bakery

Dominique Ansel’s Dreamy Caneles

May 20, 2013 By fritosfg 1 Comment

I’m going to Paris this summer and I can’t wait. The sights, the streets, the shopping…and the food. Oh the food. There is nothing like eating in France. You can cook the same recipes here in the US, but the ingredients just aren’t the same. Sometimes, though, when I am lucky, I taste something that really reminds me of Paris.

Like every single thing that I ate at Dominique Ansel Bakery. This tiny bakery, with a few tables and backyard garden, is the namesake of the baker who made his name with Daniel Boulud. He is known for his rich, authentic Parisian pastries and delicious desserts. He is also known for his croissant-doughnut mashup called the cronut, but I didn’t wake up early enough to snag one of those.

In fact, lots of his pastries run out early in the day, so set the alarm clock if you have your heart set on something particular. Don’t worry, the bakery sells made to order madeleines throughout the day.

Blackberry Pavlova

Frankly, this is wonderful. Airy meringue sandwiching rich pastry cream, tart blackberries, and some concentrated syrup so sweet and jammy that it is a pure burst of summer. This is light but very sweet. Elegant and fulfilling, ideal after a rich lunch.

Flourless chocolate cookie

This is just an excuse to eat a personal sized cake. Dense and fudgy with gooey chocolate chips melting even at room temperature. It’s sweet, but not overly so. It has a warm, deep flavor that only comes from truly high quality chocolate. It’s decadent but not too much to handle on your own.

Canele

Do you like bread pudding? If you do, then you will love this canele. The thickly burnished crust is sugary but not just sweet – it also has a slightly bitter edge that makes it really complex and interesting.

The interior is eggy and soft, almost melting in the mouth in contrast to the stiff outer crust. It is heady with vanilla and the faint backnote of rum. It isn’t overtly alcoholic tasting or heavy - it’s light and custardy, a wonderful blend of different tastes and textures. This is better than many caneles I have had in Paris and was the hit of my visit.

Dominique Ansel is a slice of Paris right in Soho. It is fairly priced (though not cheap) and the pastries are just perfect. I would absolutely go back, and plan to.

It might just hold me over till summer vacation.

Filed Under: review, SoHo Tagged With: bakery, desserts, french

Buttercup Bake Shop’s Wickedly Delicious Cupcakes

March 7, 2013 By fritosfg 2 Comments

I know that the cupcake craze has come and gone. I know that it’s much cooler now to be into gelato or homemade pies or single origin chocolate bars with cacao nibs and organic coconut.

But when have I ever claimed to be cool?

Buttercup Bake Shop has some of my favorite cupcakes in the city. It’s one of the few places for which I will travel to the east side – crosstown is not my favorite way to travel, but it’s worth it for these classic American sweets like banana pudding, chocolate cake, and brownies. It’s run by one of the women who started Magnolia Bakery, but unlike Magnolia, this place hasn’t jumped the shark by opening shops all over the city (sorry, Magnoilia, but only the original location seems to cut the mustard.)

The shop is long and narrow, with only a few small tables and stools at a counter. Be prepared to take your cupcakes home or fight for a seat on a Sunday afternoon, but during the week you can almost always find an empty chair.

The pastry case is full of the kind of treats you would want at Grandma’s house – rainbow frosted cupcakes, towering layer cakes, puddings, trifles…the list of classic goodies goes on and on.

The hummingbird cake is moist and cinnamon-y, with juicy pineapple and tangy cream cheese frosting. The chocolate cupcakes are rich and sweet, like the best milk chocolate bar on the planet. The rice krispy treats are at least 3 inches high and the banana pudding is nothing less than classic – creamy and sweet. But when you come here, this is what you get:

Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting

The best vanilla cupcake in town – I’ll say it. The cake is fine crumbed and moist but not falling apart – it holds up well and has a clean, vanilla-y scent. It’s more buttery than sweet so that it acts as a backbone for the frosting.

That frosting. It’s the Samson to my Delilah…it WILL be my undoing.

