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Upper Crust Gourmet, Ballston Metro - Reopening As A Tapas Bar, Closed


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Upper Crust Gourmet is a small cafe/coffee shop in Ballston (Across from IHOP). They have been open for a while and they have changed their name a few times, Upper Crust Gourmet => Cafe Amity => back to Upper Crust Gourmet. (Terrible name in my opinion)

They serve illy coffee, which is a big plus for me, and they have a variety of middle eastern options for lunch that are decent. They recently hired a new chef and are adding new specials to the menu.

The real star is the croissant. I am a bit of a croissant snob, and I absolutely love their croissants, I have not had a better croissant anywhere in Arlington, or DC for that matter. If you are in the area, I strongly suggest you try one of their croissants fresh out of the oven.

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I happened by this place by chance at the end of August. I wanted some breakfast and the Illy sign drew me in. Their egg sandwich on croissant seemed pricey (something like $7), but I was already inside the cafe, so ordered it with some Illy coffee and waited outside in one of their little sidewalk tables. Anyway, the chef brings out this delightful plate of a perfect croissant stuffed with egg and cheese. On the side was a really nice fruit salad with bananas, pineapples, strawberries, etc. No wonder they charged so much. The croissant sandwich was terrific and I hope more people will check them out. My only disappointment was the Illy coffee--it didn't taste as good as the only other time I had Illy coffee, which was brunch at Tallula's a couple of years ago.

BTW, are the owners Turkish? I hope so since I just returned from Turkey and am now craving Turkish food.

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Based on these comments, and the need to sit somewhere while my car was being repaired, I stopped here for breakfast this morning - coffee (fine), a croissant and fruit salad. The croissant was the best I've had outside of many trips to France and one to St. Martin, and the fruit salad was huge and fresh. - took half home with me.

Spoke with the owners a bit - they make all the pastries there, and have 2 soups available per day (and the prep smells coming from the kitchen were tempting). Couldn't tell if they are Turkish but the menu had a nice international flavor to it.. Very nice owners/chef and good location for walking or driving.

Really, the best croissant I've had in the US . . . .

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Upper Crust Gourmet is closed for renovations. The sign says closed March 27th, but the place looks cleared out and there doesn't seem to be any renovation activity yet, looking into the windows.

I really hope renovations doesn't mean out of business, because I love their croissants.

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Upper Crust Gourmet is closed for renovations. The sign says closed March 27th, but the place looks cleared out and there doesn't seem to be any renovation activity yet, looking into the windows.

I really hope renovations doesn't mean out of business, because I love their croissants.

Scratch that, the same owners are turning it into a Tapas bar during a 3 week renovation.

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