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Mary's Market [+St. Roger Abbey]

Mary's Market [+St. Roger Abbey]
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  • Post #31 - August 6th, 2009, 4:11 pm
    Post #31 - August 6th, 2009, 4:11 pm Post #31 - August 6th, 2009, 4:11 pm
    I think this may be the same order as was at the Highwood Evening Gourmet market? They were called Fraternite Notre Dame-Sisters of Notre Dame (French Baked Goods). She also said she did not want pictures taken. The tarts looked exquisite but I opted for only one - the peach, which will become tonight's dinner. Also a frangipane tart slice (oh how I missed you!). I'm still kicking myself for forgetting a bag of madelines and that chocolate tart haunts my dreams, so I'll be back in short order.
    I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert. ~ Jason Love

    There is no pie in Nighthawks, which is why it's such a desolate image. ~ Happy Stomach

    I write stuff.
  • Post #32 - August 6th, 2009, 4:53 pm
    Post #32 - August 6th, 2009, 4:53 pm Post #32 - August 6th, 2009, 4:53 pm
    Pie Lady wrote:forgetting a bag of madelines

    Wonder if you could write a book about that ...
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #33 - August 6th, 2009, 5:35 pm
    Post #33 - August 6th, 2009, 5:35 pm Post #33 - August 6th, 2009, 5:35 pm
    Hi,

    My sister was at the Highwood Farmer's Market last night. She was also very excited about those nuns. They are indeed those French nuns discussed in this thread.

    At least the last time I talke to them about a year ago, they were baking everything in Chicago. They are developing a facility in Marengo, though I don't know the status of that.

    Nichols is from Marengo, does anyone know if they have a farmstand out there? I remember Gordon Sinclair had a weekend home in Marengo. He had a vegetable farm out there to stock his restaurants. I have often wondered if he influenced farmers like the Nichols to get into the retail farmer's market business.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #34 - August 7th, 2009, 8:06 am
    Post #34 - August 7th, 2009, 8:06 am Post #34 - August 7th, 2009, 8:06 am
    FYI - The nuns no longer run the concession at the Elmhurst library.
  • Post #35 - September 28th, 2009, 5:10 am
    Post #35 - September 28th, 2009, 5:10 am Post #35 - September 28th, 2009, 5:10 am
    The nuns from St. Roger Abbey also sell their pastries at the following farmer's markets:
    Downers Grove, Schaumburg, and Barrington.
    shorty
  • Post #36 - September 28th, 2009, 9:07 am
    Post #36 - September 28th, 2009, 9:07 am Post #36 - September 28th, 2009, 9:07 am
    Nice timing on this thread popping back up - my parents made a stop by the Algonquin location on Saturday and dropped a few treats off for my wife and I on their way back home. Chocolate croissants were good but not a destination item. Lemon tart on the other hand was excellent - strong lemon flavor, tart but not too much so, and with a nice shell. The highlight for me though was a peach tart - beautiful peach slices on top tasted fresh despite a serious glaze, and a layer of cream between fruit and shell made for a truly decadent treat.

    My in-laws used to live about a mile from their Algonquin location, and any sort of cake occasion was a reason to buy a cake from them. It's been a few years, and no specifics come to mind atm unfortunately, but I do recall all of them being quite good. That peach tart though is definitely something I would drive to Algonquin for on occasion - one of the best pastries I've had in Chicago in quite some time.
  • Post #37 - September 28th, 2009, 10:12 am
    Post #37 - September 28th, 2009, 10:12 am Post #37 - September 28th, 2009, 10:12 am
    These nuns also sell at the Hyde Park Produce on 53rd and Kimbark in Hyde Park. Saturdays and Sundays only, sadly. I can't count how many times I've enjoyed their croissants, which are better than most any I've had in the Chicago area. Plain croissants are two bucks each; chocolate 2.25. I haven't run into a tart of theirs that I didn't happily devour. Once all these farmer's markets die down, having a year-round, indoor Chicago location might appeal to some of you. Just save some for me--occasionally they sell out of things :(
  • Post #38 - September 28th, 2009, 11:12 am
    Post #38 - September 28th, 2009, 11:12 am Post #38 - September 28th, 2009, 11:12 am
    mtgl wrote:These nuns also sell at the Hyde Park Produce on 53rd and Kimbark in Hyde Park. Saturdays and Sundays only, sadly. I can't count how many times I've enjoyed their croissants, which are better than most any I've had in the Chicago area. Plain croissants are two bucks each; chocolate 2.25. I haven't run into a tart of theirs that I didn't happily devour. Once all these farmer's markets die down, having a year-round, indoor Chicago location might appeal to some of you. Just save some for me--occasionally they sell out of things :(

