Thoughts & Reflections

Author: karen

Brunch at Ladurée

Finally, I made it to Ladurée‘s Soho location. Well, I did drop in opening weekend but walked right out after seeing the crowds queued up for a table for lunch. The lines have been like that every weekend and my patience was rewarded when I saw one could make reservations via OpenTable.

In the span of a week, I’ve made or accepted bookings to Ladurée with different people. This is the first eat-in visit so there will likely be a follow-up post next month. This past Sunday’s visit was with a former coworker who’s now a good friend. We met at 10:30am and were seated in the front dining room. Both of us arrived prepared to devour a fancy French breakfast (though I will admit to having a small roast pork bun at home earlier in the day). From the many choices in the menu, she settled on a pot of tea, the French Toast and an order of scrambled eggs with truffles. I chose the Champs-Elysées breakfast set which came with a basket of baked goods (walnut croissant, pain au raisin, and a brioche—all of which I ate), a choice of eggs (I went with scrambled), a fruit salad, fresh juice (orange or grapefruit) and a hot beverage (a pot of the Thé de Othello for me).

The food was excellent, the servers were nice and polite but the service was a bit low. The restaurant’s only been open for about a month or so, so they still have some kinks to work out. Hopefully, things will improve by my next visit. I only realized later that I never did get my fruit salad… neither did the woman that sat at the next table who ordered the same set. It was a very good thing that the food that did arrive was filling, so I didn’t miss the fruit much though it would have been nice to have received it.

On our way out, we stopped at the retail counter. My friend loved the tea she ordered with her meal (the Thé de Vanille) and wanted to buy it. I browsed the desserts on display and did not walk away empty-handed: a few seasonal macarons, one pastry and some canelés. I think I bought enough sweets to last me for the week.

April 9, 2014
Sweet Treat: MallowMore

It had been a rough week at work and I really wanted something sweet to help lift the mood. Fortunately, more bakeries have opened in the past few years in midtown so it’s easier to get dessert near the office when it’s time for a tea or coffee break. I stopped into Bouchon and ended up with a hot cross bun (for breakfast the next day) and a gourmet version of a mallowmar, which they call “MallowMore”.

When I was little, my grandfather would buy a pack of mallowmars from time to time and every time I see them in a store, I think of when he would give one to my sister and I as afterschool treats. The Bouchon version is of an extra large size, compared to the store-bought variety. It was just as sweet as the ones I remember and it took me two sittings to eat it all. Though, I think I prefer the pre-packaged ones since they are of a more manageable size (with a better ratio of marshmallow to cookie and chocolate) and they bring back some good memories.

April 8, 2014
Sweet Chick

Impromptu dinner plans mid-week in my neighborhood are very rare. It happened this past Wednesday and even with a list of suggestions, my friend and I still could not decided where to eat. We ended up at Sweet Chick, a fried chicken and waffles restaurant.

To be honest, we’ve been discussing eating fried chicken and waffles off and on for the last few weeks so I suppose we finally got rid of the cravings that night. And that’s exactly what we ordered, though she had the bacon and cheddar waffles while I chose the mushroom and rosemary version. Also available are the classic plain waffles as well as ones with dried cherries. We washed the grease away with soda, and Arnold Palmer version for me while she had the Mexican Coke. All in all, it was tasty and filling enough without being too stuffed. Unfortunately, neither of us had room (or were in the mood for) dessert, though we did eye the apple pie on the menu.

April 7, 2014
Pok Pok Phat Thai

As much as I love eating Thai food, I was never a fan of the country’s most famous dish (in the States, at any rate), pad thai. On the rare occasions that I would order it at restaurants, I’ve always found it to be too sweet for my tastes. But now, there is one place in the city where I would happily order it: Pok Pok Phat Thai.

It’s an offshoot of Andy Ricker’s main restaurant (which is excellent) in Red Hook and it specializes in the noodle dish, offering about three or four variations. On this visit, I stuck with the regular pad thai and a Thai iced tea (with lime, not milk). It makes for a great lunch when I’m looking for a quick bite and I want something hearty but not too filling. The restaurant is tiny, with maybe about a dozen seats; there have been a few times when I’ve gone when it’s crowded but there were plenty of seats when I went yesterday.

And you know it must be pretty good when your Thai friend thinks it’s pretty authentic. We both love the Brooklyn Pok Pok but Pok Pok Phat Thai is a lot easier to get to when you need to satisfy a craving.

March 31, 2014
Hester Street Café

While the weather remains too cold for any outdoor shopping, a few of the city’s flea markets have remained open during the winter thanks but in indoor spaces. The Hester Street Fair won’t return until next month but they’ve maintained a presence these last few months by running a café inside the New Museum. I’ve been the museum a few years ago with friends to check out a particular exhibit but I hadn’t been back since. What brought me back was the lure of afternoon tea served in the café.

