Dessert at Gramercy Tavern

I was just about to state the obvious: that Gramercy Tavern has phenomenal desserts.

But then again, the Danny Meyer landmark is renowned for its cocktails, its environment, its friendliness, its quality, and for its very affordable soup and sandwich combo. What’s not to love about this restaurant?

After indulging in all the aforementioned, Bennie and I didn’t need dessert, but, being who we are, we decided to split one thing, my choice. Always a sucker for bread pudding, I chose the butterscotch bread pudding. Paired with its sweet-tangy pear sorbet, topped with a buttercrunch disc, it was perfection.



But, hey, our kind waitress asked, you don’t mind if we give you another dessert, do you?? Just because? Here, chocolate pudding with a thick layer of salted caramel and toasted brioche croutons.



Giant miam.

Provencal tarts

I mean, how perfect is this? You couldn’t stage a display of freshly baked fruit tarts from the South of France any better if you tried.

There I was, strolling through Avignon, minding my own business, when I saw this.

Rhubarb, pear, chocolate hazelnut, deliciousness.

Look at this sea of blueberries. Hubba hubba!

The strawberry tart didn’t look so bad either.

Little slices of sunshine, aren’t they.

Insatiable at Boulangerie Julien

Bennie’s extended stay meant we got to squeeze in another breakfast run to
Boulangerie Julien. Just what my ass needed.

But was it worth it? Bien sur.

We opted for the Pattes d’Ours, which, in my previous experience at Arnaud Delmontal, was filled with almond paste. Not this one.

Chocolate and pear—a divine combo if ever there was one—plus a little pastry cream just to make sure it was ridiculously delicious.

Just to make sure we left nothing but crumbs.

The incredible, all-too-edible, cakes of Lille, France (part I)

Pierre, Gerard and Arnaud, eat your hearts out.

I trained up to Lille, in north-northeast France and discovered Paris isn’t the only place where patisserie is prized. I was dazzled by cakes at every turn.

I sought out Meert, a celebrated and historic tea salon. Sure, the millefeuilles, rochers, operas, baba rhums, tarts, muffins and cakes looked good.





But then I kept exploring. Besides Patrick Hermand, Aux Merveilleux and Luc Olivier, I discovered Patisserie Charle.

Incredible creations of pineapple and coconut, pears and salted caramel...

...apricot and pistachio, vanilla and raspberry...

white, milk and dark chocolate...


Too much beauty and temptation for one day.

The dessert course at Cafe Panique

To say that Paris knows its desserts is like saying King Louis XIV had a tendency for flamboyancy. Just when you think you’ve been wowed by one patisserie window, you stumble upon another with more elaborate pastries, more vividly imagined cakes, more mouth-watering puffs of prettiness and decadence.

I don’t often order dessert when I go out for dinner. Usually, I snack on so many pastries during the day that I’m just not able to indulge in another sweet course. But I recently ate at Café Panique, an adorable and delicious restaurant in the 10th arrondisement that offers only a three-course menu at dinner. So I was forced into dessert. Totally against my will. It was horrible.

I had two dining companions and we took pains to all order something different. Each was divine. And through too gorgeous to eat, we did just that.

There was the praliné and raspberry sablé.

Poached pear with fresh cream and vanilla.

And caramel tiramisu.

I loved this dessert not only for its generous portion and rich creaminess. But the Carambar wrapper that adorned it was the perfect example of the sophisticated playfulness that made Café Panique such a wonderful experience.

Autumn is pear season

This I know because I went to Maison Baron-Lefèvre in Nantes and had pear crumble for dessert.

Crumbles are one of my favorite things to eat. (But for the record, what is the difference is between a “crumble” and a “crisp”?). This French version had the added bonus of a thick eggy custard in addition to the delicious pear morsels, the sweet crumbles and the light vanilla bean ice cream.

With every bite, I kept promising myself that I wouldn’t finish (this dessert was the third course of a very decadent meal, after all). But, what can I say? It was too delicious. It being pear season and all.

A trio from Eric Kayser

Seven boulangeries, three chocolatiers and a gelato shop. That’s what I’ve unofficially counted in my neighborhood. (What can I say? I know how to pick ‘em.) While I have yet to make all the rounds—believe it or not, I’ve been to fewer than half of them—the ones I have tried have definitely not disappointed. Maybe that’s why it’s taking me so long to sample the others: I keep returning to the ones I already know and love.

