Fancy seeing you here, Eric Kayser

It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?

All those rows and rows of pretty, petite gateaux.

I was thrilled to hear Eric Kayser arrived in New York last week. I have les souvenirs heureux of his bread, chocolate chip cookies, viennoiserie and cakes.

I don't if all these people do too, but it sure seems the rest of New York is excited for the boulangerie's arrival.

The selection is smaller here than in Paris. They do have cookies, financiers, croissants, pain au chocolat and pain aux raisins. Plus a whole restaurant.

But for now they seem to be focusing on les gateaux individuels.

So, in addition to a pistachio brioche with an airy center...

... we tried a Paris-Brest. 

The créme praliné was plentiful, oozing from the pastry ring.

Some golden almond slivers and a wee tile of dark chocolate stamped with his initials.

It could be that my memories are better than reality will ever live up to. Or that things taste different 3600 miles away. All I know is that I'm going to have to return to see if I can experience that over-the-moon feeling I used to have in Paris because I didn't taste yet here in New York.

What didn’t I eat in Paris?

Well, I sort of went a little crazy. I had my beloved praluline from Pralus.

La Folie from La Patisserie des Reves.

I picked up an apricot-pistachio escargot from a local boulangerie. Pourquoi pas?

That was after my second almond croissant from Eric Kayser.

My first almond croissant was from Boulangerie Gosselin.

Then there were my beautiful chocolate chip cookies from Lola's.

And chocolat chaud in the tearoom of Angelina.

I didn't skimp on dessert either. Le pain perdu...

... and a Grand Marnier soufflé. Miam.

However, I never did get my Nutella crepe.

A new taste: la bressane

Paris is just filled with discoveries. I haven’t even tired of the pain au raisin or the croissants. I have yet to try a chocolate éclair or apple turnover. But there, in Eric Kayser, I saw a pastry I’ve never seen before and had to have it: the bressane.

I asked if it was like a beignet; the vendeuse told me it was like a brioche. In fact, this round, flat pastry topped with cream, sugar and, in these cases, fruit, is from the Bresse area of the Rhône-Alpes.

The strawberry bressane was creamy and sweet.


The apricot bressane was tart with a modest dusting of pistachio pieces.


I can’t wait to see what other pastries I have yet to discover.