It’s so sugary that it makes those little hard sugar cracks when you firs bite into it. Underneath it’s thin, hard sugar topping, it is sweet and light within, like whipped butter. It isn’t greasy and it isn’t applied sparingly. This is really the most outrageous frosting…ever. I could eat a gallon of it,and if they offered it by shot glasses, I would eat it all on its own. It really is sweet, so if you aren’t in the mood for a little sugar coma, this isn’t the treat for you. The vanilla on vanilla is just the best thing in the shop, and possibly on the entire east side.

Oh, and THIS is how you eat a cupcake. I saw it on Buzzfeed, so I know it’s how the cool kids do it.

Though we all know that I’m still not cool.

Filed Under: Midtown Tagged With: bakery, desserts

Porto’s

July 9, 2012 By fritosfg 4 Comments

I always try to fly into the Burbank airport when I visit home (which is the valley…yes, I am actually a valley girl…BLECH). It is closer to home, the luggage always comes off of the plane faster, and it is right across the street from some of the best Cuban treats on the planet.

Porto’s has been around since my mom was a kid, and not much has changed since then. It calls itself a bakery and cafe, but it is really a veritable amusement park for those who love Cuban and/or fried food.

The store is huge, with two sections to order food and a large seating section, but there is always, at all hours of the day, a humongous line. Don’t be deterred, as the line moves very quickly and the servers are all competent and courteous. Just go to the line, wait your turn, and order at the counter. Then pay at the register and collect your goods!

Though you can order Cuban sandwiches or other cooked to order items, those in the know go straight for the stuff in the case. Just point to it and take it to go. Many pastries don’t have names, so just point at them and ask what is in them.

It doesn’t get much better than this, folks.

Chicken Croquette

Dense rather than airy, with a pronounced salty and garlicky taste. Heavy with bechamel and lightly golden brown, these are heavenly little gut bombs. Chicken nuggets on creamy crack…that’s what these are.

Mashed Potato Ball

Imagine, if you will, fluffy mashed potatoes – not too creamy or thick, just airy. Then, stuff them with a juicy, cumin-filled filling of ground beef and other Latin American spices. Lightly fry the whole thing until it is crunchy outside and steaming hot inside. This is a handful of Shepherd’s Pie – hearty and comforting, while being zesty from the Cuban seasonings.

Meat Pie

This doesn’t have as much taste as the other meat-filled goodies. The pastry is wonderful – flaky and buttery – but the ground beef is a little bit plain. This would be more at home in a pub than at this Cuban eatery.

Chorizo Empanada

Bright orange grease stains the inside of the thick, probably lard-enhanced pastry, but miraculously does not bleed outside. The inside is chock full of chorizo, garlicky and sweet at the same time. This is chorizo at its finest and any fan of sausage should not miss this.

Chicken Empanada

Even better than the chorizo version. The chicken is stewed until very moist, then mixed with green peas, onions, garlic, and what must be sofrito – an herby, earthy spice blend. Juicy and flavorful, this manages to make usually mundane chicken a standout.

Guava and Cheese Pastry

Dessert is not an afterthought here. Incredibly flaky and airy puff pastry surrounds sweetened cream cheese and bright, tropical-tasting guava paste. An unexpected take on the classic breakfast Danish.

Best of all, the food here is VERY cheap. Come here with $10 and you will leave with a stomach full of hearty, fried, spicy food.

And you won’t have to fight so much traffic on the way home.

It’s a win all the way around.

Filed Under: Los Angeles Tagged With: bakery, inexpensive, Latin American

Martha’s Vineyard Must Eats

May 18, 2012 By fritosfg 3 Comments

A few dishes to be sure to try on Martha’s Vineyard:

Grilled Edgartown Oysters at Henry’s

This Harborview Hotel restaurant has a casual pub room where you can get a glass of beer and an order of these oysters. Broiled with spicy garlic butter, these have a smoky, herby taste and the oysters themselves are bursting with liquor. A lighter version of Oysters Rockefeller, these are not to be missed.

