Notes from a New York City Foodie Trip
Real French croissants!
We had a lot of great food in our trip to New York City, but I wasn’t expecting having so much great French food. Then again, why not? The enormous day population in Manhattan means there is market for all sorts of food, and enough competition so that not-so-great-restaurants probably don’t survive for long.
L’Amie Pierre, a casual eatery serving French pastries for breakfast and salad, soups, sandwiches and quiches for lunch, was located very near our hotel. I’d scoped it out online before the trip, but Mike saw it on the taxi ride from the train station. He was excited to hit it our second morning in NYC, and it proved to be just as good as its reviews.
In all, we ate breakfast there once, and got take out twice more. I didn’t take any photos of the fare, but you know what a croissant looks like. My description will have to suffice my memories.
We can’t say the plain croissants ($4.2) were as good as any we had in Paris – because it’s been too long since our Paris days to actually remember them – but they were the best croissants we’ve had in the US. They were flaky, buttery and soft and everything you want in a croissant. The flavor was on point, and they were delicious with the butter and jam available at the store.
The ham and cheese croissants ($7) were even better – but only when warm. They have a good ratio of ham to cheese, they are not overwhelmingly salty and they were just very tasty when warm. Cold, however, they were just OK.
Perhaps my favorite treat, however, was the baguette with butter and jam ($3.50). The mini baguette also had great flavor and crunch, and the butter was very high quality. The jam is Bonne Maman strawberry preserves, if I recall correctly. They give you a little jar of it. I’m not sure if there was a choice, as Mike was the one who ordered.
The restaurant itself is very casual, with some regular tables, counter space facing the window and other tall tables, that I think are meant to be shared. Their coffee and cappuccinos were good, but not particularly remarkable. You really come here for the pastries – and bread.
L'Amie Pierre 149 West 51st Street New York City 917-639-3991 Monday - Friday: 7:00 am - 7:00 pm Saturday: 09:00 am - 5:00 pm
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