Bouchon Bakery

[thebaker]

I've been to the take-out a few times now. While the food can be quite good, even excellent - a problem is often consistency. One time the nutter butter type cookie was fresh, tasy and excellent, another it was very stale and inedible. One time the CBJ sandwich was perfect another they burned the bread while reheating/crisping the sandwich. Last time I ordered the (excellent) quiche, it was ice cold in the center.

T. Keller, a man so obsessive with detail needs to have these consistency issues dealt with.

My wife works as the cashier at the take out.

Next time you guys stop by say hello, her name is Aziza tell her you are from Egullet.....

Edited April 27, 2006 by thebaker (log)

[tupac17616]

Soutine is the amazing patisserie on 70th between Columbus and Broadway. Its best things include its cream puffs, its chocolate napoleans, and its tarts, but it does many things very well. I think you are right about the location of Levain. I always want to mispell it. You probably know that they have amazing (and enormous) cookies there.

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Great cream puffs, you say? Sounds like I may have to give it a try sometime in the very near future. Thanks for the tip!

[Todd36]

Soutine is fine, but not a particularlly impressive bakery while Levian (I think that is how you spell it) is basically chocolate chop cookies (big, heavy and gooey) and bread.

In the area you also have branches of Buttercup for cupcakes and the like and Crumbs, for Brooklyn type stuff.

There is also a decent bakery with cafe seating on 74th street, in the Ansonia, can't remember the name, they make great tuna fish BTW.

There is also the latest reincarnation of William Greenberg Jr. on Broadway east side around 76th, or so. Not impressive.

Further north, you have Georgia's Bakeshop and Silver Moon, not bad and with common ownership.

You can also acquire good bread at Fairway and Zabar's and good cake at Balduchi's and Citerilla, with a little luck.

There's no one stop shopping for baked goods on the upper west side, but you can get good stuff if you shop around. There are half a dozen or so places with 6 blocks of BWay and 72nd.

I've been to Bouchon twice now, and it's better than OK, but not worth the hype.

If you're looking for cake, I think best bets are Two Little Red Hens or Lady M. For French type things, Petrossian.

[skiter53]

Oops, I stopped by on Sunday only to find out that they don't open on Sunday. Guess I'll have to go back and try it some other time.

So, one more time, they aren't open on Sundays! (yet.)

Edit: grammar.

Edited May 1, 2006 by skiter53 (log)

[Noodlebot]

I stopped by the take-out portion of Bouchon Bakery today. There were a lot of options, from some good looking sandwiches and salads to breakfast pastries (muffins, scones, croissants, etc.), fancy French pastries, and various cookies and other treats. Nothing amazing-looking, but all tempting. I ordered a nutter butter and a chocolate bouchon. The nutter butter is two large peanut butter cookies with a peanut butter filling. I really liked this, especially the fact that the cookies were soft. The bouchon tasted like a good brownie, no more, no less.

Edited May 7, 2006 by Noodlebot (log)

[Dryden]

Does the sit-down section of Bouchon take reservations at all?

[Gastro888]

I went to Bouchon for the first time last Friday and had a pleasant experience with the take-out area of the cafe. The servers were very friendly and welcoming. Although, I must admit, I found it strange there were so many staffers behind the counter.

I had the crossiant and the banana muffin. They were great but not stellar. I was expecting so much more considering it is a Thomas Keller operation and heck, I paid 2.75 for my crossiant.

[thebaker]

Just to let you guys know.

they are now open on sunday.

[emsny]

To follow up on an earlier query: Does Bouchon Bakery take reservations, at least at mealtimes? I suppose I could pick up the phone and ask, but it's too early in the day, and I'll forget to call later.

[Nathan]

I've never seen it packed.

[adamru]

They don't take reservations and I've only ever seen it packed on weekend afternoons when it can average a half hour wait. I've never seen it more than half-full on a weekday afternoon.

[docsconz]

I grabbed some take-out before heading for the train upstate last Thursday. The tuna nicoise sandwich was excellent as was the fig danish. Both items absolutely hit the spot. For the quality I thought they were reasonably priced.

[docsconz]

Wagyu beef sliders supposedly available today at Bouchon look and sound marvelous.

