text: I love love love love love this bakery It is been so difficult to find a good bakerypastry shop around Pittsburgh Before La Gourmandine my boyfriend and I have been going to Allegro Hearth in Squirrel Hill and Whole Foods However neither have left us satisfied We heard news of La Gourmandine this summer and we decided to give it a try one Saturday and we were not disappointed We come here often on Saturdays for the pastries They are definitely authentic my French boyfriend verified it My favorite are the croissants aux amandes almond croissants because they are just simply warm gooey and delicious If you are lucky to get them just as they come fresh from the oven you will need a fork and knife to enjoy them These are dense sweet and buttery on the inside filled with almond pastethough the word paste does not do it justice and crunchy and crispy on the outside In fact they are unlike any other croissant I have ever tasted before The flans patissiers pains aux raisins tarlettes aux pommes choux a la cremeand mousselines are good too Pretty much all of their pastries We have never tried the breads there simply because I am not a fan of Parisian style breads They tend to be darker and dry Considering the quality of their pastries prices are very reasonable especially compared to what we have paid at Whole Foods and Allegro Hearth in the past I love this place I wish it would be open more like on Sunday and later in the early evening Also it would be lovely if they have an espresso machine There is nothing like dipping your warm pastry in a cup of espresso for breakfast Yum