Posts Tagged ‘Bouchon Bakery’
We spent a week in California wine country last year. To avoid driving through San Francisco, we picked up our rental car in Napa. After a serene ferry ride, we were a little frazzled by a long bus trip into Napa. Despite having a dinner booking at Bouchon for the next evening, we made an impromptu stop in Yountville. A quaint manicured town, Yountville is home to Thomas Keller and his restaurants, The French Laundry, Ad Hoc and Bouchon.
We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Bouchon - the best croque madame I’ve ever eaten and impeccable service in a French bistro atmosphere. Afterwards we crossed into the bakery for some sweet treats. In the car I gently cradled the carry bag with macarons, a TKO and a lemon tart.
I decided to save the momofuku compost cookie for Hurricane Irene so I strolled to the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle for dessert after lunch at má pêche. The building has an outpost of Bouchon Bakery and is also the location of Per Se.
The café was busy with work lunches and tourists. There is a delectable selection of soups, salads and sandwiches, including lobster sliders as the special of the day.
An array of pastries and baked goods tempted the queue, for immediate consumption or packaged as gifts.
Rows of pastel coloured macarons filled an entire shelf.
There was a tray stacked with TKO, Thomas Keller’s interpretation of an Oreo.
I limited myself to one macaron, I could not rationalise a pain au chocolat and an éclair for Hurricane Irene!
Perfectly round discs of meringue enclose a spread of buttercream. Fragrant with vanilla, the macaron was crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. It was light and soft, and more than double the size of macarons I’ve had in Sydney!
I’ve now had memorable experiences at Bouchon on both the East Coast and West coast!
