I started my morning off at Bouchon Bakery for one last time. Most of their morning staples are there, from croissants to sandwiches, the few changes to their menu for summer, they had a berry tart and something that caught my eye for breakfast, the Apricot Elderflower Danish ($3.25). Doesn’t that sound tantalizing?
Side view of danish
In half…
Innards
This was one decadent danish. The danish itself basically had the crisp, flaky texture of a croissant but it’s filled with creamy vanilla custard and some type of elderflower flavored jam, topped with chopped dried apricots, a sprig of elderflowers, and pistachios. Yums. The flower flavor did not overpower this pastry at all but enough to cut through the dense, vanilla custard and buttery flavor of the pastry. This was a good, final breakfast to remember by until my final semester in college arrives again. I am going to miss their gorgeous, photogenic food. [Sniffles.]
Later on the afternoon, I went down to the West Village to Birdbath.
Birdbath considers themselves an environment conscious bakery; where the walls are made of wheat, cups are made of corn and are biodegradable, and so forth (according to their website). I didn’t exactly cared about the environment friendliness of the bakery, even though it is cute, I just wanted their baked goods. Yeah, it’s my sweets lovin’ self that brought me here.
Wall of COOKIES!
Apple Butter Cake with Bourbon Raisins
[Save the Polar] Bear Claws
Apple Miso Cake…is that tasty?
Interior decor shots
I’ve been staring at their baked goods, contemplating for a good five minutes. Eventually, I ended up ordering a bear claw ($4), an oatmeal coconut cookie ($1), and an iced hibiscus tea ($2.50).
The bear claw’s crust was delicate, very flaky, buttery, and just sweet. The filling was made of dried chopped figs. OMG, I love figs. This pastry made me really happy…and a mess to eat.
Innards
The oatmeal cookie is huge! It’s as large as a dessert plate, and I’m not kidding. This sweet, crisp, buttery cookie had large flakes of coconut and a toasty nutty flavor from the oatmeal. I just ate half of it since it’s so large…
Innards
Later on, after walking around West Village for a while, I eventually went to Cones for their gelato. Yes, I have an obsession with gelato, but it’s summer. How can you not want some dense, creamy, cold, dairy dessert in this hot weather?
Some of their gelato and sorbet flavors
After thinking a while what flavors to order, I asked and tried their pistachio gelato. It didn’t really have the same pistachio deliciousness as I had in Grom. [Sighs] Eventually, I ended up with a medium cup of gelato, dulche de leche and a dark chocolate ($4.61).
Texture shot
Looks creamy to me…
The dulche de leche is sweet, rich, slightly caramelized flavor. It’s lovely and the dark chocolate is pretty good, too. I like their gelato but Grom has a special place in my heart. I guess I’m really addicted to Grom but disappointed from my previous trip, where they completely leveled my cup and hope it’s not true. I’ll be there very soon.
Addresses:
Bouchon Bakery
10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10019
Birdbath
7th Avenue South & Charles Street
New York, NY 10014
Cones
272 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
The guy working last week dropped an apple-miso cake in with my cookies so I could try it–it’s more like a muffin-cake, but definitely very tasty, with that special zing from the miso :)
Did the dulce de leche and dark choc go well together – is the chocolate sweet? I think it would work well if it wasn’t.
Crystal: Ooh…probably I’ll get my hands on one when I drop by there next time. I guess that “zing” is from either that fermentation of the miso or the saltiness. Sounds good from your description.
Doug: The dark chocolate was sweet. I would place it along the lines of the sweetness of a semisweet chocolate bar. Not very sweet but not bitter either.
oh man! I’m just catching up on all of your eating adventures of late…and I’m exhausted (in a good way of course!) just reading about it! :)
Wait, how did the City Bakery cup slip in there?
Kathy: Oh, thanks for reading again! :) Yeah, even I’m re-reading what I wrote, and I’m pooped.
Berry: Beats me… I guess they don’t have Birdbath cups yet?