Doughnut Plant

If you love Doughnuts, if you even kind of LIKE them, you simply MUST swing by one of the Doughnut Plant's locations. Before this visit, I'd only been to the Chelsea area location, and taken them to-go. This time I went to their original spot on Grand street with my friend LaShauna, who was visiting for her birthday. We squeezed in time for a quick coffee for me, chai for LaShauna, and sweet treat before LaShauna had to leave. Oh, what a delicious visit we had this time, didn't we?

Their coffee is strong and smooth-- I loved my latte. LaShauna had their hot chai (not pictured).

They have yeast, cake and doughseed donuts, and we tried one of each: the peanut butter & jelly, the creme brulée, and tres leches. The fabulous, fabulous tres leches.

Creme Brulée

Creme Brulée's custardy insides

I always forget how tiny the creme brulée is-- two bites, TOPS. If you are trying to get as many doughnuts as you can, sure, share this, but you probably will want one all to yourself. The crackly bruléed top, the fluffy doughnut, and the sweet custard are a trifecta of fabulous flavors.

We also shared a doughseed that was a PB & J, with strawberry jam, and a peanut butter doughnut flecked in chopped peanut pieces. This was great, of course, as I've never had a bad doughnut there.

The showstopper, however, is the tres leches donut. How do they make this masterpiece of physics and flavor? It's cloaked in a gorgeous glaze that almost crackles like a piece of pottery- the doughnut inside is light and chewy, and the filling is perfect.

Tres Leches, man. Tres Leches.

How do they take everything about a tres leches cake and squeeze it into doughnut form? I don't know.. THEY JUST DO. This is a must-taste every time I go there.
It's obviously pretty pricey if you compare it to a Dunkin Donuts or other shop, but worth every penny. They're not just lumps of dough thrown into a bunch of oil-- they're edible art, and you'll remember them long after you dusted away the last delicious crumb.

Doughnut Plant
379 Grand St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 505-3700

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Bakery Bliss - Beyond the Cronut

Frozen S'More: Breakfast of Champions (?)

I had some friends visiting in town this weekend, and despite racking my brain for the best and most interesting things to do, they are the ones who suggested visiting Dominique Ansel's famous bakery. Of course! How could I forget such a brilliant, tasty idea?

The infamous cronut line!

Yes, this is the birthplace of the Cronut, but my friends actually weren't that interested in the cronut after all.

I already had a taste of two so far, and that was good enough for me. I'd much rather get my hands on another DKA than stand in line on a glorious Sunday morning! 

 

It's a tight squeeze in the bakery, as the lines for regular pastries and for the Cronuts are in two separate places. You only have a few minutes to compose your sugary thoughts, and I came loaded for bear. Or at least a lot of carbs. I picked up a DKA for me, one for ABF, a canele, a magic soufflé, and why not a frozen Smore as well? Sugar overload, anyone? 

 
A piping hot café au lait was the final touch, and the 3 of us gals picked a table in the back garden, a lovely seating area with tables (there's also indoor seating in the back as well).

 started with the Frozen S'More. The marshmallow is a thing of beauty, gorgeous texture, velvety vanilla flavor.. but the frozen middle wasn't my favorite thing. I could have eaten ten of these marshmallows, but one is a good start. 

The DKA, or Dominique's Kouign Amman (a Breton specialty), was sublime as always. I honestly could walk away with just a DKA and a steaming cup of coffee and be in tastebud heaven.

 My two friends also agreed that this was tasty, though I'm not sure if they loved it as much as I did.

I tried a bite of the canele, one of the very first DA treats I've ever had. This was good, but a little too well-done on the outside. Back to another bite of the DKA!

Next up, I sliced into the magic soufflé. The outside tastes exactly like the orange-cardomom bread my mother used to make. Exactly. It was jarring to taste something so familiar. The texture of the bread wasn't what I expected, so I wasn't that big a fan of the two flavors/textures at first. The chocolate innards were rich and delicious, but I couldn't reconcile it with the outside coating. While the standard line at DA is to eat the magic soufflé immediately, I saved most of it for the next day, and I liked it even more.

