Piles of pancakes in the dead of winter

This is what greets you at Clinton Street Baking Company.

But this is what awaits.

I’m talking about the pistachio frangipane pancakes with burgundy cherries.

It’s Pancake Month at Clinton Street Baking Company.

 So naturally Bennie and I got the special pancakes.

But we also got some French toast.

You know, just to balance out the carbs.

 

Nutella Butter

They called it Nutella butter. It was more like Nutella bologna. But when Ben and I ordered the Stuffed French Toast at the Four Seasons, we were quite sure it was going to be delicious, no matter what the menu read.

At $24 a plate, it's decadent in more ways than one. Some might say, not worth it. But the texture of that Nutella butter-bologna has been haunting me ever since...

Oh my sorely neglected sweets

You’d think that I’ve given up sugar. Lost my appetite for cake. Am shying away from all things fudgy, crunchy, creamy, chocolaty, gooey and otherwise so sublimely satisfying.

Trust me. Nothing is further from the truth.

While I haven’t had any good hauls at new bakeries, I have been stuffing my maw with morning pastries…

… cookies…

....cakes…

...decadent breakfasts…

....and, especially, ice cream…

More important, I am planning on getting out in the field more these upcoming weeks to give my sweet tooth some proper exercise.

From top to bottom: pastries at The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, CO; almond croissant from Ceci-Cela; walnut chocolate chip cookie from Levain; salted chocolate chip cookie from Ovenly, BK; wedding cake from Lot 2, BK; homemade three-layer strawberry cake; french toast from Homemade, BK; peach ice cream from Old Lyme Ice Cream Shop, Old Lyme, CT; Dairy Queen goodness from Old Saybrook, CT; homemade gelato sampler from Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria.

Brioche french toast at Cafe Cluny

Thick, sponge-like slices of brioche. Patriotic blueberries and strawberries. Just the right amount of maple syrup to hold it all together. A divine breakfast at long-time favorite, Cafe Cluny.

The beauty of City Bakery

Now that the Hot Chocolate Festival is over (what flavors did you try?), let’s focus on the many splendored treats that riddle City Bakery on any given day.

If I visit on a Monday, I might have to indulge in the divine vegan sesame banana cakes.

The scones are good as far as scones go, but for my money, I’d go for the pretzel croissant. A City treasure for sure.


Then again, there’s French toast. French toast is never the wrong choice.


One of my favorite cookies in the city is the compactly potent peanut butter cookie. Heavenly.

Though the reverse chocolate chip cookies are pretty good too.

Pain au chocolat…


Bran and corn muffins…

You tell me: what's it going to be this weekend?

Mission Beach Cafe

It's on, people.

Lavender infused french toast with blueberries, marscpaone and bourbon syrup from Mission Beach Cafe.

What didn’t I eat in Paris?

Well, I sort of went a little crazy. I had my beloved praluline from Pralus.

La Folie from La Patisserie des Reves.

I picked up an apricot-pistachio escargot from a local boulangerie. Pourquoi pas?

That was after my second almond croissant from Eric Kayser.

My first almond croissant was from Boulangerie Gosselin.

Then there were my beautiful chocolate chip cookies from Lola's.

And chocolat chaud in the tearoom of Angelina.

I didn't skimp on dessert either. Le pain perdu...

... and a Grand Marnier soufflé. Miam.

However, I never did get my Nutella crepe.

Pain perdu

Ever heard of it? I hadn’t either until I moved to Paris. And had it for dessert. And fell in love with it.

It’s another baffling example of just how the French can remain so thin. Because pain perdu is really French toast.

Day-old bread, steeped in a mixture of egg, cream, sugar and spices until it gets sodden in the best possible way, and then skillet-cooked. But instead of having it as a singular meal at breakfast, they have it for dessert, after dinner.

With ice cream. And caramel. And anything else you can dream of.