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.

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

The world-renowned Ispahan croissant

Because I’d heard so much about Pierre Hermé’s celebrated Ispahan flavor but had only ever sampled it in a macaron form, never the croissant or cake, I had to cross at least one off the list when I was in Paris.

The croissant it was! And a seriously delicious croissant at that. Crisp on the outside, soft and doughy on the inside.

A fine, sweet glacage and bits of candied berries.

(Just look at those lovely layers.)

Inside, rose-flavored almond paste and raspberry-litchi gelée.

It was all over much too quickly.

Oh beautiful millefeuille

I had the pleasure of lunching at the La Cuisine the other day. It’s the fabulous restaurant inside the glamorous Royal Monceau. It’s also where Pierre Hermé, (whom I spied while leaving!) created the dessert menu—including a little “spin-the-wheel” carte that lets you create your own millefeuille.

From the luscious ingredients including caramel and lemon choux crème, flecks of dark chocolate and plump berries, I went with one of my favorite combinations...

Pistachio and raspberry.

Beautiful.

The best brest in Paris

They say here in France that a patisserier’s skills can be judged by just one dessert: the Paris-Brest. Which puts Philippe Conticini at the top of the choux-filled heap.

Six months ago, Conticini—who opened La Patisserie de Reves last year—was awarded the best Paris-Brest in the city. Two months ago, he opened a gorgeous salon de thé in the 16eme (Bon Marché shoppers arent’ the only ladies who lunch). The man is on a roll.

Of course it’s not all about the Paris-Brest (even if it is a little ring of heaven, with liquid praliné piped inside the hazelnut cream).

Beneath each individual glass-domed frigo is a mouth-watering, stomach-rumbling visual masterpiece.

Raspberry and lemon meringue tartes…


…chocolate and coffee éclairs….

…strawberries and cream.

His daring Saint-Honoré and dazzling Alliance.


Even his wee cookies are arresting.

Some of the delights dare not even be covered by casings.

Like this—the biggest brioche ever.

Rivaled only by the enormous madeleines.

And if you’re worried that you will put away an entire tarte or cake yourself, don’t worry. Individuels!


And a lovely tearoom and terrace in which to indulge.


Best of Paris? You bet.

Cakes a'plenty at Rose Bakery

How does one even begin to decide?

For eight years now, Rose Bakery has been sating Anglo Sweet Freaks in Paris. They’re most celebrated for their scones and carrot cake. The former, I’m not a fan of; but the latter, I can definitely see why these tin-can portions of carrot cake topped with cuh-reamy cream cheese frosting are a hit.

But what of the brownies and muffins?


And the many different cake varieties? Really? How does one decide between…

...lemon-polenta and marble?

Chocolate-polenta and raspberry-green tea?


Pistachio and lemon-lemon?

My strategy: a cake taste a week to solve this perplexing problem.

46, rue des Martyrs, 9eme
30, rue Debelleyme, 3eme