La Tour Cafe

I was in the mood for a Panini, and started looking around for a great place that would fit the bill. You know, thinly-sliced honey ham, turkey or salami with perfect melty cheese on hot, crusty, crunchy sourdough bread with some pesto or sun-dried tomatoes? I've tried Nordstrom Cafe's paninis, and really enjoyed it, but they always come out a little cold or room temp, never hot. Then there's Vegas' Jean Philipe's Cafe in Aria, which serve a variety of awesome paninis, and although I visit 3-5 times a year, that's not enough to satisfy my panini addiction! So, Mom and I drove all the way to Nimitz Hwy to try La Tour Cafe, next to Party City. Yelp said they serve a variety of Soups, Salads, Burgers, Sandwiches and Paninis! They even offer Tartines which are open-faced sandwiches. Not many places on the island serve these. You can buy the traditional Croque Monsieur which comes with Black Forest Ham, Roasted Tomatoes, and Gruyere on Pain La Tour Bread, or Eggplant Parmesan if you want to try something different. La Tour also serves many different Flatbread Pizzas that all sounded delicious. That's what I got- the Kalua Pork Flatbread Pizza!

Verdict? Mom actually said she would come back! Now, that means it was good!!! Took a bite of Mom's Turkey and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Panini, and it was so delicious that I almost regretted ordering my Kalua Pork Flatbread Pizza. But, the panini was everything I had hoped for- a generous amount of turkey, crunchy bread, melty cheese, spinach and a creamy tomato spread. And it came out nice and HOT!

If it wasn't so far, I'd come here more than my fair share of times. And the best part? They serve the tastiest, chewy Macarons! Best I've tasted on the island. I don't even like Macarons, but I ate the entire dozen I bought! I had to try all of the flavors. At $1.75 a pop, it is quite pricey, but SO worth it. I recommend trying the Coconut, Guava, Yuzu, or Matcha Green Tea Macaron flavors. Those are my favorite! They change the flavors every day, so cross your fingers you go on a day with either of these flavors. FYI, the macarons filling is almost like a creamy ice cream and whipped cream combo, so you do need to keep these cold and refrigerated. It is almost like a mini ice cream sandwich. SO GOOD, you won't regret it!

Another small tidbit- Bale owns La Tour Cafe. If you've seen or eaten their special baked goods with a maroon label, then it's made and sold by La Tour! La Tour is basically a modern and trendy Bale serving more American and French food, although I did see a Meatball Bahn Mi on the menu. It is a Vietnamese-style sandwich with chicken meatballs, pickled carrots and fresh cilantro on a french baguette. I would definitely try this or the have the Turkey and Sun-Dried tomato Panini......or maybe the Italian Flatbread Pizza....man oh man, decisions, decisions!

As for fashion, here's another simple, casual outfit that I paired with my fun and sparkly Alice + Olivia Keds. I first premiered them here.

Turkey and Sun-Dried Tomato Panini with small salad and La Tour's own pickles!

Kalua Pork Flatbread Pizza- Doesn't seem like
a lot of Kalua Pig, but the taste is there, I promise! Nice, smoky kalua pig with Lomi Tomatoes,
Sour cream and Onions. Also comes with Sauteed Onions.

Some of Bale's Baked Goods- Try the Cranberry Crisps and Granola! Those are the best!