Patisserie St. Michel, Teaneck

[Jason Perlow]

Inspired by the Best made cakes in North Jersey thread, there are more pictures on that thread as well...

Best cakes and pastries in Northern NJ are from Patisserie St Michel, on Queen Anne Road, The Plaza, Teaneck.  They don't have long hours, so call first.

←

We stopped by Patisserie St. Michel this afternoon and were quite impressed. The shop itself looks threadbare, even worn down. But the pastries we sampled were amazing. We had a nice chat with Andre and he offered us samples of the Lemon Meringue and Pistachio Creme Brulee tarts (offered for sale as individual slices). Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera with us, so we didn't get pictures of those, but we bought a few other individual tarts and eclairs ($3 each), so pictures of those follow (we haven't tasted them yet). What most impressed me was the pastry shell on the tarts, even more than the filling (and the fillings were delicious). The crust was quite browned, very flaky and crunchy, with a good taste all its own. There were only a few whole cakes and tarts available, mostly everything was cut into portions. However, what they had looked very good, and the tart was a seasonal Plum Frangipan, available round with a butter crust ($19) or long with a puff pastry crust ($15). He also had coffee cake, chocolate cake, and opera cake available whole. The coffee cake looked very good, but I think we'll be stopping by again for a plum tart to bring to the Yom Kippur Break Fast at my mom's.

←

Patisserie St Michel

1389 Queen Anne Rd

Teaneck, NJ 07666-3540

Phone: 201-837-8140

Creme Brulee

Pistachio Creme Brulee

Fruit Tarts

Cheese Croissants

Opera Cake

Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse Cake

Peach Tart

Tiramisu

Baguette

Baker/Patissier Andre Schneider

Edited October 3, 2004 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[Jason Perlow]

More pictures on this thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=51561

[Rachel Perlow]

Jason brought the long plum tart with a puff pastry shell (not pictured, but the individual plum tarts are in the upper left of the fruit tart picture, above) for dessert tonight. That got polished off with lots of oohs and ahhs, while the mandelbrod and halvah just sat there looking embarassed to be on the same table.

[zhelder]

Well, I took a ride to Patisserie St. Michel today. They didn't have much left. The lady at the counter was probably the friendliest bakery attendant I have ever encountered. She gave me some samples of lemon meringue and a cream puff and we had a nice conversation during which I informed her I found out about the bakery on eGullet. Both were outstanding. The cream puff was probably the best I ever had, and it was definitely made with butter. I bought a sour cream apple coffee cake ($18). They are expensive, but the quality is absolutely outstanding. I don't have the time (or money) to shop there every week, but on special occasions I will definitely treat myself. Thanks to all!

[Rachel Perlow]

Oh good, someone tried the coffee cake. More description please?

[zhelder]

Well, Rachel, here is what I can tell you about the apple coffee cake, based on the one delicious slice I ate last night. The crumb topping is aboslutely amazing. There appears to be a large quantity of pecans mixed into the topping, which adds a wonderful flavor. The crumbs are nice and big too. The main cake base is almost like a pound cake in taste, but probably with a slightly coarser texture. It is very rich and flavorful. Finally, there is a layer of apples at the bottom of the cake. It is absolutely wonderful. Highly recommended!

[menton1]

It was just mentioned on the NY Forums that Les Halles has a very good Bouche de Noel; I just wanted to mention that I got a Bouche de Noel here at St Michel a couple of Xmases ago, and it was fabulous!!

[Rachel Perlow]

Good to know!

BTW, I just wanted to put a link to Jason's piece in the NYT in this thread, click for "Tarte au Teaneck." They didn't put the picture on the Times site, but it is very similar to the one of "Fruit Tarts" above.

[Jason Perlow]

New dessert from Patisserie St. Michel:

Chocolate Tarte

For those of you who haven't yet been to this store, you really need to go, soon. Andre's business is very good, but in life, there are no guarantees.

[Cook456]

How does this shop compare to La Petite Patisserie in Dumont ?

Their pastry and cakes are amazing.

[menton1]

How does this shop compare to La Petite Patisserie in Dumont ?

Their pastry and cakes are amazing.

IMHO, Petite Patisserie is just not in the same league as St Michel; StM literally blows away this other place. Just look at the photos here, the pastries are works of art. (And they taste even better!)

[Hank]

How does this shop compare to La Petite Patisserie in Dumont ?

Their pastry and cakes are amazing.

IMHO, Petite Patisserie is just not in the same league as St Michel; StM literally blows away this other place. Just look at the photos here, the pastries are works of art. (And they taste even better!)

←

DITTO. In our minds and many of our friends this is absolutely the finest Patisserie this side of the Hudson. We have ordered deserts from them whenever we have had dinner parties and have never been disappointed. Originally he opened a beautiful shop in Fort Lee (very close to our office and home) but moved to Teaneck quite a while ago, which, come to think of it was a good move for me as I would probably weigh twice as much today. How can you possibly keep your fingers off this stuff if it is within easy reach? This place is definitely worth a detour.