And it was a proper tea set, sandwiches, scone and all. How marvelous! Tea for one included a pot of tea, a choice of two types of sandwiches, a scone and assorted baked goods. My pot of Keemun arrived first and then came the food. I chose Tarragon Chicken Salad and Salmon and Dill for my tea sandwiches. I ate most of the sandwiches but saved room for some of the other items on the tiered tray. The cranberry scone was served with butter and jam and I’m glad there was only one; I was getting nearly full after finishing it. There were no pastries but I was fine with what was offered: a macaron of your choice (I settled for a s’more one), two shortbread cookies (Earl Grey and Green Tea), a mini chocolate bundt cake and a lemon poppyseed cake.

For one person, it was plenty of food. I really couldn’t eat it all in one sitting and took home the remaining sandwiches (I finished them later that day) and nearly all of the baked goods (I ate the Earl Grey cookie at the café). Everything was really tasty and it was a reasonably priced tea service ($20 for one, $35 for two). The New Museum is a very unlikely place for afternoon tea but I would definitely go again.

March 28, 2014
Eclair Bakery

When it comes to éclairs, my personal favorites are those with vanilla cream inside and chocolate glaze outside. Unfortunately, this style is hard to find in the city; most of the éclairs I come across have the same flavor for filling and icing. If I have a craving, I will usually get a vanilla éclair if available; my second choice would likely be any that came with a vanilla cream. Chocolate éclairs end up being far too sweet for my tastes.

Thankfully, I now have more options than the usual chocolate, vanilla, coffee or caramel flavors. There’s really no better place to get them than at the aptly named Éclair Bakery. Though they don’t offer the old-fashioned version, I can still walk away with something I like. On my last visit, it took me a while to decide which flavors to buy but I settled on pistachio, maple pecan, coconut, and vanilla with strawberries.

At some point, I will try their other sweets as well but for now, it’s all about their signature product.

March 27, 2014
Rose Bakery Redux

Finally, I made it to Rose Bakery at the appropriate time to try the Cream Tea. It’s only served after 4pm as part of a lighter menu, reminiscent of British tea time. What arrived was nearly identical to what I ordered on my previous lunchtime visit: one scone (I chose the candied hazelnut scone), served with “clotted cream” (the menu stated clotted cream but I think it was actually butter) and jam, and a pot of tea (Earl Grey this time). The only difference is that the tea is included in the set, instead of having to order each item separately.

The scone was warm and delicious and the tea was good, but it felt as if something was missing (and I don’t mean tea sandwiches or pastries). There were a few mishaps with the service and I think that contributed to the general disappointment I felt. Maybe I should have ordered something else in addition to the Cream Tea. There was a Tea Quiche that looked interesting and I considered the Sticky Toffee Pudding but apparently it sold out earlier in the day. Ah well, I think the next time I’m in the area, I should just stick to ordering sweets (there are pound cakes and other baked goods available) to go.

March 26, 2014
Lunch at Haven’s Kitchen

I only recently learned that Haven’s Kitchen is now serving a more substantial menu in their café, not just the baked goods and pastries I’ve seen offered whenever I’ve visited in the past. It’s now been added to the list of places for me to grab a quick lunch when I need a bite and break from running errands on Saturdays (they are closed on Sundays).

The menu changes weekly but the lunch combination seems to be very popular: half soup, salad or sandwich. This past weekend, I went for the spicy chicken and lime soup and the pulled pork sandwich. I really liked the soup and thankfully, it wasn’t too spicy. But just in case, I also ordered a small iced tea (served in a mason jar) to help cool down the heat from the soup.

March 25, 2014
Dinner at Lafayette

An unexpected but very welcome invitation to have dinner with a friend on Thursday led to quick plans to meet up at Lafayette. It was also a great excuse to actually leave the office on time for once, though I still barely escaped from a very last minute phone call at my desk. The meet up time was 5:45pm which was good for me; I prefer early dinners, especially when we did not reserve a table in advance.

The two of us skipped drinks and appetizers. She ordered the steak frites and I debated between two seafood dishes. I ended up ordering the Skate Wing a la plancha, served with smoked cauliflower and uni. It was delicious and the portion size was perfect for me.

To be honest, the dessert menu didn’t exactly thrill us. We thought about heading elsewhere for sweets but none of the nearby dessert places were appealing either. In the end, we chose the one item on the menu that seemed a bit intriguing: the Floating Island. A very retro dessert but when it arrived at the table, it looked nothing like what we expected it to be—it looked more like a giant toasted marshmallow. Traditionally, the meringue would sit in a pool of crème anglaise but in this variation, the custard was inside the egg whites. It was a good dessert, not too sweet nor too heavy and a tasty way to end the meal.

March 24, 2014
Cream Tea at Podunk

Every time I visit Podunk, I always end up ordering the same thing: the cream tea. A plate of scones and a pot of tea (Ceylon, which is the suggested brew on the menu) is all I really want sometimes, especially when I’ve eaten lunch not too long ago. A proper afternoon tea is always better with friends but here, I can always drop in with no other company than a really good book. It’s a great place to stop for a tea break after running errands all over East Village and the Lower East Side, which was how I spent today’s cold Sunday.

March 16, 2014