It wasn’t too often, but I remember my mom frying up beignets for me, or as I liked to call them, “snowy mountains.” Ah, beignets. I would never dare try to recreate that magic in my kitchen. I figured I’d either fly her down to make them for me, or I’d have to hop on a plane to New Orleans to experience them ever again.
Fast forward to today: Among the high-end shopping on Santa Monica Blvd. is the recently opened Beverly Hills Beignet. This huggable, French-inspired, café has the traditional beignets and some unexpected flavors as well. I’m so happy to save money on flights!
Beverly Hills Beignets
9527 S Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
http://bhbeignets.com
Front: The Parisian Back: The Country Life
I started out with The Parisian, a beignet stuffed with smoked ham, gruyere cheese, and a tangy Dijon vinaigrette dipping sauce. The melted cheese is gooey in the center, as it should be and these savory beignets remind me more of a fritter since they are so packed. This beignet is certainly a different take on the beignet for me since I have never had it stuffed.
Then I moved onto The Country Life, two pieces of beignet filled with maple-glazed bacon that comes with a maple bourbon dipping sauce. I do love being able to taste that bourbon in the sauce, the maple doesn’t overwhelm the flavor. Out of the savories, I’d say this was my top pick!
I also love that the savory beignets are more of a “grab and go”. You won’t have to worry about powders and sugars all over your fingers.
Clockwise: The Sour Patch, The Bittersweet, and The Traditional
I knew for sure I’d want to try the sweets as well. For the sweet, I recommend trying The Mix & Match, to get all different versions on a dessert beignet. I got The Traditional (powdered sugar) and The Bittersweet (crunchy sugar with a chocolate ganache dipping sauce).
My absolute favorite was my 3rd sweet beignet, The Sour Patch, a beignet rolled in a tart sugar with a lemon curd dipping sauce. The Sour Patch beignet is already tart, but that lemon curd sauce adds an extra pucker. If you like Lemonheads or Sour Patch Kids, I’m sure that will be your favorite beignet.
I’m sure we’ll be seeing paparazzi shots of celebrities with beignets soon enough since these flavors are so yummy and shopping friendly. They also told me that they have a secret menu that varies daily, so if you’re feeling adventurous, you should try it out.