And how could I not? One of the boulangeries is the famed Eric Kayser.

A fifth generation baker, Kayser opened his first boulangerie in 1996 in the fifth arrondisement and now has a half dozen locations in the city. He invented a machine that creates and maintains a liquid leaven that he uses in his breads in lieu of yeast, which enables slow rising and causes a lactic fermentation that gives delicious hints of milk and honey. He makes over 60 kinds of bread—using preservative- and additive-free flour—including a simple baguette that is crusty, doughy, springy and sublime. All that is to say, Eric Kayser is best known as a breadmaker.


But because there’s usually a line snaking out the door, I’ve found myself all too often staring at rows of beautiful croissants, tuiles, madeleines, financiers, biscuits and cakes while patiently waiting to buy my baguette.



All this while being enveloped in the irresistible smell of fresh baked goods. How could I not be seduced? They must be good, right?



Right. Good does not even begin to cover it.

The pear grapefruit cake was thick with almond paste—one of my favorite flavors—which was cut by the bright juicy slices of grapefruit. Citrus and savory: a winning pair.

The opera cake was a beautiful blend of chocolate and praline in several forms: mousse, glaze, fondant and a crispy, airy wafer. So many flavors and textures emerged, so rich and dreamy…


I’m such a chocolate devotee, it’s rare that another dessert trumps the chocolate option, but the raspberry pistachio cake did just that. More almond paste, more shortbread, but made better by the delicious combination of fresh, fruity raspberries and nutty pistachio.


I’m lucky I had a little help with these heavenly numbers. Next time, I fear, I may be on my own.

The French take on an American classic

I’ve never been a pie nut, but things might change here in Paris.

A colleague who lives in Montmartre told me about Les Petits Mitrons. Since he had also told me about Coquelicot, and mentions Pierre Hermé on a weekly basis, I knew he knew what he was talking about.

There’s certainly no shortage of options at this cute little patisserie: chocolate-walnut, chocolate-pear, apple-pear, straight up chocolate, straight up apple, apricot, peach, rhubarb, fig, fruits-rouges (mixed berries), strawberry-cream, mixed fruit…






and that’s just at this one place. If I get hooked on pie now, there’s no telling what more I will discover.



I figured I had to start with the classic and got une piéce of the apple. God, was it delicious. Not only were the apples fresh and bright-tasting, but the crust was beautifully sweet and moist. Bravo, Francais!

26, rue Lepic
18eme

Another swoon-worthy cupcake

Some people say “Jump” and you say “How high?” Some bakeries announce new cupcakes and you think, “How soon can I be there?” (Or is that just me?)

After hearing about Batch’s new pumpkin rum raisin, cranberry coconut, bacon caramel and drunken peppered pear flavors, I had to stop by. Well, I was in the Willage after all.

I did refrain from getting multiple cupcakes, and went straight for the peppered pear.

It mixes sweet pear flavor, a spicy aftertaste and there’s an Amaretto kick baked inside. It’s delicious.

I never want to see the carrot salted caramel go away, but this is a nice alternative.

Sweet Tarts

Every day deserves a happy ending.

Once upon a time, there was a small bakery south of Houston Street in the big city of Manhattan. Although it was less than a block away from four lanes of traffic and steps away from trendy clothing boutiques, this bakery quietly churned out wholesome sweet and savory treats. Inevitably, all those who stumbled across it came to love this bakery.

So it is in New York. Often the most charming (not to mention, delicious) establishments are those that take you far, far away from the incessant hustle of city life. At the SoHo bakery, Once Upon a Tart, the humble café décor and home-fresh baked goods offer the perfect respite from a harried workday or ambitious shopping expedition.

Although they offer salads and sandwiches, along with classic sweets such as cookies and muffins, they shine in the tart department. Being the height of autumn, ’tis the season for flavors such as apple and pumpkin, but other more imaginative options, like pear & almond, also reign baker Jerome Audureau’s menu. And, as evidence that everything’s better with chocolate, the chewy and dense banana & chocolate tart is a must-eat. Sized at five inches ($5.50), the tarts are perfectly portioned for self-indulgence. Unless, of course, you get two. Or three.

Once Upon a Tart
135 Sullivan Street
212.387.8869