    The chocolate croissants were selling for $3.50 at the Barrington Farmer's Market. I am surprised that the pricing is not the same for the different farmer's markets.
    shorty
  • Post #39 - September 28th, 2009, 8:48 pm
    Post #39 - September 28th, 2009, 8:48 pm Post #39 - September 28th, 2009, 8:48 pm
    Shorty---

    I'm pretty sure those prices are right. Four plains, a chocolate, and a bag of croutons came out to 13 or 14 bucks--the croutons were a new thing, never had 'em before. An excellent use of day-old French bread, btw. But given that they do their baking over on the west side somewheres, the transportation time is a bit shorter to HP. They also have a pretty devoted following, and can be assured of clearing out their supply. Maybe that's enough to account for a difference?
  • Post #40 - September 29th, 2009, 8:21 pm
    Post #40 - September 29th, 2009, 8:21 pm Post #40 - September 29th, 2009, 8:21 pm
    mtgl wrote:Shorty---

    I'm pretty sure those prices are right. Four plains, a chocolate, and a bag of croutons came out to 13 or 14 bucks--the croutons were a new thing, never had 'em before. An excellent use of day-old French bread, btw. But given that they do their baking over on the west side somewheres, the transportation time is a bit shorter to HP. They also have a pretty devoted following, and can be assured of clearing out their supply. Maybe that's enough to account for a difference?

    Your chocolate croissant price is correct. That is the price I saw for the chocolate croissant at the Algonquin store location. They had a beautiful strawberry charlotte cake in the display case.
    shorty
  • Post #41 - October 1st, 2009, 5:55 pm
    Post #41 - October 1st, 2009, 5:55 pm Post #41 - October 1st, 2009, 5:55 pm
    I talked to the nun at the Barrington Farmer's Market (who also works at the Algonquin store). She said that they sell coffee, cookies, and croissants at the Elmurst train station from 5-9 AM (Mon.-Fri.). She said that people can phone in an order and pick up the items up at either the Elmurst train station or at the Fraternite Notre Dame church in Chicago (near Central Ave. and Lake). She said that people sometimes pre-order for pickup at the train station to get items which are not normally sold at that location. Pre-ordered items can also be picked up at the church even though they do not have a storefront.

    A nun at the Algonquin store said that they will be selling their items at the Wheaton train station soon. They do this in the winter. I did not ask what they will be selling. I assume that it would be similar to what they sell at the Elmhurst train station.
    shorty
  • Post #42 - June 10th, 2010, 12:32 pm
    Post #42 - June 10th, 2010, 12:32 pm Post #42 - June 10th, 2010, 12:32 pm
    Looks like they're selling at the itty bitty Lincolnwood Farmer's Market on Pratt, one block east of Cicero (Thursdays). Their raspberry pie and madelines looked heavenly. No pun intended.
    I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert. ~ Jason Love

    There is no pie in Nighthawks, which is why it's such a desolate image. ~ Happy Stomach

    I write stuff.
  • Post #43 - August 5th, 2010, 10:14 am
    Post #43 - August 5th, 2010, 10:14 am Post #43 - August 5th, 2010, 10:14 am
    Confirmed what Pie Lady said earlier: Thursday morning market in Lincolnwood has their products, being sold by an ancient nun in full habit (I felt like buying her a bag of ice, poor thing.) They offered some mini-tarts, palmiers and croissants, a stunning full-size apple tart, (she said something about strawberry in a thick accent that I didn't decipher until after I left, so I assume the tart also comes in strawberry) and an "almond tart," a Galette Des Rois, but a pie-sized one instead of the cookie-sized one I'd had before.
  • Post #44 - August 5th, 2010, 3:28 pm
    Post #44 - August 5th, 2010, 3:28 pm Post #44 - August 5th, 2010, 3:28 pm
    They are also at the Barrington and Schaumburg farmer's markets. Today, I brought home a lemon tartlet and a chocolate tartlet. I plan to serve the first one with blueberries and the second one with raspberries. The apple turnover and apricot pastries we tried earlier were really good. Their baked goods are very buttery. I guess this is what you would expect from a French bakery.
  • Post #45 - August 5th, 2010, 4:06 pm
    Post #45 - August 5th, 2010, 4:06 pm Post #45 - August 5th, 2010, 4:06 pm
    Healthy, no. Delicious, yes. I can barely finish one of their croissants, but they are unrivaled in my (not-very-French-oriented) opinion.
  • Post #46 - February 14th, 2013, 10:52 pm
    Post #46 - February 14th, 2013, 10:52 pm Post #46 - February 14th, 2013, 10:52 pm
    For the record, the St. Roger Abbey store in Algonquin closed.
  • Post #47 - February 15th, 2013, 12:00 am
    Post #47 - February 15th, 2013, 12:00 am Post #47 - February 15th, 2013, 12:00 am
    jlawrence01 wrote:For the record, the St. Roger Abbey store in Algonquin closed

