In need of a smiley face, or just a croissant, check out Le Madeleine. The staff is eerily perky, as if they all snorted lithium in the backroom before opening.
Food is always well-prepared, tasty, and priced moderately. Service is sometimes agonizingly slow -- rather than wait 15 minutes for someone to pour a cup of coffee, wander over to the Starbucks across the street. A couple of the staff members are completely incompetent in every aspect of life, but luckily extra staff is usually around to guide them, even if it is one of life’s simpler tasks, like making change.
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