Yes, the cronut is quite tasty (see my previous thoughts here), but there is so much more to this spot than that tasty, tasty trend. Pop on in for a bite or two and let me know what you think!!

Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 219-2773

Le Cronut: Part Deux

You know.. I find myself loving my job even more these days-- could it be linked to the appearance of yet another cronut? Yes, the infamous doughnut/croissant hybrid is still generating buzz in NYC-- especially in our office!
The same listener who brought us the Croconut last month brought the September flavor (Fig  & Mascarpone cheese) today!

The filling is a light fig preserve and mascarpone cheese (sort of a cross between sour cream and ricotta, or similar to a crème fraîche but not quite as tangy), topped with a honey glaze and dried black mission figs. It's a nice combo, but milder than I expected.

Again, this was chewy, light, and not at all greasy. However, the fig & mascarpone cheese combo was not as good as last month's Croconut. Good, just not stupendous, and definitely not worth waiting in line just yet. (I'm waiting to hear what October's flavor will be-- might be time to venture out there myself!)

The best part of the morning? This was not the end of our delicious dessert experience-- the listener also got us some DKAs, the pastry which first put Dominique Ansel on the map!

Le DKA!

DKA, according to the store's website, is short for “Dominique’s Kouign Amann," and it is a smaller version of the traditional Breton pastry, which is similar to a caramelized croissant.

 The outside is crunchy, the inside is a bit chewy, buttery, and to me, cheesy (almost danish-like), and downright heavenly.

It might LOOK like an ordinary, plain roll or some other mundane munchie, but this DKA was phenomenal, and everyone there agreed that this far surpasses the Cronut in deliciousness. 

That's it.. time for me to head back to Dominique Ansel's shop to indulge my carb cravings. Who's with me???

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Holy Cronut!!

Sweet fancy food trends!! A most serendipitous surprise awaited me this morning as I arrived at our radio station-- a listener had actually waited in line (starting at 5:45am) to bring our host TWO of these controversial cronuts!

You may have heard all the press about this pastry. It's a hybrid croissant/doughnut (flavors change monthly), and people are literally waiting in line for HOURS to purchase them (2 per person). The cronut has plenty of critics, scoffers, haters, and then, people like me, who are just too lazy to give up precious sleep to wait in line for something (especially in the summer heat)! There are lots of wannabes and knockoffs, but Dominique Ansel's Bakery is the only place you can get a legitimate, bona fide, Cronut (TM).


According to the Facebook page for the Dominique Ansel Bakery (located in Manhattan's SoHo [South of Houston street] neighborhood), this is actually a 'Croconut,' as it has coconut milk cream filling, coconut glaze, a dusting of cinnamon sugar, and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

So how does it TASTE? I gotta say-- these things are pretty tasty. Yes, it's very sweet, but the richness of the coconut was a nice counterbalance to the sugar. The cronut itself was crispy and chewy. I'm a fan, especially because I didn't have to wait in line to try it! But having tasted one... I want more. Isn't that the way it always goes????

Next month's flavor is fig & mascarpone cheese. I love BOTH of those flavors...will I finally succumb to the call of the Cronut(TM) and wait in line? Stay tuned.....

Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring Street
NY, NY 10012
(212) 219-2773

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Financier Patisserie

My friend Carlota & I met up a while back in the Financial District for a late afternoon coffee break. We decided to stop at Financier, the French pastry stop where ABF's office so often gets their birthday cakes (which I get to hear about but NEVER sample!) ABF & I have walked by this spot countless times, but we'd never stopped in before. Enough taunting stories of delectable birthday pastries--time for me to score some yum on my own!

Bright, bustling, busy, and bursting at the (display case) seams with gorgeous, painstakingly-crafted goodies.

It was still mild enough to sit outside, so we took our iced coffees and a mini-sized raspberry-white chocolate eclair outdoors. Each of our drinks came with a bite-size madeleine--adorbs!

The pastry was delightful; even though I don't normally care for white chocolate, it paired nicely with the fresh, succulent berries.