Menemsha Cafe has delicious homemade soups and daily specials (The lamb stew, made with local lamb, is especially delicious), but you come here for the…

Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Freshly baked, hot, and gooey. One of these and you will need a food nap.

Head to this local butcher shop for exotic ingredients like ostrich, cold cut staples, and…

The Cuban Sub.

This unconventional Cuban sandwich, made with bacon, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, spicy mustard, and some other ingredients, is a gut bomb of a sandwich. Salty, savory, hearty, and served on the most delicious freshly baked bread. This is everything indulgent in a handheld package.

That’s what she said.

The Scottish Bakehouse.

You know what to get here, right?

Everything. Especially the most luscious lemon bar I have ever had, with smooth, tart filling atop incredibly buttery, crumbly crust.

You may get sunburnt during your time on Martha’s Vineyard, but you surely won’t go hungry!

Filed Under: Massachusetts Tagged With: bakery, review, sandwiches, seafood

Petrossian New Spring Pastries

April 1, 2012 By fritosfg 2 Comments

Petrossian, a restaurant and luxury food emporium known primarily for its sumptuous caviar, balik salmon, and foie gras, recently released its new spring line up of teas and pastries. When I was invited to sample the new items, I didn’t really know what to expect. What could a restaurant famous for seafood and organ meat really know about teatime sweets and savories?

They could know plenty. The items that I sampled were nothing short of exemplary – all baked on site daily, all with interesting tastes, and all perfect for a late afternoon snack.

Macaroons

The coconut macaroons are light, with a slight sticky crunch and an airy interior. The coconut flavor is intense but not overly sweet or cloying – a creamy, tropical flavor.

Chocolate and Marzipan Quail Eggs

If you think you don’t like marzipan, think again. These tiny, perfect eggs have nothing in common with the waxy fruits that decorate Christmastime cakes. This marzipan is smooth, deep, and buttery. It also incredibly sweet, which is tempered by the slight bitterness of the chocolate and the crunch of the sugar shell. This is an elegant, sophisticated sweet that would be perfect at the end of a dinner party with coffee or a digestif.

Rosemary Cookies

Though the taste of this is fantastic – buttery, rich, with just enough rosemary to be sharp but not too woodsy – the standout of this is its texture. It looks just like normal cracker, but when you bite it, the texture is flaky, like a croissant. There is a thin crust atop layers of buttery, tender dough – it’s really like a pastry within a cookie. This would be ideal served with soup, where its many layers could soak up the liquid.

Fennel and Parmesan Cookies

This is a much more traditional shortbread, in terms of its crunchy texture. Salty with parmesan, aromatic and licorice-y with fennel, and rich with butter. These are not too fennel infused, just a light sweetness that makes the savory components of the cracker more apparent. The pastry chef uses extreme restraint in his baked goods, which allow multiple flavors with no one herb or spice dominating the dish.

Lemon-Thyme Muffins

My favorite baked item of the day. A soft, squishy muffin with a delightfully crunchy top. The first taste is the bright lemon, and then the hint of earthy thyme. Finally, the interplay of sugar and salt dance on your tongue, making you wonder if this is really a savory muffin or a sweet cake. This is the perfect combination of sweet and salty, and would be fantastic with some ricotta cheese and truffle honey.

Sunchowder’s Emporia Jams

These jams are the newest addition to the Petrossian family. Alexander Petrossian himself discovered this woman at a small farmers market and fell in love with Wendy Read and her jams. The jams are all made in small batches, using no commercial pectin, corn syrup, preservatives, or colors. The method used to make the jams is an old French one that involves letting the fruits macerate overnight and then cooking the jams for a longer time than most jams. This results in a smooth texture and incredibly pure, vibrant flavor. All the jams I tried were really pretty incredible – they actually tasted like fruit, not like sugar or artificial flavors.

Raspberry Black Pepper Jam

This jam totally blew my mind. The first taste is sweet and pure, like fresh raspberries, but then the sharp taste of black pepper cuts through the thick sweetness. It builds until your lips prickle with the slightly hot sensation, playing with the sugary taste.Though this was great on a slice of brioche, I would love to see it paired with game – some venison or boar would work really well with the spicy and sweet notes.

