Hot Takes on NYC’s Pastry Scene
A good pastry, especially a good French pastry, is hard to come by if you’re not actually in France, but I am determined to find delicious French pastries in various cities in the U.S. For fall break, I traveled to New York City to visit family, explore the city, and, most of all, eat! I dragged my family and friends to each pastry-outing in order to get multiple opinions (and multiple pastries). As someone who is conducting undergraduate research on French pastries, studied in Paris, and absolutely loves anything sweet, I’m here to guide you through some of the best French pastries in Manhattan. Here’s my list of bakeries in order from least to most favorite!
Bread Story
Bread Story is a quaint pastry shop in Stuytown, Manhattan. When you walk in, you are greeted with the smell of freshly baked baguettes. The display cases are lined with classic French pastries like pliés, chocolate croissants, and brioche. It is owned and operated by a French pâtissier, whose influence can be seen through the French signs sprinkled throughout the store or the display of pastries.
Although Bread Story is ranked lowest on my list, I still thoroughly enjoyed visiting the bakery and encourage you to stop by as well. The pastries are fresh and delicious and satisfy the craving for a warm pain au chocolat or pain aux raisins.
C + B
C + B is a coffee shop in the lower east side of Manhattan. Though it is more known for its coffee and bread, the store offers delicious French pastries like chocolate croissants, kouign amanns, and their very own cruffin, which is a cross between a croissant and a muffin. These cruffins can be covered in sugar or filled with custard, cheese, or jam. They’re flaky, buttery, and delectable when paired with a warm coffee on a fall morning.
C + B is one of my favorite stops to make when visiting my family because it never disappoints. If you’re looking for a quick stop with both coffee and breakfast pastries before a day of venturing around the city, C + B is a great place!
Dominique Ansel Bakery
Dominique Ansel Bakery in Soho offers a variety of classic French confections, like macarons, as well as pastries like almond croissants, chocolate croissants, and Chef Ansel’s branded invention: the cronut. Dominique Ansel is French-born and classically trained in culinary arts. His hybrid French croissant with a donut completely altered the scene of pastries in the United States and influenced the development of other croissant hybrids, like the cruffin from C + B. At the bakery, he offers a monthly cronut flavor using combinations of fresh seasonal ingredients. October’s cronut had a cappuccino ganache with a tart cherry jam filling. The cronut is only offered at the bakery location in Soho, but he also has a workshop location in Midtown with different croissant flavors and confections.
Dominique Ansel is my favorite bakery to go to when I’m looking for something innovative and fun. I follow him religiously on Instagram and love to see his new creations. Each time I have a trip planned to NYC, I’m scoping out the monthly cronut flavor well before I get there. Even if you’re not interested in the cronut, his classic French pastries do not disappoint. Chef Ansel is an artist when it comes to pastries.
Le Fournil
Le Fournil is a French boulangerie in the lower east side of Manhattan owned and operated by a French woman. This bakery was the most authentic French pastry shop I have been to since returning from Paris. The types of pastries sold, from croissants to madeleines, as well as the display of the breads and pastries made it feel as though I had walked through the doors of a Parisian bakery once again. The woman behind the counter was incredibly helpful and was happy to provide recommendations. She seemed thrilled to be sharing her craft with people who wanted to appreciate it.
If you’re going to visit only one of these four pastry shops, I highly recommend Le Fournil. It had more to offer than the other bakeries and provided the most genuine experience of a French pâtisserie in the United States that I have found so far. I’m already counting the days until I can return to the city just for a visit to Le Fournil.
I hope you guys decide to visit one or all of these French bakeries, whether it’s your first time visiting the Big Apple or your 100th. They’re worth the stop, and you might even feel like you’re in France for a minute.
For more travel and food inspiration, read more @theedgemag.