Cream-filled at Doughnut Plant

We're coming up on tax season. Which has a silver lining for me: my accountant is a few doors down from the original Doughnut Plant. 

Doughnut Plant. Home of beautiful cake and yeast and cream-filled creations that are so naughty and so good. 

They're cranking out more and more "small" doughnuts, which means you can sample multiple flavors with less guilt.

Pistachio.

Chocolate hazelnut.

Cashew orange blossom.

I love tax season.

Breakfast Club at Clinton St. Baking Company

February was Pancake Month at Clinton St. Baking Company.

Bennie and I went twice for Breakfast Club. Once for raspberry almond pancakes.

And another time for the spicy chocolate and crispy banana ones.

Always on the menu are blueberry pancakes.

Let there be no mistake. These are the best pancakes in the city.

A couple reasons to love The Smile To Go

Scones that actually taste good.

Bread. Moist, chocolaty bread.

22 Howard Street, NYC
646.683.3893

Breakfast Club at Four & Twenty Blackbirds

For most Americans, pie season is over. Pumpkin, apple and pecan treats are of a season past, and the preferable winter indulgences are cakes and bonbons. But if you happen to live near Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Gowanus, then pie is a yearlong celebration.

(You might even want a slice of malted chocolate pecan, along with a baked oatmeal muffin, for breakfast.)

Sweets I am thankful for

Orange-kissed cinnamon rolls from The Smile to Go—vegan, no less.

Teuscher champagne truffles. Perfection.

One Girl Cookies, in general.

Receiving the gift of Levain cookies.

Breakfast club with Bennie. Especially one that includes almond croissants at Lafayette.

Or gluttony at Doughnut Plant.

Peanut butter cookies from City Bakery. Sigh.

Butter Lane cupcakes. Take your pick.

And from Paris...

The untouchable praluline

Les escargot from Du Pain et des Idées.

Anything from Jean-Paul Hévin.

A light and lovely Gerard Mulot croissant.

And the Ispahan croissant from Pierre Hermé.

So, so much to thankful for.

Trés French on the Upper East Side

Monsieur Francois Payard has many tentacles in the city now. One being across the street from Eric Kayser.

It's a bona fide French ghetto up there.

So if you want ice cream sandwiches with some serious panache...

... or exquisite bonbons, filled with sesame almond praline, raspberry purée or fresh ginger...

And don't forget the vachon, a delectable little number of mixed berry sorbet, sandwiched between two fine licorice-flavored meringues with just a little bit of whipped cream...

well, you know where to go.

Francois Payard Patisserie
1293 Third Avenue at 74th Street

Breakfast Club at Bakeri

Heaven. We were in heaven.

Ben suggested Bakeri, in Williamsburg, for our latest Breakfast Club. I couldn't have been happier to oblige.
Opened and run by Nina Brondmo since 2009, the place is just adorable.

 

(Does that mural look familiar?)

More important, it's beyond delicious. Everything is baked from scratch in the morning, and there's an incredible selection of breads and pastries, inspired from America (strawberry pie!), France (chocolate brioche!) and Nina's home country, Norway (Skolebrød!). It was tough to decide, but we made exemplary choices.

The chocolate hazelnut tort that Ben insisted upon was perhaps the highlight.

Chocolaty and nutty, still a titch warm from the oven, it was sweet but savory and a totally decadent, but right, breakfast choice.

The strawberry lemon cake with lavender crumble wasn't so bad either. Heavy with moistness, it was equal parts tart and sweet.

The bread pudding was of the savory sort, this one filled with spinach and feta and tomatoes, and every bit as eggy and lovely as one would expect from bread pudding.

But still, we weren't sated. So we went ahead and ordered that ridiculous-looking chocolate raspberry scone.

It was a favorite Breakfast Club destination.

(That's me, genuflecting before the sign.)

150 Wythe Avenue
Williamsburg, BK