    ...and moved to Hawthorn Mall in Mundelein.
  • Post #48 - February 15th, 2013, 4:51 am
    Post #48 - February 15th, 2013, 4:51 am Post #48 - February 15th, 2013, 4:51 am
    nsxtasy wrote:
    jlawrence01 wrote:For the record, the St. Roger Abbey store in Algonquin closed

    ...and moved to Hawthorn Mall in Mundelein.

    While commonly called Hawthorn Mall, its actual name used to be Hawthorn Center. It was acquired in 2005 by Westfield Group and is now called Westfield Hawthorn.

    It's not located in Mundelein. It sits in Vernon Hills, which is adjacent to Mundelein and Libertyville. Libertyville was the original desired location for the mall, but the residents of the town didn't want a mall.
  • Post #49 - February 16th, 2013, 8:55 pm
    Post #49 - February 16th, 2013, 8:55 pm Post #49 - February 16th, 2013, 8:55 pm
    milz50 wrote:Libertyville was the original desired location for the mall, but the residents of the town didn't want a mall.
    You may be right, milz50, but my in-house real estate/building/development historian tells me that the patriarch of the Cuneo family of Vernon Hills (though many think the Cuneo Mansion is in Libertyville, it's actually in Vernon Hills; Libertyville starts at Rockland Road) donated the land for the mall to the village of Vernon Hills as part of a land-for-school buildings deal, and that it never had anything to do with Libertyville.

    News to me that St. Roger's Abbey has a shop in the mall now; I'm going to check it out first chance I get.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #50 - February 16th, 2013, 10:00 pm
    Post #50 - February 16th, 2013, 10:00 pm Post #50 - February 16th, 2013, 10:00 pm
    Katie wrote:
    milz50 wrote:Libertyville was the original desired location for the mall, but the residents of the town didn't want a mall.
    You may be right, milz50, but my in-house real estate/building/development historian tells me that the patriarch of the Cuneo family of Vernon Hills (though many think the Cuneo Mansion is in Libertyville, it's actually in Vernon Hills; Libertyville starts at Rockland Road) donated the land for the mall to the village of Vernon Hills as part of a land-for-school buildings deal, and that it never had anything to do with Libertyville.


    Originally was the location of the Hawthorn Mellody dairy, which was owned by the Cuneo family.
  • Post #51 - February 17th, 2013, 4:53 pm
    Post #51 - February 17th, 2013, 4:53 pm Post #51 - February 17th, 2013, 4:53 pm
    The St. Roger Abbey website contains photos of some of the baked goods which are available for online order. Here are some of the items which I tried the last time I went to the bakery:

    chocolate croissant:
    Image

    apricot nest:
    Image

    raspberry-coconut macaron:
    Image

    ham and cheese quiche (no picture)

    They had 7 or 8 different types of macarons. The macaron which I tried was really good.
    Last edited by shorty on March 4th, 2013, 6:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #52 - March 3rd, 2013, 6:05 pm
    Post #52 - March 3rd, 2013, 6:05 pm Post #52 - March 3rd, 2013, 6:05 pm
    I've made several visits to St. Roger Abbey in the past few weeks, since being alerted to its existence. I've tried a variety of items; some have been hits, while others have been misses. I've been greatly impressed with the sheer variety of what they have - croissants, cookies (including some types I've never encountered before), mousse-based pastries, raised pastries, breads, French macaroons, etc. I particularly enjoyed their croissants, some of the flakiest you'll find anywhere.

    shorty wrote:They had 7 or 8 different types of macarons. The macaroon which I tried was really good.