Petrossian has some really special baked goods on offer this spring. I would highly recommend going there for high tea, or, if you are not in New York, checking out their online store for some of the smoked salmon (which I can personally vouch for as lush, buttery, and mild – less of a bagel-salmon and more of a blini-salmon). The room is beautiful, the quality is excellent, and the food itself is unexpected and delightful.

Petrossian is more than just a one trick pony.

*I attended a press sponsored event. I was not paid or required to to write about the product, and my opinions are my own and, I feel, unbiased.*

Filed Under: Midtown, NYC Tagged With: bakery, french, review

Fauchon – Foodie Fantasia

September 20, 2011 By fritosfg 1 Comment

Paris isn’t just about eating. It’s also about shopping…

For food.

Fauchon is the foodie equivalent of Neiman Marcus or Henri Bendel. High end, artisinal products that cost a fortune and are a once in awhile indulgence.

The macaron counter is a mile long.

Where else can you get chocolate pound cake topped with edible gold for breakfast? For BREAKFAST, I tell you!

Let’s not ignore the gourmet eclairs with fillings like foie gras and the Mona Lisa etched on the top.

Would you like some pate? Choose from goose, duck, pork, chicken, and any combination thereof.

You could, of course, prefer pork, rabbit, pheasant or any other number of types of rillettes.

When in doubt, why don’t you just get this whole foie gras with a gigantic black truffle. Just like what you find in your local supermarket, right?

And cheese and crackers just won’t cut it for parties here.

If you decide to try a few treats…

Snail Pastry

Don’t ask me what the real name of this is, just look for the brown, coiled pastry. As it breaks into croissant-like shards in your hand, notice the crunchy, sugary glaze, the warm cinnamon and the buttery layers of dough on the inside. Like a cinnamon croissant on crispy steroids.

Sundried Tomato, Olive and Parmesan Baguette.

Thick, crunchy crust. Slightly sweeter insides than a regular baguette, which worked well with the juicy tomatoes, salty olives and tangy Parmesan cheese. So full flavored and densely packed with the top of the line add ins. These were incredibly sweet tomatoes and plump olives. Throw some lettuce on here and it’s a full on vegetarian sandwich.

Pastry that Begins with a K

Get this crown-shaped dessert with a Germanic sounding name. Crunchy sugar flaked of in sheets, surrounding soft, fluffy pastry dough that was similar to challah, but with the faint alcoholic tang of rum. Nothing like a little rum for breakfast.

Or, if you prefer, an impossibly light and flaky croissant, or a citrus-scented madeleine stuffed with sweetened condensed milk.

You might also prefer a chocolate croissant, with thick strips of dark, slightly bitter chocolate running through the buttery bread.

Green Salad with Herbs, Pine Nuts and Mustard Vinaigrette.

Where in America can you pick up a premade salad that looks like this? Fresh greens, fragrant dill, sweet chervil, pungent chives, crunchy pine nuts and a sweet-tangy mustard vinaigrette.

What’s more, you can even pick it up for breakfast.

Or you could try a baguette sandwich. This one, made with cured ham, lightly salty but not at all smokey, paired with nutty Gruyere cheese and a thin schmear of sweet butter. Butter on a ham sandwich is genius. It tempers the saltiness, saves the bread from betting soggy and ads…well, it adds butteriness.

No butter was necessary on this foie gras, arugula and raspberry jam sandwich.

Bread, foie, vegetable, fruit.

That’s a whole meal.

Sit at the high window-side counter and enjoy your bevvy of goodies. Fauchon is a beautiful, delicious stop on your trip – an occasional treat worth the splurge.

Just like Paris, in general.

