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Discovering New York and it's Bakeries
My first trip to New York and one place that I had to see was Chef Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center. He's the only American chef to have been awarded simultaneous three star Michelin rating for two different restaurants, the Per Se and The French Laundry. He has also received a one star Michelin rating for his Bouchon in the Bay Area. Chef Keller based his Bouchon Bistro on restaurants he went to while in France.
| A true Bouchon is a type of restaurant found in Lyon, a city that has developed a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France. At a Bouchon, you should expect to find meaty family style dishes such as duck pate or roast pork with the owner making you feel right at home. There's actually an association that bestows certificates and a sticker of authenticity to Bouchon restaurants. |
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My wife and I had planned on going there for breakfast, but upon arrival we found out the cafe wasn't going to open until 11:30 am. Even though we were starving and our stomachs were starting to growl, we were willing to wait for Bouchon Bakery/Cafe to open.
We walked around the Time Warner Center and came across the Oliviers & Co. who specialize in Mediterranean olive oils, flavored vinegars, olives, spreads and even skincare products made with olive oils and olive leaf extract. What a treat it was to find this place! The Oliviers & Co. was started about 10 years ago by two men with a passion for the olive tree. They felt the olive tree deserved to have it's exceptional vintages recognized, just like grapes and wine. |
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| Its surprising to see all the different olive oils from this area of the world. The ladies that worked there were very helpful and willing to give samples of anything you may want to try. Upon entering the store, you are hit with the aromas and viberant colors of the labels. its really a stunning and well designed store. I ended up trying several olive oils and flavored vinegars; all of them had very distinctive flavors. |
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I truly loved them all! We ended up walking out of the store with a bottle of Apple Fruit Vinegar/Condiment, Pomegranate Fruity Vinegar/Condiment, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, which was heavenly, and a Mayonnaise Sauce with olive oil, capers & candied lemons. Put that mayo on fried fish instead of tatar sauce and you are in for a real treat! I would highly recommend searching out these stores or checking out www.oliviersandco.com. There are lots of recipes and ideas using their unique products on the website.
It was now time to head back to Bouchon Bakery/Cafe as it was almost 11:30am. We took the escalator up to the third floor. I was very excited and happy to see we were one of the first people in line to enter. The Bouchon Bakery/Cafe is an open air restaurant. It's design is very simple, yet classy with clean lines and a hint of a French flavor. We were seated at the edge of the balcony that overlooked the Columbus Circle right next to Central Park. What a stunning view!
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With both of us starving, we quickly opened our menus. Soon the only words heard were things like …. "Ohhhh that sounds delicious, I want that and that and that" (lol)! Anyways, we finally made a decision. We ordered the "Chef's Selection of Three Cheeses" with fruit chutney and candied walnuts as our starter. The plates came with a cherry port chutney that was to die for! The cheeses were a Petit - sheep's cheese Basque, Midnight Moon - goat cheese and a Maytag Bleu - cow's cheese.
I have to say I'm not a big fan of bleu cheese, but all these cheeses were delicious. When you added the wonderful sliced whole wheat baguette toasted bread and the cherry port chutney, it all worked very well together. The combination of flavors was amazing; you couldn't have picked a better pairing of cheeses. Even the sweetness of the candied walnuts were a perfect addition!
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For our entrees, my wife decided on the mac & cheese with crispy pork belly, English peas & fusilli pasta, all served with a parmesan mornay sauce. Doesn't that sound delicious? The mornay sauce was rich and creamy. I wouldn't say the pork belly was crispy, because it wasn't. But, I don't think it was meant to be. The pork belly melted in your mouth and was very meaty. It also had a sweet maple sauce brushed on top. Donna thought it was delicious.
I, on the other hand, still had breakfast on my mind and decided to order the hash du jour with soft poached hen eggs and roasted potato hash coupled with a delicious corn beef. My hen eggs were poached perfectly. I hate it when the whites are not cooked, but these eggs were done to perfection. When you mixed the egg yolk in with the roasted potatoes it almost created a sauce of it's own. The slight saltiness of the corned beef added some really wounderful flavors to the dish. I didn't have to add any spices to it at all ... it was just perfect!
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All of it was very good, and I'm not just saying that because we were starving to death by the time we ate! The waitress and service were superb; I really couldn't ask for anything better. I hope to go back and try some of the other dishes the Bouchon Cafe has to offer.
We left the cafe and decided to go the the Bouchon bakery and get dessert. Our plan was to head over to Central Park and eat our goodies there.
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Looking at all the scrumptious pastries ranging from chocolate eclairs, madeleines, Bouchon HO HO's, sticky buns and pain au chocolat …. mmmm what to buy!!! We went with the Nutter Butter Cookie and a TKO Cookie. The croissants were also calling my name, so I had to buy a few of them.
It was our first time at Central Park and even though the trees still had no leaves on them, it was a beautiful 72 degrees out and a perfect day for a sweet picnic. We had to take a few photos of the cookies we had purchased.
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The Nutter Butter was a peanut butter cookie filled with a creamy, nutty filling. This was more of a gourmet-style cookie than the ones you buy at your local grocery store … Wow so good! The TKO cookies were the gourmet version of an Oreo cookie. They were simply delicious! I just had to try the croissant that was calling my name. It was so beautiful to look at with a crispy top and a buttery, flaky center. It was one of the best croissants I had in New York.
This was just the beginning of our trip to New York, and if the food at the Bouchon Bakery was any indication, it was going to be a great trip! :P |
Embebbed vidoe from Youtube:
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