Guglhupf Bakery and Brunch

A friend of mine made the drastic claim that Guglhupf Bakery and Cafe in Durham offers an even better brunch than La Farm Bakery in Cary.  Hmph...I found that difficult believe, but made a point to get over there and see how it lived up to the ringing endorsement.  My first impression did leave me admittedly impressed.  The decor and atmosphere of the two floor cafe with the beautiful outdoor patio section was considerably more appealing for guests dining in than La Farm's cramped little dining room.  I also appreciated that my food was served on legitimate plates with legit silverware (one of my few qualms with La Farm.)  The presentation was appealing and the service was good. But ultimately, it all comes down to the food.  Since Guglhupf is a German bakery, it seemed prudent to order one of the German specialties.  I ordered the Alsatian layered potato and cheese tart, which was quite good, but not as warm as I would have liked, and a little heavy on the pepper.  To provide a more evenhanded perspective I needed to test out the baked goods (that's my excuse anyway...) I bought a loaf of the Guglhupf signature house bread to go, a bag of the Guglhupf granola with almonds, and an almond croissant that never made it home.  The bread was very good, really a toss up with La Farm's bread. Despite my love of all things almond, the granola didn't win me over.  Strangely it's a little TOO sweet and salty, especially if used as a topping for fruit yogurt.  I'm highly partial to the honey sesame flavor of the La Farm granola.  As for the croissant, you can't beat the French there.  The croissant was good, but had a slight hint of rye flavor that I found didn't quite belong.  So the consenus?  If your going out with friends, Guglhupf provides a considerably nicer dining atmosphere, especially on a nice day.  However, my heart (and stomach) still ultimately belong to La Farm.  Vive la France!