Financier Patisserie
June 1, 2008 § 2 Comments
Friday, I got off work early, and after spending a couple hours at the Borders on Wall Street studying econ (I’m taking micro at Rutgers this summer), I decided to take advantage of the excellent weather and visit Financier Patisserie for the first time.
There are three locations in Downtown Manhattan, and even though I’d passed one on a previous occasion (when I was lost), it took me 20 minutes and numerous detours before I finally found the store on Cedar Street. The pastries inside looked absolutely delicious, but I really just wanted to take something home with me and a lemon tart probably would not have been a good thing to bring on the train with me.
I opted for their 8-pack of macarons. Before this, I’d never had one before, and i admit with great shame that when I was in Paris last spring, I did not squeeze in the time to visit Pierre Herme’s boutique, the irrefutable god of all macarons. But finally, I am a macaron-virgin no more.
Macarons
The meringue outside gave the cookies a delightfully delicate and crackly texture which countered the moistness of the insides from the ganache filling. However, even though I shared them with my sisters, they became cloyingly sweet after a while and I was left with that characteristic feeling in my mouth from eating too much sugar.
I bought a bag of financiers as well, so I’ll update on that later. But overall, macarons are now a favorite of mine due to their light and airiness for desserts. I’ll have to try the ones at Bouchon and Payard sometime.
Financier Patisserie
35 Cedar Street @ 10 Liberty Plaza
(Bet Pearl and William)
New York, NY 10005
Telephone: (212) 952-3838
Inaugural marathon of a post
June 1, 2008 § 2 Comments
5.24.2008
Cathy, a friend I’ve known since she caught me cheating in Chinese school class (3rd grade?), and I realized after we both got back from school that we had never gone to New York together. Finally, we’d had enough and took a train into the city with a carefully planned itinerary that ended in 50+ walked blocks.
We hit up Chelsea Market, the MoMA, Fishs Eddy, and a few other places, but the best part of the day was, of course, lunch at the Shake Shack.
knives at Bowery Kitchen Supply
As usual, the line was unbelievably long. We waited about an hour, keeping progress by tree trunk and amusing ourselves with the Shacks-ercises. When we finally did eat though, the burgers were amazingly juicy and perfectly seasoned, though I felt a bit let down by the Shack-cago dog. I remembered it being more topping-filled last time. This was my first time trying their custard, and it was almost too rich. We’d finished everything in 20 minutes except the dessert.
Line at Shake Shack
5.26.2008
Memorial Day, I took Laura to two exhibits at the Met, Jeff Koons on the Roof and Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, and dinner at Brasserie Les Halles, Anthony Bourdain’s restaurant before he became famous.
I thought there would be more Koons pieces at the exhibit, though I guess three giant sculptures takes up enough space. I wonder how they moved everything up there. Though the Costume Institute showing did not disappoint. If only I had the nerve to reach over and touch Christian Bale’s actual Batman suit. Plus I felt rather cool when I recognized the custom-made suits and dresses from the Vogue May 2008 photo shoot with Coca Rocha.
Afterwards, we walked around Soho for a while and then trekked all the way down Broadway until Laura couldn’t take it anymore when..aha! We found Les Halles. It was eerily quiet since no one was at work that day, but I felt less guilty about using flash since there weren’t that many people to care.
Let me just say, the onion soup was delicious…but overwhelming. Those who know me know I’m not a big fan of cheese, but Laura, who was additionally hungry due to our long walk, kept going at it until there was barely any left. And that’s a big bowl. I did love my duck confit though, perfectly crispy and just a little fatty. Les Halles handles their potatoes particularly well – my mini homefries and Laura’s mashed potatoes and chips were crisp and lightly salted – and I made a note to myself to try their award-winning fries the next time after hearing the munching of a nearby client who’d ordered the moules frites.
So, that post wasn’t as long as I thought it would be. More later though on my trip to Financier Patisserie on Friday and the discovery of a Koons piece right by the office where I work!
Notes on Food 