Filed Under: France Tagged With: bakery, french, Paris, travel

Maple Walnut Muffins

August 29, 2011 By fritosfg 3 Comments

I’m not a breakfast person. Never have been, vacations notwithstanding. But there are times that I can push myself to eat. Like when it is free. Or when I am in an airport. Or..when it involves the term “Maple Walnut.” Maple and walnuts are meant to go together. Liquid and solid, sweet and savory. And when the flavor combination finds its way into muffins And…even better…it’s possible to make it with no sugar! Just maple syrup. And vanilla paste. And egg yolks. Maybe a LITTLE sugar…

Adapted from Sarabeth’s Bakery, via Arctic Garden Studio

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg, plus one large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 Tbls. pumpkin pie spice

1 package cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1)Preheat the oven to 375 F and spread the walnuts on a single layer on a foiled baking sheet. Toss the walnuts in the oven while it preheats and pull them out in about 7 minutes, when the nuts start to look oily and let off a savory, nutty scent. Be sure not to let them burn – scorched nuts are useless.
That’s what she said.

2)Place the flour and baking powder in a large bowl.

3)Add the maple syrup…

the vanilla extract(or paste – expensive but offers SUCH deep and rounded vanilla flavor),

the melted butter,

the milk,

and the egg and egg yolk.

4)Add the walnuts and the pumpkin pie spice,

and stir to combine

The batter will be a little loose, but not runny.

5)Now place your cream cheese into a different bowl…

and whip it either with your hand mixer or your stand mixer.

6)Add the powdered sugar to the cream cheese

7)Grease your muffin tin and fill each tin with the muffin batter.

Be sure to only fill it up halfway. Because next…

8)You add a little dollop of the sweetened cream cheese.

9)Top it off with another (thin) layer of batter

10)And pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a knife stuck into the middle of the muffin comes out clean, with no streaky traces of batter.

11)Wait for the muffins to cool (just a bit), and pop them out of the tray.

These muffins are so good. So warming, comforting and perfect for a rainy morning or an afternoon treat. Since the batter has no sugar in it, the muffin isn’t at all sugary or desserty – just gently sweet with the maple. The walnuts give off a savory, meaty flavor that contrast with the extreme fluffiness and lightness of the muffins. The cream cheese provides that fatty, decadent sweetness that is like a layer of cheesecake in the middle of this pastry. These would be perfect with some candied bacon.

And it’s a great way to get yourself to eat a healthy breakfast. No sugar…remember?

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: bakery, breakfast, brunch, Recipes

Lefkos Pirgos Cafe – Pastries, Greek Style

June 29, 2011 By fritosfg 4 Comments

After a night full of garlic, wine and a pre-dessert, what could cap off a girls’ night better than a visit to a traditional mom and pop style Greek bakery?

Besides Joh Hamm…sadly, we couldn’t get him in Astoria.

What we could get was Greek TV, a Greek staff and a plethora of Greek pastries at Lefkos Pirgos Cafe. Be aware – you come here for the food, not the atmosphere, which is casual and relaxed with a tough of “EAT YOUR DINNER,” from the slightly haggard servers. If you take pictures, they will yell at you, and if you ask for the name of the sweet you are eating, they won’t tell you. Who cares? Grab a table and chair and relax for some of the best desserts this side of Athens.

Be sure to get a slice of the Baklava. And by a slice, I mean the mammoth hunk they will place in front of you. Layers of flaky phyllo dough are alternately crisp and moist, sandwiching a fatty, slightly savory melange of mixed crushed nuts, spicy with cinnamon and cloves. Honey envelops the entire pastry, making it all sweet and melding with the spices. You might think that you can’t finish the whole thing, but I bet you will be able to. It is huge and it is delicious.

Galaktompoureko – cream filled pastry soaked in honey syrup.

It was about this time that I stopped thinking about Jon Hamm, because nothing could be more delicious than this. Dense, creamy filling was less sweet than it was tangy and rich – like a cheesecake with a whipped consistency. The phyllo dough provided textural contrast and the sugary syrup added the necessary sweetness to the dish. This was like a very ripe brie with honey – sweet, smooth, satisfying.

And now, my favorite…These tiny nut cookies. I wish I knew their name, but in the absence of a name, I will just call them what they are – little bombs of heaven. They are heavy, rich and incredibly sweet. Loaded with nuts and those same aromatic spices. Small but packed with flavor.

