I took my summer morning walk through the Hudson River Park and peeled off the West Side Highway to traipse around Tribeca (in doing so, vowing to have an apartment there in three years, on the western-most block of Duane Street.). As I was gawking up at the beautiful brick buildings, I noticed a sweet café at street level: Duane Park Patisserie.
Similar to Thé Adoré with its beatnik-y vibe and baking smells that greet you inside the door, but Duane Park Patisserie is a bigger affair, helmed by Madeline Carvalho. Over the past 16 years, her chocolate chip cookies, nut cakes, and birthday cakes have gotten sizeable attention. I scanned the pastries remaining from the morning pick-over and got a plain croissant (alas, there was no pain au chocolat) and a prune pastry.
The croissant was very modest: light, airy and petite. It was tinged with buttery flavor, thankfully without residual butter-grease on the fingertips. In a very cute way, it looked like a crab (see photo).
The pastry was a nice departure from the norm. Sweet-as-jam prune filling—with just a hint of smokiness—was made sweeter by the generous dusting of sugar. The center was a plush, squishy pillow of fruit filling, bookended by crunchy, savory dough points.
Goodness—next Saturday, my croissant will be from the 13th arrondisement.
179 Duane Street at Greenwich
212.274.8447
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