Un chocolat

I overhear the nice guy behind the bar: “It’s like drinking melted chocolate.” Say no more; I’m in for a single shot of hot cocoa.

I’m at Michel Cluizel, world-renowned Parisian chocolatier who opened in ABC Carpet two years ago. It’s a relief to have place for top-notch chocolates that’s not Soho or midtown (and dangerously close to my apartment). Especially on a grey December afternoon when you have the day off from work and want to sit and zen out a bit.

The cocoa comes in a dainty little espresso cup. It hardly looks like enough, but it’s made with heavy cream and a blend of five different dark cocoa beans from different plantations, so drinking any more would be obscene. It’s creamy, smooth and refined; sharp, not sugary. Oui, c’est tres bon.

Michel Cluizel is better known for his bonbons than his cocoa though, so I must also indulge in a few of those. I choose a dark chocolate with a crème brulée butter ganache center, a salted butter caramel, and a milk chocolate filled with almond and hazelnut praline (always a sucker for pralines).

It’s a nice treat. But I’ll have to visit the rue Saint-Honoré boutique next week to see if, as I suspect, everything tastes better in Paris.

The sweet spot

Open wide for homemade truffles.

A stroll through the Essex Street Market has always been a sensory experience: Colorful cans of coconut milk and hearts of palm at Batista, pungent plumes from Formaggio and Saxelby Cheesemongers, and lively chatter of different tongues from the shopkeepers and locals. Now, a new hook exists at #24: the rich scent of homemade truffles.

Though Rhonda (Roni Sue) Kave just opened this eponymous shop, it was a long time coming. After 20 years of making buttercrunch (her signature treat) and bon bons for friends and family, she finally succumbed to the idea of going professional.

Kave fills each truffle with either dense Callebaut ganache or handmade perzipan, a lighter, fluffier version of marzipan (the ganache centers rule). Flavors are both straightforward and unusual, with fruits dominating: pomegranate, raspberry, mango and banana truffles fill the display case. But there are options for those whose palates favor spicy, savory or nutty. The popular Frida truffle, for instance, combines Mexican cinnamon, espresso and Kahlua, and the Zydeco is a medley of chili jams and confits, infused tequila and sea salt. Each truffle is then delicately topped with a sliver of whatever lies inside.

It will be nice to see what new flavors she whips up as the seasons change and the business ramps up. On standby, I am.

120 Essex Street (#24 Essex Street Market)
212.260.0421

Balthazar haiku

flakey buttery
a Balthazar croissant is
pure sublimity

Suckah!

Fiona and her very cool crew are melting, whipping and molding hard candies down on the LES (an art akin to blowing glass). Yum to bergamot, mango and grapefruit flavors. Yea for amazing design and packaging.











Pappabubble
380 Broome Street
212.966.2599

Pretty Please

Beth Pilar and Ellen Sternau have parlayed their 18-month custom-order cake business into a full service neighborhood café on the Lower East Side. Darling and delicious are the words that come to mind.

The décor is pink and flowery—sort of like being on the inside of a sponge cake (yes, please). Petite and tidy, a cushy window seat overlooking Allen Street is the only place to sit in-house.

Of the 12 signature items, Beth gives highest praise to the linzer tart, chocolate caramel sea salt tart (loving that combo, and seeing it everywhere lately), filled cupcakes (like a devil's food cake cupcake filled with chocolate mousse), and a lemony cheese puff. She's just as excited about the proprietary blend of Counter Culture coffee they offer (along with Serendipity Teas and Ronnybrook Farm milk. Perfect.). There's a pretty mean sticky bun, too, and croissants are on the way.

How Sweet It Is
157 Allen Street
212.777.0418

A New Classic

Is the peanut butter cookie better than chocolate chip?

The City Bakery is a powerful force in New York. On myriad “Best Of” lists, it’s referenced and revered for its absurdly thick hot cocoa, juggernaut cookies, and even its luxe salad bar. You could spend an entire day sampling the goods, riding the waves of sugar high after sugar high. Which means it’s tough to put just one sweet on the throne. But, when forced to do such a ridiculous thing, I could easily point to the peanut butter cookie.

First off, they’re small. Well, not really, but by City Bakery’s King-Kong standards, they are. These, like a scoop of sorbet, are modest enough that you can indulge in a couple. Second, they’re magically moist. The downfall of many peanut butter cookies is their tendency towards brittleness, sending crumbs and chunks into your lap, snapping off in rude pieces. But City Bakery’s hold together almost as if you were taking a scoop of peanut butter straight from the jar, sticking to the roof of your mouth and everything. And then there’s the flavor. Sweet, just as any cookie should be. But the creamy, nutty, savory balance couldn’t be better. A king is born.

Oh, Almondine

Too much chocolate is never enough.

I already know the response to my criticism but here it goes: Almondine’s pain au chocolat is delicious. Superb, even. Light, flakey pastry, slightly browned and crunchy at the ends. Chewy and moist, it tastes like it was only moments ago pulled from the oven.

But it needs more chocolate.

If I’m going for the pain au chocolat instead of a plain croissant, I want chocolate, and lots of it. The demonstration of French restraint is commendable, but this pastry needs another dollop of chocolate goodness to really put it over the top where it belongs.

But there are plenty of other Almondine treats beckoning for a return visit: chocolate chip cookies, financiers, chocolate fondant, madeleines and a killer looking cupcake to name a few. It will be a happy autumn day when I go back under the bridge, settle into the wee bakery on the cobblestone street, and break out the chocolate barometer once again.

85 Water Street
718.797.5026

5 Best Plates of French Toast

• Extra Virgin: Banana French Toast
With caramelized banana and whipped mascarpone. Ridiculous.

• Café Cluny: Brioche French Toast
With raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Perfect for one. Bonus points for Cluny’s adorable atmosphere.

• Jane: Vanilla Bean French Toast
Brioche bread, crème brulée batter, confectionary sugar. Big enough to share. Be prepared to wait for a table.

• Good Enough to Eat: Fruity French Toast
Cinnamon swirl bread and fresh fruit, like peaches. Ditto on the wait.

• Norma’s: Very Berry Brioche French Toast
Selected from an overwhelming variety of cakey options, an obscene portion of bread saturated in sugar and syrup, topped with fresh berries. Enough for a family of four.