Lefkos Pirgos Cafe will never win for decor. It will never be the most cutting edge place in town. But what it does, it does exceptionally well. Well worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood.

And on a night that you can’t get Jon Hamm…it makes a darned good substitute.

Filed Under: Queens Tagged With: bakery, greek, inexpensive, review

Hubig’s Fried Pies

April 21, 2011 By fritosfg 4 Comments

Who doesn’t love a pie? I mean, really? Flaky, buttery crust, sweet and juicy filling, as perfect for breakfast as it is for dessert…honestly. You would have to be a masochist not to enjoy pie. Of course, the only thing better than a slice of pie is a whole pie.

And these little handheld pies from Hubig’s(the company awesomely sent me some samples) REALLY fit the bill. Hubigs is a New Orleans based company that makes pies and only pies. Pineapple, lemon, chocolate cream and a plethora of other flavors.

And, oh yeah…they are fried.

Frying them results in an incredibly light crust, flaky and rich at the same time (more savory than sweet) encasing the most delicious flavors. Sweet and tart lemon, delightfully sugary pineapple and – my personal favorite – creamy, rich sweet potato that melded perfectly with the powdered sugar glaze on top of the pie. Hubigs is just delicious. It is like those old fashioned McDonald’s fried apple pies on Delicious Steroids. These are comforting enough to eat alone at home and unique enough to serve as dessert at a get-together. They can only be found in New Orleans, but they ship everywhere!

If that didn’t convince you…perhaps my little ditty will!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bakery, review

Peels – Breaking all the Brunch Rules

April 12, 2011 By fritosfg 1 Comment

I broke many of the rules I tend to hold about brunch to dine at Peels (A Southern American regional cuisine based restaurant and bakery that rotates its bakery items on a daily basis) one Sunday morning. There were no reservations, it is incredibly trendy and I had to wake up before 10 am.

The things we do for biscuits. Shockingly, there was only a 10 minute wait for this popular spot at 11 am. Okay, so far i didn’t HATE it…

And the bright and airy space with a trendy but casual vibe made me not hate it some more…

And this pecan sticky bun made me REALLY not hate the Peels.

Fresh brioche dough intermingled with buttery and sticky caramel, fatty toasted pecans and just the barest hint of cinnamon. This really isn’t a cinnamon roll – it is a savory, eggy bread that is soaked in an incredibly rich and sugary sauce that is closer to toffee than caramel since there is virtually no burnt edge to it. The pecans are abundant and the flavors are balanced and satisfying. Totally delicious and a must-get.

The sausage isn’t the stuff out of a Jimmy Dean package – this is housemade, free form pork sausage. Spicy with red pepper flakes, a bit sweet with brown sugar and somehow juicy and delicate yet meaty and substantial all at the same time…These were some really kick ass sausages. I mean that…that is a food critic term, right there.

The Peels Biscuit and Gravy that my dining companion ordered was another winner. Fluffy, light, floury biscuits under perfectly poached eggs and creamy sausage flecked with that amazing homemade sausage. The only thing that could improve this would be a side dish of dill cucumber salad…because that’s just what I imagine Southern people eating. They need SOME veggies if they eat sausage that is as amazing as the sausage at Peels!

Brunch ended with an extremely well made latte-the perfect combination of sweet and bitter, creamy and spartan, with just enough foam to be luxurious but not overly heavy.

I broke the rules for Peels and it broke the rules for me! No reservations, but (virtually) no wait. Trendy but not snobby. Southern food that was decadent and authentic but, dare I say…light? Yes, pork and sticky buns can be light, don’t you sass me.

The service may have been a bit slow, but it was incredibly leisurely to sit and chat over a brunch where we weren’t being driven out to get other people into the chairs. That is a MAJOR issue at hot restaurants in NYC and I am pleased to say that Peels treated us with real Southern hospitality.

And that’s why they say that rules are meant to be broken.

Filed Under: Lower East Side Tagged With: bakery, breakfast, brunch, review