Le Pain Quotidien (All Over)

Is it weird to love a place when you can't pronounce its name? Le Pain Quotidien translates to "our daily bread," and that is exactly what LPQ sets out to provide. Known for their communal tables and deliciously organic entrees, LPQ has more than 25 locations throughout New York City as well as in a handful of other states and countries. Their shops are always delightfully rustic with a distinctly French feel. Best of all, it always smells like freshly baked bread.

 

Source

I've been to a few LPQ locaitons for lunch and even a few times to study, but recently M and I went to their Upper West location on 72nd and Columbus to try some of their famous pastries. Now, I should say now that I arrived far earlier than M to get some reading done. Our waitress was kind and patient with me, refilling my coffee and being attentive without being obnoxious while I waited for my friend, and that was much appreciated. After M arrived and we had some real food (one day I will probably dedicate a post to the number of carrot soups I've tried in this city), we decided it was time for the sweet stuff.

First we sampled the Raspberry Tart. Let me take a moment here to confess my undying love for fresh berries. I spend my year longing for summer not because I crave the sunlight or yearn for vacation, but because summer is berry season. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries. Send them over. I freeking love berries.

So you can probably guess that I either loved or hated this tart based upon the freshness of the berries. You'll be happy to know that they were perfect. The raspberry coulis under the berries was just the right balance of sweet and tart. The pastry cream was light and fresh. The shell was buttery and dense, yet flaky and sweet. Y'all, this tart is perfection.

Next we tried the Belgian Brownie. It doesn't really look like a brownie, but if you're like me and define brownies as dense, fudgy, dark chocolatey treats that are somewhere between bar cookies and cakes, you will love this. This dessert epitomized the word "rich." I don't think I could have eaten the entire thing by myself. But alongside the Raspberry Tart, we had created the perfect dessert combination.

 

Clearly we hated every bite.

Overall, LPQ has delicious real food and outstanding desserts. Their food, combined with their friendly service and European ambiance, makes them one of my favorite chains in the city. Side note: because they have so many locations, they have to post their calorie counts. I have mixed feelings about this, but the numbers generally comfort me more than creep me out. I plan to continue frequenting NYC's many LPQ locations, slowly eating my way through their entire menu.

Le Pain Quotidien gets my stamp of approval!

Have you been to Le Pain Quotidien? Do you have any favorite chains that consistently impress you? Do you have ideas about where I should have gone instead or where I should go next? Sound off in the comments!

FAO Cafe (Midtown East)

What could be better than baked goods? Baked goods inside a toy store, of course! My frequent nompanion M noticed a Groupon for FAO Cafe a few weeks ago, and we were so excited to try it out. FAO Cafe is located on the corner of 5th Avenue & 59th Street inside FAO Schwarz, AKA the greatest toy store in the world. They feature tasty treats and caffeinated delights from some of New York's finest bakers, some of whom don't have brick and mortar stores. All of this is conveniently near Central Park, The Plaza Hotel, and 5th Avenue shopping.

My biggest complaint with FAO Cafe was the lack of seating. There was one tiny bar along the window with maybe five seats. There happens to be a collection of tables outside across from The Plaza, but New York has been hot as hell suffering from a heat wave, so we were not exactly excited to take our food to metal chairs outside. However, there was a live jazz band there to entertain the tourists; us locals were also pleased, and therefore lured outside.

Now before I get to the food, I want to complain about one more thing: the service was awful. There were no napkins and no silverware. The barista made us feel a bit silly for ordering the amount of food we ordered and taking as long as we did to decide. Now I know I come from a family that values customer service, and I was raised to believe that the customer is always right. Even without my unique upbringing, I'm pretty sure the customer should not be made to feel the way this lady made me feel. Also, iced coffee should not be 75% ice. Just had to get that off my chest.

Luckily, the quality of the pastries (and the mood music) outweighed the seating issues and service problems. We ordered a selection of goodies, and before you freak out, you should know the two of us did NOT attempt to finish all of this in one sitting. But we got pretty darn close.



The first thing we decided on was this Chocolate Crunch Cookie from Selma's Cookies. I would've liked a description of what this cookie contained - or a more fitting title, to be honest - but once I took a bite, I stopped questioning. It was perfect: a delicious, sugary, buttery cookie stuffed with chocolate, M&Ms, and I think butterscotch & some kind of nut. It was the perfect balance of crunch and gooeyness, and the perfect amount of chocolate. I think I would call it The Kitchen Sink Cookie, since it had pretty much everything in it. YUM.

