Pie Hole

An American classic, served just fine.

Pie lovers are a devoted lot. While a cookie monster can be sated with a brownie, and cakes, cupcakes and baked breads can be interchanged without seriously gypped feelings, people who love pie, really love pie and are evangelical about their favorite slice. This is something 22-year-old Little Pie Company gets. In addition to seasonal flavors, their menu includes little pies, whole pies, and slices in about 10 varieties.

Their success is as varied as its menu.

The best seller, Sour Cream Apple Walnut, is a richer version of the American classic. The sour cream lends a nice savory flavor to the thinly-sliced Granny Smith apples that are layered beneath a brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and walnut crumble top. The pie is served warm with whipped cream (albeit it Redi-Whip).

The Mississippi Mud pie is less pleasing. Also heated, the combined German chocolate, brownie streusel and Oreo cookie crust is like eating warm brownie batter—a bit much. It'd probably be better served chilled. The Banana Coconut Cream Pie is a mash of bananas and coconut cream—a light, yummy balance.

Both the midtown and MePa locations offer old-fashioned soda fountain counters so you can eat your pie (or sundae, or cupcake, or cheesecake) in-house. While there, indulge your voyeuristic side and spy the pies in their various stages of baking in the open kitchens.

407 West 14th Street between 9th and 10th
212.414.2324

424 West 43rd Street between 9th and 10th
212.736.4780

Patriotism is a Cupcake

Homemade Bakeshop by Kitchenette
383 Amsterdam
212.799.2253

Kee'p 'em Coming

Thompson Street, now twice as delicious.

Go, Kee! Expanded space and macaroons on the menu. Her chocolates are just the prettiest - check out the perfect Guggenhiem swirl of the Honey Saffron, the present perfection of the Hazelnut Praline, and the boldly beautiful truffles dusted in almonds, sesame seeds, and pistachio nuts. The expanded menu with more exotic flavors ups the ante for every New York chocolatier.

Cupcakery, Cool

An unsung cupcake bakery in a city crowded with competition.

There’s nothing precious or pastel at Bruce’s Cupcakery—a welcome departure for those of us who don’t want to feel like we should be wearing ballet flats or reading Candace Bushnell in order to eat a cupcake.

But this humble corner spot deserves the spotlight for another reason: “cupcakery” is a cool term, unemployed by the legions of places pawning cupcakes in this city. And Bruce’s delivers on a range of mostly delicious options. They’re divided into frosting flavors and toppings, each of which comes with either chocolate or vanilla cake. The cake, unless it’s more than a day old, is a good foundation that’s firm, moist and not saturated with sweetness. The frosting is slathered on thickly, from the rims upward to the center, creating a half-inch-thick dome. A sprinkling of confections is added when the flavor calls for it. The Caramel Top, for example, has walnut bits and caramel drizzlings. The Oreo cupcake has crushed bits of Oreos, and the Hazelnut Top, well, is decorated with almond slivers.

For an innocuous bakery in a rarely-trafficked part of town, these are worth an afternoon visit.

Bruce’s Cupcakery
1045 First Avenue at 57th

Greek American Belgian Bonbons

I was excited to try Leonidas Belgian chocolates on Madison Avenue. A trusted source told me they were the best. They're good, but… Teuscher and Neuhaus still have them beat.

The selection is great: butter cream, ganache, praliné and caramel centers come enrobed in white, dark and milk chocolate. There are truffles (pistachio, cocoa, champagne), marzipan, and chocolate-covered orange and lemon peels.

Ultimately, though, Leonidas chocolates don't have the same je ne sais quoi quality of their Belgian and Swiss counterparts. The shells are harder (maybe more tempered?), and I like my bonbons soft and creamier. They should melt in your mouth and smack of freshness. The flavors should meld together yet explode in your mouth. These flavors are good, very good, but not sublime.

And what's up with the weird Greek name on Belgian chocolates? Leonidas Kestekides was a Greek-American confectioner who found is way to Brussels in 1913. There, he met success as a chocolate-maker and he met his wife. The brand made its way to New York in 1991.

Check out a nice explanation of the traditional chocolate-making process on Leonidas' corporate site:

http://www.leonidas.com/smartsite.dws?id=FBTCEN

485 Madison Avenue between 51st and 52nd

Royal Tastes

My high regard for the chocolate éclair.

Springtime in New York. It may not be Paris in April, but with the lilac blossoms and endless twilights, who’s complaining? Besides, we have un peu de Paris on the Upper East Side with Payard pastries.

Though Francois Payard’s lovely Lexington Avenue patisserie features a dining room with top-notch lunch, dinner and high tea menus, the bustling upfront café is more suitable for the quick sugar fix. A half dozen tables are nestled between curved glass display cases of French chocolates and desserts. So stake your territory amongst the European tourists and neighborhood families, and quit counting calories already.

Some pretty confectionary creations that evoke the Right Bank include The Opera, a rectangular three-layer almond cake with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache, and the St. Honore, a vanilla cream puff topped with whipped cream and caramel. But what of the chocolate éclair? You’ll find Payard's is divine (but, of course!)—if you get one before they sell out.

The éclairs are chilled in the display cases, but they’re better at room temperature (an excuse to indulge in another dessert first?). The crispy pastry shell envelops a stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth, chocolaty cream center, and is topped with dark chocolate icing. Go against your American tendencies of eating the éclair with your fingers, and use a fork and knife. Otherwise, along with self-respect, you risk losing some of the to-die-for pastry filling in your lap.

1032 Lexington Avenue
212.717.5252

S'il te Plait

I have a new favorite pastry, thanks to my new favorite restaurant.

While waiting at the bar of Café Cluny for my friends to arrive for brunch, I couldn't help but notice how pretty the three-tiered trays of pastries looked, and how sublime they smelled. Since I was sticking to a self-imposed no-sweets week (I even skipped Cluny's yummy French toast), I didn't taste, just got the name of the supplying bakery.

Which brings me to today: the sweets moratorium is off!

Petrossian is a French-Armenian bakery with 80+ years of history. Since it's also an exquisitely elegant restaurant with an Art Deco interior and Osettra caviar, I never paid much attention (though I'm keen to go for dinner now). The bakery is separate from the restaurant, with a different pastry chef, supplying baked goods and breads not only to Cluny but also Mercer Kitchen, Jeans George and others. Clearly, there's a certain level of sophistication and quality.

Take the apricot Danish for example—my new favorite. Good grief! They're amazing. Flaky pastry dough, (like a perfect Parisian croissant), twisted at either end and dusted with crushed pistachios. Inside, almond paste (one of the best things ever created) and apricot compote make a ridiculously delicious combination. Not too sweet. Not too large. Just a (relatively) modest pastry that's unique in both form and flavor. Another kiss from France.

Petrossian
Seventh Avenue between 57th and 58th

5 Best Cookies

• Levain: Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie
Heavy (about six ounces); mountainous (studded with chips); and rich (chocolate on chocolate action).

• Grey Dog: Chocolate Peanut Butter Coookie
Ginormous (a good six inches in diameter?); two great tastes that taste great together.

• Porto Rico: Gingersnap Cookie
Moist & chewy; sweet & savory; under a buck.

• The City Bakery: Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookie
Yummy white chocolate/dark chocolate blend; flat as opposed to fat, but big nonetheless.

• Petrossian: Chocolate Chunk with Pecans
Ordinarily, not a fan of nuts with my chocolate chips, but these cookies are so huge and chocolaty, the pecans break up the richness nicely. (Plus, bonus points for using pecans instead of walnuts.)