The New York Baguette Search: Results

I had high hopes for my New York City baguette search.  Armed with Internet research and recommendations from seasoned New Yorkers I hoped to test a solid half-dozen or so loaves in an attempt to find an acceptable stateside version of France's daily bread.  But as so often happens when I move to a new city, I thought I had all the time in the world to explore everything, only to remember, much too late, that time flies.  Especially when you’re having fun.  Before I knew it, moving had begun and my exploring had come to an end.  I did, however, manage to sneak in a taste-test of two baguettes.

Baguette # 1 - The Greenmarket Baguette

Who says France has all the best outdoor markets?  New York City’s Greenmarket organization has put together an impressive multi-borough schedule of farm fresh produce, humanely-raised meat, and all manner of locally-sourced/crafted/raised products.  The best Greenmarket of all is at Union Square, where the Saturday morning selection (and crowd) is impressive.  One stand promised “French-style baguettes,” so I swung by to make a purchase. But the minute I felt that dense-yet-soft stick of bread I knew they were imposters.  Sure enough, a tasting back at home revealed a total lack of flavor, an overly chewy interior, and absolutely none of that satisfying crunch you find with a true French baguette.  I didn’t eat more than a couple of bites before tossing this faux French bread into the trash where it belonged.  Beurk!


Baguette #2 - The Murray's Cheese Shop Baguette

Murray’s Cheese Shop is a swanky fromagerie located in the heart of the West Village.  I headed over there after work one evening with a mad craving for a simple dinner of charcuterie and cheese on a baguette.  It didn’t disappoint: The salami and Cremeux de Bourgogne were expensive but delicious.  The baguette?  It was good.  Not airy-and-light good, but rather airy-and-heavy (yes, that’s possible) good.  In fact, I wouldn’t call this “baguette” a baguette at all. It’s more like a “tradition,” which is one of the many varieties of long sticks of bread one finds in a French boulangerie.  A “ficelle” is another example.  When I lived in Paris I used to order “une tradi” on a regular basis to go with dinner, so I enjoyed sampling a version of this bread in New York City.  But I wasn’t able to find a true French baguette in the Big Apple.  Any suggestions for next time?

If you go:

Union Square Greenmarket
Runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
Union Square West, New York City
Subway: Union Square 14th Street

Murray’s Cheese
254 Bleecker St., second location at 43rd and Lexington
Blissfully un-French in that it's open seven days a week!

Pommes Frites

I recently blogged about Belgian waffles.  Today I'm blogging about Belgian fried potatoes, otherwise known as pommes frites and/or a Flemish name I can't remember.  More specifically, it's about a tiny take-out joint in New York City called Pommes Frites that sells nothing but pommes frites.  In short, heaven.

Or so I thought.

First, a little background:  Six months of living in Brussels taught me that Belgian food (and drink) is good.  The waffles!  The chocolate!  The beer!  But for my money the best of all were the frites.  The hot, crispy, served-in-a-cone, dipped-in-a-sauce frites.  I've always been a fan of salty food, especially fries, and the Belgians take this delicious treat to a whole new level.  I went to Brussels' famous Maison Antoine more times than I care to admit.

Needless to say, I was beyond excited to try New York City's own frites shop, conveniently located one block from my former apartment.  I ordered a regular sized cone with ketchup and Irish curry sauce for dipping, and tucked in for what I hoped would be a delicious afternoon snack.  Instead, I got "blah."  The frites didn't taste Belgian at all.  They were too dense, too large, and not nearly crispy enough.  I would call them "steak fries," which can be tasty, but are most definitely not what you find at a Belgian friterie. 

Three months of living in New York City taught me that Belgian food abroad is hit and miss.

Au Revoir, New York City

Surprise! I’m moving. If you’ve been following along you’ll know this is my fifth move in little more than a year (DC to Brussels, Brussels to DC, DC to Brooklyn, Brooklyn to Manhattan, Manhattan to DC), and no, it doesn’t get any easier. I have a pretty good system in place - I know how to pack light and to avoid sentimentality when purging my possessions – but the process still inspires both physical and mental stress.

I’ll miss New York. We’ve had our ups and our downs, but overall I’m leaving with a positive feeling about this city, my experiences here, and any future opportunities I might have to return. What can you say about the Big Apple? There really is nothing else like it. New Yorkers like to boast that they live in the greatest city in the world, and I’m now inclined to believe them.

The journey to DC begins today, detours in Minnesota, and ends with a flight to Reagan National Airport on September 1st. As I try to reorganize my life in the apartment I’ve rented for four years but lived in for less than two, I’m indulging in a short, end-of-summer break from blogging. After all, what self-respecting French blog doesn’t take its congés payés in August?

