Violette serves up fancy pastries and desserts
Acting on the belief that some of Austin's best food can be found in its (relatively) low-rent strip malls, I recently stopped by Violette Bakehouse, a patisserie that opened in November.
It's by the corner of East Dean Keeton and Medical Arts streets, just across from the University of Texas and right by a CPL lab — so you can celebrate your blood draw with an exquisite éclair.
The scene: Low-key fancy. Little tables in front of a display of delectables.
You can go savory, with gorgeous small quiche (broccoli-cheddar or chicken-tomato-zucchini, $5.15) and flaky ham-and-cheese croissant ($5.85), or sweet.
Dig in: I grabbed a slice of vanilla flan cake, which looks a little like a cheesecake ($4.95), a just-what-the-doctor-ordered pain au chocolat ($4.85) and a berry vanilla mousse ($6.25), which, with its beautiful little rosette on top, was almost — almost — too pretty to eat.
Worth mentioning: Stephanie Dmytryk, the French owner of Violette, told me after my visit that she did her training in France — and has two French diplomas, one in pastries and the other one in pastries, chocolate, candy and ice cream.
Six-word review: The best of Paris, in Austin.
📍 If you go: Violette is open Wednesday to Friday 7:30am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to 6pm and Sunday 8am to 2pm.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Refinery29
2 hours ago
- Refinery29
Violette_FR's New Lip Nectar Is Summer's Juiciest Beauty Launch
All linked products are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase any of these products, we may earn a commission. It's not a lip oil (thank god), nor a gloss, nor a tint — my latest can't-live-without-it lip product is none other than Violette_FR's latest and greatest: A lip nectar. As the juicy, succulent name suggests, Violette_FR (the same brand behind viral hits like Bisou Balm and Petal Bouche), designed Lip Nectar to hydrate and deliver a just-bitten stain of color. As Violette, the founder and makeup artist behind the brand, shares, the inspiration came from her constant search for a lip stain that felt grown-up and elevated. And because she was in the unique position to create her dream product, Lip Nectar was born. As someone who rarely wears lipstick (the effort!), this sounded right up my alley. It's available in four shades inspired by nature, ranging from warm terracotta to petal pink. At first glance, Lip Nectar doesn't look like the game-changer it is — it comes in a tube with a doe-foot applicator and has a texture that resembles liquid lipstick. But the genius lies in how the color develops once it hits your lips. Violette_FR Lip Nectar, $29 My favorite shade is Rose de Moab, a desert-inspired rosy shade that's giving 'my-lips-but-better.' It applies as a pale iced latte, then deepens into a warm, caramelly nude. Another standout for me is Dahlia Noir, the deepest of the bunch. I usually steer clear of darker lip shades — they tend to look more severe than sexy — but this one is like Clinique Black Honey turned up a notch. It's surprisingly wearable and one of those universal hues that looks incredible on everyone, with a plummy, cherry-like tone I ended up loving for date night. Thanks to squalane, shea butter, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid, Lip Nectar feels as good as it looks. It's not technically a plumper, but I found it replaced both my lip balm and gloss — the moisturizing formula naturally gives my lips a fuller look. Goals, amiright? Like many of her products, Violette has distilled her makeup artistry into something user-friendly and foolproof. Layer it over lip liner or top it with Lil Nectar for shine, and you've got a whole look. Nectar has never tasted so sweet.
NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- NBC Sports
French wild card Loïs Boisson stuns No. 6 Mirra Andreeva to reach French Open semis
The dream run continues for the 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson at Roland-Garros. After taking down third-seeded Jessica Pegula in the previous round, the French wild-card entry upset sixth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3 in front of a boisterous and largely partisan crowd to reach the semifinals of the French Open. A year ago, Boisson tore her left ACL just a week before her home Grand Slam tournament started, preventing her from accepting an invitation to play. She will have the chance to advance to the final when she takes on No. 2 seed Coco Gauff. 'It's incredible, no matter what, given what happened last year and all the difficult moments I went through,' Boisson said during her post-match interview. The 22-year-old Boisson largely was unknown outside tennis circles before capturing the spotlight in Paris. She is playing in her first Grand Slam main draw and became the first woman to reach the semifinals at her debut major tournament since 1989, when Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati both did it at the French Open. She is also the youngest French semifinalist at a Grand Slam event since Amélie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 1999. The last Frenchwoman to win the title at Roland-Garros was Mary Pierce, 25 years ago. 'I don't think it's a miracle,' Boisson said. 'It's just the result of hard work. Nothing else.' Under the closed roof of court Philippe-Chatrier, Andreeva repeatedly showed her frustration with the crowd as fans chanted 'Loïs, Loïs' between points, waved Tricolor flags, shouted during play, and even applauded the Russian teenager's errors. The first set was marked by momentum swings and brilliant shot-making from both players. Boisson twice found herself down a break but fought back each time, using heavy spin and deep groundstrokes to trouble her 18-year-old opponent. Boisson aiming for the title Andreeva grew visibly tense on key points, struggling to maintain her composure and wasting a chance to close out the first set when up 5-3. Despite saving three set points and forcing a tiebreaker, she ultimately handed the set to Boisson with two consecutive backhand errors. Andreeva responded strongly at the start of the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead. But Boisson broke back with a thunderous backhand winner down the line, drawing a roar of approval from the lively crowd. Andreeva received a warning after netting a routine forehand volley and angrily hitting a ball into the stands. She then argued with the umpire over a call that gave Boisson three break points. Andreeva saved the first one with a forehand winner then double-faulted, and never recovered. 'The first set was super intense, and I was really struggling at the start of the second, but I managed to regroup and finish like that,' said Boisson, who will make a big jump in the rankings. Having reached a career high of No. 152 last year before her knee injury, Boisson will climb at least to No. 68. And that could be even higher if she manages to pull off a third straight shocker — against Gauff in the semifinals. 'Every kid who plays tennis dreams to win a Slam,' Boisson said. 'More for French players, to win Roland-Garros. For sure I will go for the dream, because my dream is to win it, not to be in the semifinals.' An unseeded player has reached the French Open final twice in the last four years: eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in 2021, and Karolina Muchova in 2023. Andreeva, a semifinalist in Paris last year, said she struggled to deal with the pressure of a hostile crowd, sometimes making the wrong tactical decisions. 'Today was one of those days when it's just a bit harder to deal with everything that's going on in the court,' she said.
2 hours ago
A fairy tale in Paris: French wild card Boisson stuns No. 6 Andreeva to reach French Open semis
The run continues for the 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson at Roland-Garros. After taking down third-seeded Jessica Pegula in the previous round, the French wild-card entry upset sixth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3 Wednesday in front of a boisterous and largely partisan crowd to reach the semifinals of the French Open. A year ago, Boisson tore the ACL in her left knee just a week before her home Grand Slam tournament started, preventing her from accepting an invitation to play. On Thursday, she will have the chance to advance to the final. 'It's incredible, no matter what, given what happened last year and all the difficult moments I went through,' Boisson said during her post-match interview. The 22-year-old Boisson was largely unknown outside tennis circles before capturing the spotlight in Paris. She is playing in her first Grand Slam main draw and became the first woman to reach the semifinals at her debut major tournament since 1989, when Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati both did it at the French Open. She is also the youngest French semifinalist at a Grand Slam event since Amelie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 1999. The last Frenchwoman to win the title at Roland-Garros was Mary Pierce, 25 years ago. Under the closed roof of court Philippe-Chatrier, Andreeva repeatedly showed her frustration with the crowd, as excited fans chanted 'Loïs, Loïs' between points, waved Tricolor flags, shouted during play, and even applauded the Russian teenager's errors. The first set was marked by momentum swings and brilliant shot-making from both players. Boisson twice found herself down a break but fought back each time, using heavy spin and deep groundstrokes to trouble her Russian opponent. Andreeva grew visibly tense on key points, struggling to maintain her composure and wasting a chance to close out the set when up 5-3. Despite saving three set points and forcing a tiebreaker, she ultimately handed the set to Boisson with two consecutive backhand errors. Andreeva responded strongly at the start of the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead. But Boisson broke back with a thunderous backhand winner down the line, drawing a roar of approval from the lively crowd. Andreeva received a warning after netting a routine forehand volley and angrily hitting a ball into the stands. She then argued with the umpire over a call that gave Boisson three break points. Andreeva saved the first one with a forehand winner then double-faulted, and never recovered. 'The first set was super intense, and I was really struggling at the start of the second, but I managed to regroup and finish like that,' said Boisson, who will make a big jump in the rankings. Having reached a career high of No. 152 last year before her knee injury, Boisson will climb at least to No. 68 on Monday. And that could be even higher if she manages to pull off a third straight shocker against the No. 2-seeded Coco Gauff in the semifinals. An unseeded player has reached the French Open final twice in the last four years: eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in 2021, and Karolina Muchova in 2023.
