were out of the French Onion Soup and the panini machine was off. The owner was very nice and even gave us a free pastry to try.

[Cathy]

I am so glad to hear this from you, Roland! Customer service is so lacking these days. It's kind of neat that they were out of the soup-shows they make a batch daily and when it's gone, it's gone. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know your experience. I so have to go back soon.