See you after Labor Day!

Belgian Food Truck: Wafels & Dinges

It's been tempting me for weeks: That bright, canary yellow food truck promising "Good Things Belgian" and appearing in places around the city where I'm sure to get a whiff of its wares. I had to try it before leaving New York, so when a quick Thursday call to their Waffle Hotline told me the truck was in the environs of my office building (Midtown) and that if I gave the truck operators the stink eye I could get a discount on my order, I made a beeline for Wafels & Dinges. Or, in English, Waffles & Thingamajigs.

Torn between the "brussels wafel" (light and crispy) and the "liège wafel" (soft and chewy) I opted instead for the special "throwdown wafel." A winner from the Food Network's "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," the throwdown wafel is a liège topped with speculoos spread and whipped cream.  Merci beaucoup.  With my $1 stink eye discount, that tray of sweet Belgian deliciousness was mine for only $5. And, sorry Belgium, it was better than any waffle I ever ate in Brussels.

If you go:

Wafel & Dinges
Everywhere, New York City
Truck Location Hotline: 1-866-429-7329
Twitter: @waffletruck

Seeing Paris in New York City

The sight of this building stopped me dead in my tracks.  How did such a typically Parisian entrance find its way to 82nd and Park? And when can I move in?

Cheap(er) French Wine

I just found my new favorite store in New York City.  It's called Warehouse Wines & Spirits, it's at 735 Broadway, and it's amazing.

The fortuitous discovery took place while on a Bastille Day wine hunt.  I just moved to a new neighborhood in Manhattan (The East Village, was previously in Brooklyn) and hadn't stumbled across a liquor store yet.  Then, on my way to the gym I saw this store's enormous yellow sign and knew I was on the right track.  But I didn't know that it was a discount wine store selling everything from Côtes du Rhone to Champagne at very agreeably marked-down prices.   A bottle of Moët for $35?  Check.  Pinot Noir from Burgundy for $13?  Yep.  Row after row of French wine (with a surprising number of bouteilles for $10 or less), helpfully organized by region and thoughtfully described on accompanying note cards?  Oui.  Maybe I'm out of touch with wine prices, but I they sure seemed like good deals to me. 

The store also has a large clearance rack (one of my favorite places to stock up), friendly, helpful staff, and (this is New York City, after all) a considerable number of shady looking characters scraping together pennies to buy cheap rum and vodka.  But they're harmless.  If you're in town and in need of recession-proof St.-Émilion you can't ignore Warehouse Wines & Spirits.  I'll see you there.

The Most Ignored Sign in New York City

My First Impressions of New York City

I've been in New York City for almost a week now, and have already started to get a feel for the place.  First impressions are sometimes right, and sometimes proven to be surprisingly wrong, but I'm going to take a stab at outlining mine anyways. 

Impression Number One:  New York is loud.

This city is nothing if it's not noisy.  It's noisy in the morning, noisy during the day, and even noisy at night (and overnight), thanks to  variety of activities such as the DJ who was spinning Euro beats in the courtyard behind my apartment yesterday evening. The soundtrack for this city is a never-ending stream of honking horns, roaring traffic, and an assortment of everyday sounds created by people living their lives. You could argue that New York is loud because it's a big city, but Paris is a big city as well, and I would never describe it as "loud."   When it comes to decibels, New York is on a whole different level. 

Impression Number Two: We're free to be you and me in New York. 

As far as I can tell, New York is quite possibly the most come-as-you-are city on the planet.  There is no standard way of being, of looking, of dressing, or of enjoying life.  Here you are free to be as you are, and no one will pass judgment.   Contrast that with Paris, where staring people down on the Métro is a popular local sport.  You know all those guides telling you how to "Dress like a Parisian" or "Eat like a Parisian" or "Carry Yourself like a Parisian?"  I can't imagine them existing for New Yorkers.  How do you classify the people of a city who seem so eager to let everyone simply be who they are?

Impression Number Three: New Yorkers are Nice.  Really Nice.

Big cities are usually known for their self-absorbed residents who can't be bothered to take time out of their über busy schedules to engage in the pleasantries of polite society.  So far, New York seems to buck that trend (or stereotype, depending on how you see it).  Everyone from my office building's security guards to the guy who sold me coffee out of his curbside cart has been incredibly friendly.  Please and thank you and "here you go, Miss" are genuinely used in all circumstances.  No one has ever called me "Miss" in Washington.  Forget "Minnesota Nice."  Here it's all about "New York Polite." 

Have you ever been to New York City?  What were your first impressions?  And just for fun, tell us your first impressions of Paris as well (mine: dirty and overrated...they've since changed).