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Great NYC Bakeries


Ilex

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Hi!

My friend & I are both novice pastry chefs (culinary grads, 2yrs working for me, 1 for her). We are planning on spending the day in NY soon and want to see as many great bakeries & pastry shops as we can.

Where would recomend?

Also any great "toy" stores we should know about? I've been to Ny Cake & Bakery and Bridge Kitchenware. Unfortunatly we'll be taking the train in from NJ and walking all day so we can't buy too much ::::sigh:::

Thanks so much!

Lexi

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Welcome to eGullet Lexi!

May I suggest Payard on Lexington Ave (74th St) for some fine French pastries, and Sullivan Street Bakery on, what else, Sullivan Street for excellent rustic breads.

You'll obviously want to map out your course to get to as many places as possible. On the other hand, how much can one enjoyably eat in a day?

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1. JB Prince 36 east 31st street

2. for the novelty of it, Beard Papa Cream Puffs/upper west side

3. if it's fresh, viennoisserie at Petrossian's take out shop, 7th ave bewteen 57th and 58th

4. Mondrian, behind bloomingdales, owned by Michelle Willaume, not great but a must see if you're in the field/ while your there across the street is dylan candy bar

5. Maison du chocolate/not a bakery but excellent slices of cake and macaroons/ upper east and rockefeller branches

6. Fauchon, park at 56th? street, i don't like the upper east branches

i could go on if you wanted to venture into more than just bakeries but that is a pretty good start

nkaplan@delposto.com
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i forgot balthazar bakery for their excellent chocolate bread and i second sullivan street and while you are down there, ceci cela and if you can go all the way downtown, the doughnut plant, but call first as they have very limited hours

nkaplan@delposto.com
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Ok, I'm taking notes!!!

I figure once I have some good prospects then we'll map out a route.

Even if we don't eat at all of them, we'll have fun looking.

Another thing I meant to ask, do a lot of bakeries close on Mondays like restaurants do?

Thanks!

Lexi

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If you want New York cheesecake, there was an article in the Times that listed ten places the rated as tops. Two Little Red Hens basically got top honors for traditional New York cheesecake. It's a really good cake with ungummy cream cheese. Their original location is on 8th Av. in Park Slope, Brooklyn, but they also have a smaller location near 85 St. on 2nd Av. in Manhattan.

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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If you get down to SoHo, Broadway Panhandler on Broome St. (which is two blocks below Houston; the store is between Wooster and Greene, http://www.broadwaypanhandler.com/) is maybe worth checking out. It's overpriced overall, but they do have a few hard-to-find items and their cookbooks are all 20% off. New York Cake and Baking Supply is a lot more useful generally, though.

If you're down on Broome, you're down near what remains of Little Italy, but where to go in that area for good Italian pastries is more than I could tell you, unfortunately!

Edited by rmbarr (log)
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There are no good bakeries in Little Italy. :sad:

Even though it's a chain, Le Pain Quotidien might be worth a visit if you're at all interested in bread.

Amy's Bread (Chelsea Market and 9th Avenue in the 40s).

Also in Chelsea Market: Fat Witch Brownies, Sarabeth's, and Eleni's Cookies. But NOT Ruthy's. Yuck.

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Patisserie Claude on West 4th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues) in Greenwich Village for croissants, pain au chocolat and just wonderful pastry in general.

enrevanche <http://enrevanche.blogspot.com>

Greenwich Village, NYC

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.

- Mark Twain

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Here's my thoughts. Some of them are the same as what's above, some are different.

Start of at Jacques Torres’ place in Brooklyn. You could walk over the Brooklyn bridge to get there, but it will be must faster to take a car. Once there be sure to have the chocolate croissant.

When you are back in downtown Manhattan, take the J over to the lower east side and checkout the Donut Plant and Laboratorio de Gelato. Then walk over to SOHO.

In SOHO go to Balthazar (try a canelle so you can compare it to the one at Payard), go to Mariebelle and have a small dark and small spicy hot chocolate. Across the street from mariebelle is the Broadway panhandler. You can also check out Rice to Riches which is down the block from Balthazar. Also stop by Sullivan St Bakery and have one of their "pizzas".

From SOHO walk up to the village. Check out Bruno’s on La Guardia between Houston and Bleaker (or the one on bleaker between 6th and 7th) (try the Pear Royal). While you are in the Neighborhood, try one of Claude’s croissants.

Now take the 9 up to 18th street, walk east and stop at City Bakery. Here you can grab another hot chocolate and a tart. You might also want to have something savory. From here you can walk or take a subway towards JB prince. If you walk, pass wichcraft (on 19th street) on your way. JB prince is pastry chef heaven—a million times better than new york cake.

I’d skip the places at Chelsea market.

From there you can head over to (from south to north) petrossian, fauchon, mondrion, payard, la maison du chocolat, and café sabarsky.

If you make it to the west side try beard papas and Levain for a cookie.

I recommend you don’t try to do it all in one day, because after the first few places you will stop enjoying it.

Have fun.

Mike

The Dairy Show

Special Edition 3-In The Kitchen at Momofuku Milk Bar

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Now take the 9 up to 18th street, walk east and stop at City Bakery. Here you can grab another hot chocolate and a tart. You might also want to have something savory.

You might also want to try their pretzel croissant which is an interesting re-interpretation of the croissant - rich, buttery, but has that great salt and sesame seeds.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Ok, this is my favorite topic as many of you know. When it comes to bakeries though, dont forget there are the chi chi kind and fun campy places.

For the best pain au chocolat in the city or at least downtown, check out Ceci Cela on Spring Street and Lafayette next to the store Fresh. I stil love Magnolia bakery for their hummingbird cake and stellar banana pudding ( nilla wafers and all)

I dont like everthing at the Chelsea Market, but FAT WITCH BROWNIES RULE THE WORLD! you can even get baby witch brownies too.