The next thing we tried was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcake from Sarah's Cupcakes. I know I'm a cupcake maker, but it might surprise you to know I don't really like frosting all that much. So it should mean a lot when I say that this frosting ROCKED. It was super sweet, but the cake was so light and fluffy that it balanced out nicely. The cookie on top was perfect, and the crumbs in the frosting were a really nice touch. I know deep down it was really just a vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing and some cookie crumbs, but it was delicious. We had gotten our unique treat out of the way with the cookie - this was meant to be our classic.

Our final choice was the Chocolate Blackout doughnut from Doughnut Plant. This was by far my favorite - a perfect chocolate doughnut with a ribbon of fudge baked in and a chocolatey crumb topping. It was SO rich, but I loved every bite of it. I hear doughnuts are the new trendy treat, and this was the first one I  tried. I now understand the obsession. I will definitely be visiting one of Doughnut Plant's locations to try more of their goodies!

After we ate (and melted from the sun), we went back inside to play in the toy store. I mean, where else on earth can you find a rocking horse that's actually a rocking panda?

Overall, I liked FAO Cafe. The desserts (and coffee) we got would have been well-worth $15, but it was nice that we got them all for the Groupon deal of $7! Would I specifically seek out FAO Cafe to eat in the future? Probably not. But if I was wandering around FAO Schwarz and needed some coffee or sugar, I would gladly stop by and sample some more of New York's local eateries. If nothing else, it led me to a few new brands I want to check out around the city! Their food outweighs their service, and their atmosphere is fun. For that reason...

FAO Cafe gets my stamp of approval!

Have you been to FAO Cafe or tried any of brands they feature? Does bad service ever outweigh delicious food? Do you have ideas of where I should have gone instead or where I should go next? Sound off in the comments!

The City Bakery (Union Square)

It's my first ever bakery review, and I think I picked a winner! My friend Meredith & I were shopping in Union Square and decided we needed some sugar. Google Maps and Yelp pointed me to the same place. Allow me to introduce you to The City Bakery, located on 18th Street & 5th Avenue.

(Source: Glenwood)

Currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, City Bakery prides itself in creating seasonal menus using organic and locally-grown ingredients found in the nearby Union Square Farmer's Market. It's a beautiful, open space with a loft for additional seating and something called "The Chocolate Room." While the bakery serves real food too (their mac & cheese looked pretty killer), we came for the sweets.

I ordered exactly what the good people of Yelp told me to order - the famous hot chocolate and the Pretzel Croissant. It's hard to put the flavor of the croissant into words. It was sweet yet salty, flaky on the outside yet doughy on the inside. It was the perfect balance of flavors, but it became nothing short of magical once I dipped it into the hot chocolate.

City Bakery's hot chocolate is not your average cuppa. It's thicker than most beverages, and much, much richer. It is basically like drinking melted milk chocolate. When I dunked the pretzel croissant into the chocolate, it draped over it perfectly. Pure bliss. They even have an annual hot chocolate festival with a bunch of different flavors. I want to go to there!

(Source: The NYC Big Adventure)

My nompanion got the Chocolate White Chocolate Cookie, and the hot chocolate, of course. The cookie was the perfect consistency - chewy and moist on the inside with a bit of bite to the outside. Again, dipping it in the hot chocolate made it even better. But, at least from the bite I had, the cookie wasn't really anything too special. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious! But it was just like any other well-made chocolate white chocolate chip cookie that you can get in one of the dozens of other bakeries in NYC.

City Bakery offered a vegan chocolate chip cookie, which I'd love to try. Vegan cookies are hard to do well, and I wonder how theirs compares. They also had this gigantic muffin (you can see it in the second picture above) that looked pretty amazing. Did I mention non-alcoholic homemade sangria? Yum. I've got to try that.

Overall, City Bakery was a spacious, bright location for a shopping day snack. Their "real" food seemed a bit pricey, but the baked goods were pretty standardly priced. My only complaint was that there wasn't really a menu. It made it difficult to know what drinks we could order, and what options we had with those drinks. Don't get me wrong, I didn't really want anything but the hot chocolate. But I hear they make homemade marshmallows too, and I didn't see that posted anywhere and, therefore, forgot to order it. That being said, I will gladly return to City Bakery if I'm in the area and/or if I'm craving that amazing pretzel croissant.

The City Bakery in Union Square gets my stamp of approval!

Have you been to City Bakery? Are you a firm believer that the best hot chocolate in New York City is served elsewhere? Do you have ideas on where I should have gone instead or where I should go next? 

Sound off in the comments!