Surprisingly, though, the coffee was terrrrrrrrible. Feh. I barely drank 3 sips before deciding I really couldn't bear the bitter, ashy flavor. Shame. I've heard from others that their drip coffee is pretty awful, so if you go (and their pastries/desserts are worth the trip), get something espresso-based!

Financier Patisserie
62 Stone Street
New York, NY 10004
(212) 344-5600

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in NYC

LA-based Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf came to Manhattan this summer, and with all the buzz you'd have thought we'd never had a coffee shop before! I waited for the lines to stop wrapping around the block before giving it a shot (yes, this East Coaster still hasn't made it out to LA yet).

One sunny gorgeous September morning I wandered past the shop and hopped inside. I thought I'd have a minute to browse the store, but a young woman with a notepad chirped "Can I take your drink order?" before I knew what hit me. Man, they push you right through!

I had checked in on Foursquare and saw my friend Sara's tip (Sara of NYCNomNom fame) to order the iced coffee with no-sugar-added chocolate powder. Like a mocha with less sugar/guilt. That's what I ordered, and I was herded on over to the register and past the piles of pastry.

I was going to order the raspberry "clawssiant," (sic--should be "aint"--I know, I can't help myself!) but the server convinced me that the chocolate was sooooo much better. I was skeptical but figured I'd go with it.

What do you think of the random Wall of Glam? Odd, but pretty. Something to stare at while waiting for a drink!


They definitely are not messing around with the line. I was in, ordering, paying, and then waiting for my drink in a matter of seconds. I didn't have to wait that long, but I still definitely felt super rushed.

I grabbed some outdoor public seating right outside and tried the drink--tasty, but not out of this world. It reminds me of a drink I've had somewhere else but can't quite place. Good, just not lifechanging.

The clawssiant, however, was a total letdown. It looks pretty, sure, but yuck. It had a heavy hint of cinnamon, the chocolate was kind of chalky, and it was just not worth it--I threw the rest of it in the trash. Bleah.

Was the coffee good? Yeah. Is it worth going out of your way? Not just yet for me. I'll probably go back in a bit and get some of their coffee beans, which I hear are their specialty. In the meantime, what do YOU like about "The Bean?" Give me some delicious things to try on the next visit!

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
1412 Broadway
New York, NY 10018

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English Breakfast in Paris

Our time in Paris flew by so fast--it seems like ABF & I hardly ever sat down, and that's almost true! We were on the go so much that mealtime is about the only moment where we sat still for a bit. On our last day there, we thought it would be fun to get an "English Breakfast," or "Petit Dejeuner a l'Anglais." A spot near our hotel offered them for about 11 Euro (or 15 bucks) so we made the short walk to Le Pierrot Bistrot and took a seat near the window.

This place was nearly empty, as it was a bit after the regular breakfast hour. Our server, ebullient and oh-so-French (that's him on the left in the photo below, speaking to a fellow server) immediately brought out generous servings of OJ to get us started. I'm not a big juice person, but who could resist such a classy presentation?

Not long after came a plate of carby wonderfulness: 2 croissants and 2 tartines, which are long, narrow loafs, with a thin layer of butter and a small pot of jam for spreading on top of the butter (basically an open-faced sandwich with sweet and/or savory spreads on top!)

I don't normally mix butter and jam, but this was Paris, and I was going to do it the right way. Delish.

Our main dishes were edible works of art: look at the color! The arrangement! The presentation! The deliciousness! The eggs were cooked just as I like them--runny yolks, a dash of cracked pepper, and oh-so-yummy. The fresh parsley and sliced grape tomatoes were delicious pops of color.

Our cafe cremes were rich and piping hot, and we took our time sipping them and planning our last precious hours in Paris.

Oh, the luxury I felt to be sitting IN PARIS with ABF, sipping coffee and watching French people passing by, carrying baguettes and fresh flowers and beautiful purses, and everyone smoking all the while. I felt like I was soaking it all in and archiving each image, and I hope I keep them with me for a long, long time.

Le Pierrot Bistrot
67 Avenue de La Motte Picquet
75015 Paris, France
01 42 73 68 92

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