    One of the critical success factors with French macaroons is freshness. I tried two at St. Roger Abbey; one was very fresh and really good, but the other was past its prime and not good at all. If there's a flavor for which only one is still left in the display case, don't buy that flavor. :)
  • Post #53 - January 20th, 2014, 6:41 am
    Post #53 - January 20th, 2014, 6:41 am Post #53 - January 20th, 2014, 6:41 am
    Went to an indoor winter market in Oak Park this Saturday at Unity Temple. I purchased a marble pound cake from St. Roger's Abbey. Taste showed potential (flavor was nice, buttery), I suppose, but was masked by the fact that the cake was just dry and a little crumbly. At $8.40, this was also a smaller pound cake, so I felt like it really wasn't worth it at all.
  • Post #54 - January 20th, 2014, 11:22 pm
    Post #54 - January 20th, 2014, 11:22 pm Post #54 - January 20th, 2014, 11:22 pm
    nsxtasy wrote:
    jlawrence01 wrote:For the record, the St. Roger Abbey store in Algonquin closed

    ...and moved to Hawthorn Mall in Mundelein.


    Actually, they have been selling at a table in the Joe Caputo & Sons store on Algonquin.
  • Post #55 - March 23rd, 2014, 5:10 pm
    Post #55 - March 23rd, 2014, 5:10 pm Post #55 - March 23rd, 2014, 5:10 pm
    nsxtasy wrote:I've made several visits to St. Roger Abbey in the past few weeks, since being alerted to its existence. I've tried a variety of items; some have been hits, while others have been misses. I've been greatly impressed with the sheer variety of what they have - croissants, cookies (including some types I've never encountered before), mousse-based pastries, raised pastries, breads, French macarons, etc. I particularly enjoyed their croissants, some of the flakiest you'll find anywhere.

    shorty wrote:They had 7 or 8 different types of macarons. The macaron which I tried was really good.

    One of the critical success factors with French macaroons is freshness. I tried two at St. Roger Abbey; one was very fresh and really good, but the other was past its prime and not good at all. If there's a flavor for which only one is still left in the display case, don't buy that flavor. :)

    I talked to one of the nuns last week about the macarons. There were 20 different types on display and 3 more additional types which were not displayed (behind the counter somewhere). I asked if all of the macarons were made daily. I was told that some might be from a different day. What I like about Ambrosia Euro American Patisserie (in Barrington) is that the baked goods which they sell are not from a previous day.
  • Post #56 - November 12th, 2014, 7:27 am
    Post #56 - November 12th, 2014, 7:27 am Post #56 - November 12th, 2014, 7:27 am
    St. Roger Abbey is listed as a 2014 Christkindlmarket vendor in Daley Plaza, Nov. 21-Dec. 24. The booth will be near the corner of Randolph and Dearborn.

    --
    edc
  • Post #57 - April 26th, 2015, 11:45 am
    Post #57 - April 26th, 2015, 11:45 am Post #57 - April 26th, 2015, 11:45 am
    Now the Sisters and Brothers are proposing a brewery and winery at their Marengo home.

    http://www.fraternitenotredame.com/2011 ... omo_02.php
    http://www.nwherald.com/2015/04/07/mare ... n/aimpi2x/

    And of course, there is "controversy".

    http://chronicleillinois.com/news/mchen ... draws-ire/
    http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2015/04/08/79776/

    The problems with their neighbors is longstanding.

    http://minx.cc:1080/?post=149277
  • Post #58 - May 11th, 2015, 11:57 am
    Post #58 - May 11th, 2015, 11:57 am Post #58 - May 11th, 2015, 11:57 am
    The ongoing saga of the proposed brewery continues.....

    http://marengo-uniontimes.com/news/1651 ... ng-meeting
  • Post #59 - May 12th, 2015, 7:41 am
    Post #59 - May 12th, 2015, 7:41 am Post #59 - May 12th, 2015, 7:41 am
    The Fraternite of Notre Dame nuns have been selling pastries at the Wheaton French market for years. They are the nuns that recentlyl stirred up some controversy about their broken furnace at their mother house in the Austin neighborhood. I am sure they appear at other markets.
    Toria

    "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - As You Like It,
    W. Shakespeare
  • Post #60 - December 21st, 2015, 11:27 pm
    Post #60 - December 21st, 2015, 11:27 pm Post #60 - December 21st, 2015, 11:27 pm
    Actually ran into these nuns at the Kris Kringle market this year in Daley Plaza. I am not sure , maybe they are not used to dealing with the public or the language barrier, but they got flustered when I was asking them about pricing. I chose a couple of boxes of cookies for the holidays and I handed over a cheese tart pastry. My bill was rang up and I was given my bag, thinking everything was inside. When I got home, my very expensive cheese tart was not to be seen, however I was charged for it. And when I opened the nicely holiday wrapped boxes of cookies, there were only about 5 cookies inside. Sort of expensive.

    I read up on this order. It received a lot of press also because one of the nuns in Marengo was involved in a hit and run car accident where I believe the person had been killed. I really get a strange vibe from these nuns. Their cookies were very good. Expensive but good.

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