I know that these dont ccount as bakeries, but definately head over to Chikalicious if you havent been there yet, for a "3" course dessert meal and I think that Sam ( last name I forget) the pastry chef @ WD 50 has some of the most creative desserts I ve ever had.

good luck and remember my motto, you can never have too much dessert!!

"Is there anything here that wasn't brutally slaughtered" Lisa Simpson at a BBQ

"I think that the veal might have died from lonliness"

Homer

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For the best pain au chocolat in the city or at least downtown, check out Ceci Cela on Spring Street and Lafayette next to the store Fresh.

jeunefilleparis have you tried Jacques yet? There're in brooklyn, but I've got to give them the nod.

Sam ( last name I forget) the pastry chef @ WD 50

(Mason)

Mike

The Dairy Show

Special Edition 3-In The Kitchen at Momofuku Milk Bar

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I have to put in a vote for the Silver Moon, on 105th Street and Broadway. Just go. Get a croissant, a fig and pepper bread and a hazelnut sourdough. And...lessee...a blueberry ginger muffin, an applesauce muffin, a cheese and currant brioche, a challah, and um um um...

you get the picture. :wub:

K

Basil endive parmesan shrimp live

Lobster hamster worchester muenster

Caviar radicchio snow pea scampi

Roquefort meat squirt blue beef red alert

Pork hocs side flank cantaloupe sheep shanks

Provolone flatbread goat's head soup

Gruyere cheese angelhair please

And a vichyssoise and a cabbage and a crawfish claws.

--"Johnny Saucep'n," by Moxy Früvous

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If you like Greek pasteries I recommend Poseidon Bakery (212-757-6173) on 9th Ave between 44th and 45th -- not far from the Port Authority on 42nd Street. They have traditional and rolled baklava, trigoni (almond paste in philo), alfi (Pistachio Paste in philo), folgera (custard in filo), Havli (semolina/almond cake), as well as several other sweets that I have not tried (yet). Their baklava tastes different from any other I ever had because they use rose water instead of regular water.

They also have hot items such as Spanikopeta (Sp?) (Spinach Pie) as well as several more. N.B. This is strickly a bakery, there is no palce to sit.

Edited by mascarpone (log)
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I saw a segment on the Food Network the other night on the cakes featured in the book The Whimsical Bakehouse. They looked fantastic. They come from Ardsley, NY's Riviera Bakehouse. I'm going to be visiting NYC next weekend and celebrating a friend's birthday; are there any places in the City where I can get a similar type cake?

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  • 1 month later...

This topic's a bit old, but I have to sing the praises of the lemon tart at Ceci Cela in Soho. Not only does is achieve the balance of sweetness with the right amount of lemon zing, but it's reasonably priced!

The other place that wasn't mentioned is the Duane Park Patisserie in TriBeCa. They are known for their cakes and cookies (but the cookies I've had there are good, not great and tres chere). However, the handful of pastries they prepare daily are delightful. I love the lemon or currant scone and the cheese danish. One big plus about the place is the awesome coffee.

Jennie Auster aka "GIT"

Gastronome in Training

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bread:

sullivan street bakery, (italian style, but the crumb occasionally is a little too hard with large holes)

amy's bread (more American style, crumb slightly spongy) you can watch the entire baking operation happen at the chelsea market location

le pain quotidien (chain stores with bakery in long island city) one of the best baguettes, plus other good breads.

silver bell bakery (lithuanian light rye) they sel their excellent bread at polish meat markets

others:

Royal crown bakery is far out in brooklyn

tom cat

pastries:

papa beard japanese cream puffs, you can watch the entire operation in the store.

ess a bagel on 22nd st, you can watch them ladle out the bagels from a huge vat of boiling water, then baked, and then sold.

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If you are partial to Italian pastries (I'm not, really) and happen to be near 11th St on the Eastside check out Veneiro's between 1st and 2nd. Prices are reasonable and I think it's worth a taste.

Also E 19th between Park and Broadway is 'wichcraft. Try the cream filled chocolate cupcakes. Far better than the cupcake specialty places I've tried, IMHO.

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LEVAIN BAKERY IS A MUST FOR THEIR COOKIES

AMY'S AND SULLIVAN STREET FOR BREAD

I THINK LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN HAS THE BEST PAIN AU CHOCOLAT, PLUS THEIR BREAD'S ARE GOOD AND ORGANIC, TRY THEIR ROLLS WITH JAM

BUT SKIP THE CREAM PUFF PLACE, IT WOULD WE A WASTE OF TIME AND THEY ARE NOT THAT GREAT

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I have to put in a vote for the Silver Moon, on 105th Street and Broadway.  Just go.

I think Silver Moon is a wonderful bakery! Everything I've had there has been delicious. I also like going there because I like supporting the head baker and owner Judith Norell, who spent part of her life as a professional harpsichordist and was a colleague of my teacher. One caveat: I would avoid the regular coffee there, which I find to be very weak.

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I'd add Kossar's on the Lower East Side if you want to see how great bialys are made.

Bialys at Kossar's are a must.

Also Patisserie Payard, Jaques Torres Chocolate in DUMBO (down by the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).

Orwasher's on East 72nd St. is an old, old Czech bakery with crisp crescent rolls with coarse salt and caraway seeds, and onion flatbreads you really want to just curl up in.

And if it is still there, the Cafe di Roma with an espresso machine that looks like the boiler from an apartment buidling, and rich, syrup drenched, squoshy Italian pastries.

Orwasher's and di Roma are some of the last of their kind.

Theabroma

Sharon Peters aka "theabroma"

The lunatics have overtaken the asylum

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