[cchen]

Wagyu beef sliders supposedly available today at Bouchon look and sound marvelous.

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Had them on Friday.

They were delish!!

[Sneakeater]

How much are they?

[ulterior epicure]

Would I sound crazy if I said that those buns even tastier than those patties?? That is fantastic, cchen! Thanks for the photo.

[BryanZ]

I read somewhere that they're 15 for the trio.

[Megan Blocker]

Entranced by the macarons I was given as a parting gift at Per Se the other night, I made my first (!) visit to Bouchon Bakery yesterday to buy some. I tried the carrot cake (lovely, and not too sweet), vanilla (oooh, the buttercream) and the chocolate. I found the chocolate delicious but a bit rich for me - the vanilla (for which there's a recipe in the Bouchon Cookbook) were divine, if a tad stale.

Good stuff.

[mukki]

Entranced by the macarons I was given as a parting gift at Per Se the other night, I made my first (!) visit to Bouchon Bakery yesterday to buy some.  I tried the carrot cake (lovely, and not too sweet), vanilla (oooh, the buttercream) and the chocolate.  I found the chocolate delicious but a bit rich for me - the vanilla (for which there's a recipe in the Bouchon Cookbook) were divine, if a tad stale.

Good stuff.

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Carrot cake macarons?! I must try these.

[Megan Blocker]

Entranced by the macarons I was given as a parting gift at Per Se the other night, I made my first (!) visit to Bouchon Bakery yesterday to buy some.  I tried the carrot cake (lovely, and not too sweet), vanilla (oooh, the buttercream) and the chocolate.  I found the chocolate delicious but a bit rich for me - the vanilla (for which there's a recipe in the Bouchon Cookbook) were divine, if a tad stale.

Good stuff.

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Carrot cake macarons?! I must try these.

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Yes, you must - you really, really must. Go soon - they're seasonal, I think!

[ulterior epicure]

I dropped in a couple of weeks ago for a quick breakfast. My sister and I shared a new savory pastry they have: the "Pesto Croissant."

It's not crescent-shaped, but it's flaky and buttery. It's more like three puff pastry rolls clumped together. The inside is swirled with basil and whole pinenuts.

See pictures here.

No more carrot cake macarons, I'm afraid...

[Gastro888]

I saw those pesto crossiants in the bakery yesterday afternoon and was tempted but unsure if it would really work. So you're saying it's worth it? Did it taste more like puff pastry than a crossiant?

[ulterior epicure]

I saw those pesto crossiants in the bakery yesterday afternoon and was tempted but unsure if it would really work.  So you're saying it's worth it?  Did it taste more like puff pastry than a crossiant?

I wouldn't hurry to Bouchon Bakery for these puppies, but they were good. Personally, I would have liked a stronger pesto flavor.

It tasted just like a croissant swirled with pesto - buttery and airy on the inside, slightly "skinned" outside. The best thing about this croissant, in my opinion, are the pine-nuts studded throughout. Oh, did I mention the entire thing is dusted with grated Parmesan cheese? (It's apparent from the pictures).

[mukki]

I missed the carrot cake macaron, but I did try a chai macaron last week, which I thought was great. It was a bit firm and chewy, but I didn't find it to be a problem. Other seasonal flavors include Concord grape and mint.

Linzer cookie and the "nutter butter" were good, but I'm beginning to think I've lost any zeal for pb cookies. My real love at Bouchon remains the TKO/oreo.

[mukki]

I hit Bouchon yesterday -- the best item was the Smores Tart. It looks like it has a chocolate graham cracker crust, a layer of marshmallow cream and then chocolate mousse. On top are some toasted marshmallows and a too salty (or they didn't use a delicate enough salt) chocolate-dipped graham cracker. It was highly recommended by a guy behind the counter and it lived up to the promise.

Sticky bun was only ok. Seemed a bit dry. There was a sign noting that it was rated "best sticky bun in NY" or some such thing. Eggnog macaron was tasty, but, like the gingerbread version (which could have used more flavor), it was too thick and chewy this time. I really like the creme fraiche coffee cake -- I believe it's got a layer of cocoa powder in the center, which creates a nice slightly bitter contrast to all the sweet elements.

Edited December 15, 2007 by mukki (log)