La Madeleine Country French Café 

One of the newest establishments to join the Cherry Street area is La Madeleine Country French Café. The Tulsa Breakfast Club was asked by a local organization to evaluate La Madeleine for their breakfast menu and as a possible monthly meeting spot. As a community service, TBC changed their schedule to accommodate the organization’s request.

La Madeleine Country French Café at 1523 E. 15th is a large chain at 60 locations, mostly in Texas. The interior and exterior have been remodeled and look very nice. You walk in and there are basic tables and chairs to the left. This is not unusual, however, to keep walking to get in a serving line is. Overhead are large menus with pictures. After placing your order, you are given a wooden spoon with a number painted on it and you continue to a small room with drinks and condiments. After drawing your beverage you collect the stainless steel flatware, paper napkins, and packaged seasonings along with whatever else you want and carry everything to a table.

The Country French Breakfast item on the menu seems to be the best. I ordered the
Egg Crepe Champignon because of the impressive name. It turned out to be an egg enchilada. Instead of several small delicate crepes, it was one mammoth tortilla wrap. The restaurant setup seemed to emulate a combination of other, better known, dining establishments.

The team felt that eating at the La Madeleine was a lot of work and lacked a certain “je ne se qua” that the name implies. We gave it a “C.”

On the other hand, the austere surroundings, being clean, not crowded, had a meeting room on the far side, and had very good coffee all make for an excellent meeting place for organizations.

As a side note, according to the Restaurant Tipping Guide, tips for this kind of service range from $0 to $1, not the usual 15% to 20% of the bill.