Breakfast Club at Four & Twenty Blackbirds

For most Americans, pie season is over. Pumpkin, apple and pecan treats are of a season past, and the preferable winter indulgences are cakes and bonbons. But if you happen to live near Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Gowanus, then pie is a yearlong celebration.

(You might even want a slice of malted chocolate pecan, along with a baked oatmeal muffin, for breakfast.)

The magic of Christina Tosi

Thank heaven for little girls. For once in a while, they grow up to be like Christina Tosi.

“Of course, I wanted a bakery when I grew up,” Ms. Tosi said. “It’s the other little-girl dream besides being a princess.”

Momofuku Milk Bar, right in my backyard, is where she dreamed up crack pie and compost cookies.


It’s where you can get towering cakes with sugary frosting and crunchy bits that send you into orbit.


Or, a bit more modest but no less ridiculously delicious, her cake truffles.

Dusty and crumbly on the outside.

Sweet and doughy on the inside.

And rainbow sprinkles that, to a girl like me, are part of the better-than-a-princess dream.

Cinnamon bun breakfast at Sugarplum cake shop

I’ve been keen to go to Sugarplum for some time now. A New Yorker emailed me with the hot tip of the new American-style cafe/bakery opening months ago and I know Melissa at Prete-Moi Paris is a huge fan.

But what can I say? I sometimes get lazy about going to a new arrondissement, especially when there is so much deliciousness in my own quartier.

But finally, with the excuse of meeting beautiful Britta of My Black Book on a snowy Saturday morning, I went. And now, of course, I’m kicking myself that it took so long.

Just look at this place:


Cakes, cookies, cupcakes!


Cinnamon buns, muffins, scones!


Pie, tarts and Hello Dollies!


It’s heaven.

Britta and I were both suckered by the giant cinnamon buns as Laurel told us they were the most recent items to be pulled from the oven.


Dense and warm, with a slightly sour cream cheese frosting, it was brilliant.

Our order didn’t stop Laurel from also generously sharing some cake with us: one was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and the other was a tart and lovely vanilla cake with lemon curd.

Both were delicious, as expected.

But now my big mission before leaving Paris is to get across town again to sample those chocolate chip cookies.

Dessert Blitz: (French) Lemon Meringue Pie

In one month’s time, I will be back in New York. I, of course, have mixed feelings about this. But one thing is for sure: I have a lot of sweets to get through. Today…

Big, billowy lemon meringue pie from Le Loir dans la Thieiere.

It kept good company with an obscene number of homemade pies and tarts and crisps and beautiful such things, trust me.

Tell me if there’s anything you want to sample vicariously through me… it would be a honor. And my pleasure.

Tart or crumble?

No one does a tart like the French.


But the crumbles are pretty irresistible, too.


By the name of tart or pie...

Crumble, crisp or cobbler...

Which will you have?

Nectarine tart for lunch

As much as I love the Parisian salons de thé, chic patisseries and British influences in the city, sometimes I miss the shabby-chic coffeehouse vibe of New York and San Francisco.

So imagine my glee when I stumbled upon Le Loir dans la Thieiere in the Marais.

Worn out leather club chairs are paired with antique-y wood tables. One wall is covered in art posters while across the room, there’s an Alice in Wonderland mural.


Wood floors, antiques, kind servers, and…


Pies and tarts galore!

I could have had apricot clafoutis…

… a big, chiffony slice of lemon meringue….

Chocolate crumble tart or chocolate mint millefeuille

For me, it came down the plum or nectarine tarts.


Nectarine won out.

A thick eggy custard base sandwiched between a sweet crust and sliced nectarines…

There’s nothing wrong with calling this lunch, right?

3 rue des Rosiers, 4eme

Crumbling at Les Deux Abeilles

Two years ago, when I visited Paris for the first time ever in summer, I was Velib’ing down rue de l'Université, when I slammed on the brakes and practically flew over my handlebars. The cause for this moment of graceless drama? The cakes and tarts beckoning from the window of Les Deux Abeilles.

This darling family-run tea salon is everything you envision a darling family-run tea salon to be: decorated with floral wallpaper and antique furniture and filled with warmth and light; run by a lovely, friendly staff that makes you feel at home; and, most important, a menu filled with homemade tarts and crumbles and cakes and scones, served alongside pots of tea or glasses of ginger lemonade.


I know all of this now since I finally made it back there for an afternoon indulgence.

Two years was worth the wait.

Out of all the irresistible-looking desserts, I came really, really close to selecting the pear-praliné clafoutis, which waved to me like a moist and dense, satisfying glimpse of heaven. I was also tempted by the tall, airy domes on the lemon meringue tart and the towering crust that surrounded the cheesecake.



But after a very laborious decision, I opted for the rhubarb-apple crumble.

It was served with a side of fresh whipped cream, and I ate it with French Vogue opened to the gorgeous Kate Moss spread. This was intended to inspire me not to finish the whole serving.


But it didn’t work. I crumbled (hardy har) and cleaned my plate.

189, rue de l'Université, 7eme

The French take on an American classic

I’ve never been a pie nut, but things might change here in Paris.

A colleague who lives in Montmartre told me about Les Petits Mitrons. Since he had also told me about Coquelicot, and mentions Pierre Hermé on a weekly basis, I knew he knew what he was talking about.

There’s certainly no shortage of options at this cute little patisserie: chocolate-walnut, chocolate-pear, apple-pear, straight up chocolate, straight up apple, apricot, peach, rhubarb, fig, fruits-rouges (mixed berries), strawberry-cream, mixed fruit…






and that’s just at this one place. If I get hooked on pie now, there’s no telling what more I will discover.



I figured I had to start with the classic and got une piéce of the apple. God, was it delicious. Not only were the apples fresh and bright-tasting, but the crust was beautifully sweet and moist. Bravo, Francais!

26, rue Lepic
18eme