Edited March 3, 2005 by Hank (log)

[Jason Perlow]

By the way, Andre and Anne will be making special flourless desserts for Passover -- they are in very high demand, so make sure you place your order with them early.

[jhlurie]

How does this shop compare to La Petite Patisserie in Dumont ?

Their pastry and cakes are amazing.

IMHO, Petite Patisserie is just not in the same league as St Michel; StM literally blows away this other place. Just look at the photos here, the pastries are works of art. (And they taste even better!)

←

The Creme Brulee tart things from this place can literally make you weep with gratitude.

[jpr54_]

i stopped at the bakery last night-just b4 closing

they were out of most pastries and bread but i did buy a slice of chocolate cake-forgot the name and sampled some of the pastries,

anne was very pleasant and happy that ppl from egullet are stopping by-

she was thrilled that a lady from waldwick had been in the shop-

joanne

[zhelder]

i stopped at the bakery last night-just b4 closing

they were out of most pastries and bread but i did buy a slice of chocolate cake-forgot the name and sampled some of the pastries,

anne was very pleasant and happy that ppl from egullet are stopping by-

she was thrilled that a lady from waldwick had been in the shop-

joanne

←

It was a MAN from Waldwick; me. (It may be time for a haircut ) After seeing the new posts, I decided to take another trip and I bought the chocolate tart which is sinfully rich and delicious. I also got some chocolate covered hazelnut cookies (outrageously delicious!) and a chocolate croissant (yummy, but not a huge leap over good supermarket ones. ) This was the first time I have ever spent $25 for a cake, but it is phenomenal. Anne is a great attendant and her service alone makes the trip well worth it. The last time I was there I got the apple coffee cake, which was probably the best coffee cake I ever had. They are expensive, but the quality of their cakes is probably the best in the area. Check them out!

[tkrongold]

we went today, too. they are the nicest people. Andre "forced" us to sample the chocolate cake, a croissant, some cookies, & his spinach quiche - all wonderful! we bought a chocolate/coffee eclair and some sort of chocolate cream puff. we are having them for dessert later.

[Jason Perlow]

I haven't tried his quiche yet but I am aching to do so.

[zhelder]

I haven't tried his quiche yet but I am aching to do so.

←

When I went the other day Anne gave me a sample of the bacon quiche. It was excellent, very creamy with a great crust. Although I like quiche, I wouldn't say it's one of my favorite foods, but the quiche here was probably the best I've had (although I'm no expert on quiche).

[waves2ya]

Finally made the sojourn to Patisserie St. Michel today - what a treat!

We arrived on the late side of the day (closes at 2:30 on Sunday) and M. Schneider couldn't have been more welcoming and genuine to my family with tastes of just about any of the treats still on display. A bit of chocolate cake, some creme brulee, cookies and macaroons - and we left with a ganache, creme brulee pistacho, a bucket of macaroons and a couple of tarts.

His pate feuilletee (the crust of tarts, etc.) and sablee is just perfect; Jason's accolades are well founded - and I can't wait to taste the mille feuilles.

Oh - and a bit of crabmeat quiche - out of bounds; but then we were on our way to China 46...

[Jason Perlow]

New stuff for Passover (not Kosher, but flourless):

Macaroons and Florentine Cookies

Apple Caramel Tart on flourless almond dacquoise

Rich Flourless Chocolate Tart

Berry Tart on flourless almond dacquoise with honey cream

Other items, not Pasadich:

Grand Marnier cake

Crab Quiche

[Jason Perlow]

I haven't tried his quiche yet but I am aching to do so.

←

When I went the other day Anne gave me a sample of the bacon quiche. It was excellent, very creamy with a great crust. Although I like quiche, I wouldn't say it's one of my favorite foods, but the quiche here was probably the best I've had (although I'm no expert on quiche).

←

The quiche is awesome. Although if you eat more than one slice you are likely to get sick, it has so much butter and cream in it.

[jhlurie]

As usual, I've come close to tears looking at some of this guy's wares (sob).

[menton1]

After patronizing both Balthazar Bakery in Englewood and St Michjel for a while, I must reluctantly admit that Balthazar has him beat. In every way, quality, appearance, taste, and price!

I am reluctant because I do like to support small local merchants. But Balthazar is just fabulous, and mostly cheaper than Andre. I don't think Balthazar has quiche, though...

[Jason Perlow]

I think Balthazar has excellent breads, with tremendous variety, and certainly they make amazing croissant (although I find them a tad bit greasy). However I would not characterize them as an exceptional pastry maker. Balthazar is a huge factory production and Andre is a small, one man shop. You can't even compare the two. To say that Andre is anything but at the absolute pinnacle of his craft is really quite erroneous. And while his wares are not cheap, they definitely are not out of the ballpark for what he does.