Our friend Sara knows that I’m always looking for good coffee and recommended Bouchon BakeryBouchon Bakery. As picky as I am, I approve. It’s not my favorite but I’ll certainly have it again. Since we were there, why not try some more goodies? Who could resist all this?
We started with the Ham and Cheese Croissant. You can have it hot or cold, hot means they’ll press it (which they tell you beforehand). This is certainly a rich buttery treat, not to be had too often. I’d like it more if it wasn’t pressed because I like the fluffiness of croissants but none of this went to waste. Trust me.
We dove into the scones next. The Bacon Cheddar Scone had a nice texture but the flavor tasted more like artificial bacon bits to me. Lon had no complaints and gobbled the rest of it up. The plain scone, again, had a nice texture, neither of us thought the flavor was memorable though.
The Raspberry Almond Croissant, Sara’s favorite, and seemingly everyone else’s, as they were quickly running out of these Labor Day morning…is delightful. You just can’t go wrong with crunchy toasted almonds and a raspberry filling. We got the chocolate filled one too (I guess I forgot to take a pic, somehow one always slips by) but it was way too sweet.
Of course, I also had to try the macarons (and suffer the consequences for eating food coloring).
The vanilla had a nice strong flavor but it was also ultra sweet. The pistachio and coffee didn’t have enough flavor and were also too sweet. The Raspberry had a weird filling (possibly licorice) that we did not like. The Orange/Passion Fruit (we think) was tangy, which was nice, but still too sweet, and the chocolate won because it was the only one that wasn’t too sweet. In the end, I’d skip the macarons.
The unexpected winner for me was the Nutter Butter. I didn’t even want it when Lon ordered it, thinking it would be cloyingly sweet and just sickening after one bite. I’m not a huge fan of peanut butter cookies. Boy was I wrong about appearances. The Nutter Butter is a peanut lover’s heaven and the sugar level was restrained in European fashion. The cookies are light, crispy, and crumbly, perfectly suitable for the smooth, also light inside, that will catch the crumbles. The peanut flavor tastes natural. What more could you ask for?
Most of the goodies we got were around $3 (the macarons were $12 for the assorted box) but I avoided ordering the dessert pastries which were $7 and up. That’s just too much for a single serve dessert! We loved the atmosphere, which was upscale yet casual, and had we realized we could earlier, we would have brought our doggie. (Yay for doggie friendly eating places!) Several items were too sweet for me but I will definitely be back to have a cup of coffee and a Nutter Butter, will probably try some breads too.
Thanks Sara!
I completely agree with Jessica, on every point. Except, for now, I will call this my favorite bakery in NYC, for a few reasons. First, everything is baked on site. Second, the prices (for the pastries we ate) were all reasonable, although, like Jess mentioned, the ones we didn’t buy were way expensive. Third, the setting is just gorgeous (3rd floor of TW center). Fourth, the service was fast and courteous. Fifth, as Jess mentioned, dog friendly.
I won’t mention the fact that the food was very good, because usually for something to be my “favorite” it has to have amazing food. Their food is not “amazing”, but I can’t think of where in NYC is better. Can anyone? And if anyone plans to mention Venieros, please don’t — you’ll just sound silly.
Venieros is poop (please excuse my elementary school level vocab)in my opinion and with the recent health dept shut down it could seriously have poop in the food.
But enough bashing and on to a more serious matter. Why aren’t there lots of amazing bakeries in this city filled with amazing food? Bakeries are definitely something I love and we’re definitely lacking exceptional ones in the city. I haven’t found a place where I’m just blown away.
Back in the day Mondrian made my favorite cakes, but unfortunately they closed both locations in New York (one was by Bloomies in the city and another in Great Neck). I have searched high and low for Michel Willaume, the pastry chef, but have no idea where he went. Each little cake was a piece of art and were actually named after famous artists, but more importantly each cake tasted like heaven. Nothing I’ve had comes close to what I used to get there. The closest in the city might be Payard, Brunos, Financier, but all are still very far seconds. None seem to be as delicate or flavorful or creative or just simply delicious as Mondrian. If anyone knows where Michel Willaume went, I would seriously travel to where he is just to be able to have a bite of his marvelous creations.
On a brighter note, Sara and I went to the MOMA cafe for lunch this Sunday and had the raspberry mango tart which was surprisingly good. Although there wasn’t as much raspberry as I would have liked (for something that had raspberry as part of the name), the custard was made with real vanilla beans! That is always a plus in my book. 🙂
Seriously, what is up with our lack of good bakeries here?!?! My favorites were in Vienna but that’s a tad far.
I am so happy you wrote a review. I think it is definitely worth a visit. The raspberry croissant looks incredible. And I actually really like the pressed croissant sandwiches, I can’t wait to try. But how was the coffee? Was it up to your expectation?
it all looks amazing, but i’m particularly infatuated with the pressed croissant (it’s buttery goodness has been consolidated!) and the nutter butter. awesome. 🙂
Manger La Ville, the coffee was good and I’d buy it again, but I wouldn’t be going there specifically for coffee.
Grace, the Nutter Butter is worth coming to the city for.
Bouchon is good but there is nothing unique that hasn’t already been done elsewhere. For someone of Thomas Kellers reputation one would expect more. Joel Robuchon’s bakery in Tokyo is a good example. But then again we are comparing boys to men.
The reason there is a lack of great bakeries and pastry shops in New York is because of the astronomical rents. Someone like Thomas Keller can get away with taking such a risk because of the media attention he will get and will surely be busy right off the start.
Angie, Michel Willaume is now working as a consultant. As I mentioned running a business in New York is not a guaranteed success regardless of how talented you are or how good your product is.