Delicious Sandwich & Sweets by petitesoeur

Guest blogger petitesoeur writes:

On a Saturday in August, I went hunting for a pair of sandals since every shoe store does deep discounts at the end of a season. Even though there were great bargains at Camper, there was nothing I wanted to buy and at REI the Anhu ones that I did want weren't in my size. But the trip downtown did result in two successful scores.

Later in the day, I was meeting up with a friend for an afternoon/ evening of music at Lincoln Center Out of Doors so I purchased three sandwiches from Russ and Daughters: Oy Vey Schmear (their famously delicious chopped liver mixed with hand sliced pickle from the barrel), Pastrami Russ (pastrami-cured salmon, dressed with sauerkraut & mustard) and Fancy Delancy (smoked tuna, horseradish dill cream cheese and wasabi-infused flying fish roe). I got them all on bialys in order to minimize the amount of bread we would eat.

Sitting on a bench outside the store, I consumed half of the Oy Vey. R&D's chopped liver is perfect in every way including its consistency, which is neither too smooth nor too chunky. I am sure they incorporate both onions & chopped egg into the chopped liver as most recipes call for the addition of both those items, but there's little visual evidence of either's inclusion. There's no way to know for sure as R&D does not disclose their recipe. Whatever way they utilize those other two ingredients definitely balances rather than overpowers the flavor of the liver. Word on the street: Their secret is cooking the onions until they're so soft that they melt into the liver when mixed in and only their sweetness lingers. I never would have thought to add chopped pickles to chopped liver even though I am a fan of adding (sweet) pickle relish into tunafish salad & mixing a bit of (fresh or dried) fruit into chicken salad.  It works: the (dill sour) pickles provide just the right contrast of flavor and texture.

As much as I enjoyed the Oy Vey (as did my friend when he ate his half later on) and we both liked the Pastrami Russ, finding the sauerkraut & mustard to provide a better flavor & texture contrast than the usual schmear of cream cheese, we both agreed that the Fancy Delancy was the star of the trio. It's also perfectly balanced in terms of flavor & texture but more delicate & unusual than the other two.

It was just a hop, skip and jump (nine short city blocks) to the door of Zucker Bakery where I sampled their lemon bar & a pecan bar before sitting down to enjoy an excellent. (Stumptown) espresso and a pomegranate thumbprint cookie. I purchased some mocha flavored alfajores and a couple of date/halvah "roses," aka shoshanim, an Israeli version of sticky buns. Both types of cookies are flavorful with just the right amount of sweetness and a tender melt in your mouth crumb. The "roses" were also yummy as well as being an interesting change-up to the usual cinnamon or chocolate variety of this type of pastry. It's a sweet sweet shop.

Madison Square Eats, Burdick Chocolates and other stops

Petitesoeur and I met up for the last day of Madison Square Eats last week.  Even though we tried to arrive on the tail end of the lunch hour, it was still packed.  So we did a walk-through to strategize and split up to divide and conquer.  We bypassed old favorites like Red Hook Lobster Pound, Sigmund's Pretzels, or Eataly in favor of new things we hadn't eaten.

I waited in line at Asia Dog and she at Roberta's. I was torn between all the delicious dog flavors but opted to go more summery with a chicken dog topped Sydney style (Thai style relish with mango, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, peanuts and fish sauce).  The dog itself was superb (hard to believe it was chicken!) and the relish was refreshing.  We scarfed that up quickly while waiting for our pizza. We had both wanted to try Roberta's especially after 1000yregg's post. Finally the kale, leek, and ricotta pie came out.  The crust was more chewy than crispy, almost like Indian naan. I kind of liked it, but I think petitesoeur was disappointed -- still hungry enough to wolf it all down though.

Still a little peckish, we considered going back for a different flavor Asiadog, but instead decided to split a sandwich from Mayhem and Stout, after smelling the aroma of the braised meat emanating from their stand.  You get a choice of meat -- brisket, short rib, or pulled chicken;  sauce -- dragon sauce, harissa, or blueberry sriracha;  and relish -- pickled chilis, cucumber salad, and asian slaw.  We opted for brisket with blueberry sriracha and cucumbers.  Since we wanted to keep grazing, we just ate everything with a fork and left the bread.  I also got a coffee popsicle from People's Pops.  Petitesoeur stopped me from getting sweets from Momofuku Milk Bar because we had a bakery destination to head to in Soho.

While walking downtown, we stumbled upon L. A. Burdick Chocolates.  We were drawn in by the sidewalk chalkboard offering the adorable-sounding "Chocolate penguins and mice."  They were indeed very cute!  Apparently Mark Zuckerberg had the penguins as party favors at his wedding.  The nice girl behind the counter who tole us this also offered us a taste of the Earl Grey bonbon.  In classic drug dealer style, she knew that giving the first taste for free would get you a hooked customer.  So after that one we decided to buy the Richelieu -- milk and dark chocolate center with cherry liquor, dried cherries, and cumin. The cherries had a great pop of flavor, while the cumin was very subtle.  The chocolatier is from New Hampshire, with locations also in Boston and NY - a great find!

More walking brought us to the Union Square Greenmarket, where Strawberry Infusion and Lemon Verbana drinks hit the spot.

Finally, we reached Dominique Ansel Bakery, which had been getting rave reviews from Serious Eats.  They were out of their famous DKA ("Dominique's Kouign Amann") -- which are like croissant balls with a caramelized crust.  So we ordered 2 desserts and coffee.  A ganache-frosted chocolate caramel torte, and a blueberry religieuse (choux pastry filled with custard and topped with blueberry cream).  They weren't bad, but they weren't great either.  The crust of the chocolate caramel torte was dry.  The religieuse was fresh and moist, but too sweet for our taste.  It was a so-so and definitely not worth the long walk.  The coffee was lame as well.

We both agreed the big winner of the afternoon was the Asia Dog. We'll have to make a point to try all the different toppings - at the Flea or Smorgasburg or Summerstage or their store in Nolita.

Asia Dog
66 Kenmare Street (btwn Mott and Mulberry in Nolita)
NY, NY 10012

Roberta's
261 Moore St
(between White St & Bogart St)
Brooklyn, NY 11206

Mayhem and Stout
At the Dekalb Market, Brooklyn

L. A. Burdick
5 East 20th Street
NY, NY 10003

Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring Street (between Sullivan and Thompson)
New York, NY 10012

Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse, Milford, NJ

I discovered Bobolink cheese when I was working at Lincoln Center, and would visit their stand at the weekly Greenmarket across the street on Thursdays.  So when they moved their farm to Milford, which is only a hour away from us, I vowed to go for a visit.


Well, it took us a while, but we finally made it out to the Bobolink Dairy on a spring Sunday afternoon.  We first stopped for lunch at the nearby Frenchtown Cafe, where I got a nice spinach, bacon, tomato and cream cheese sandwich, and Redneckhunter got a massive omelette.

Then off to see cows!  The tour was leisurely - probably could have gone faster than the hour it took, but it was informative, and it was a lovely day.  First stop was to see their wood-fired oven, which gets up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.  They burn wood all night, then stop the fire in the morning, so the temperature regulates to around 500-600 degrees and bake the bread.

We learned how the different grasses on their land in different seasons lead to different flavors imparted to the cheese.  And how the males who didn't make the cut to become future breeders became nice suckled veal. And we got to get right up close to the cows!

The pigs were there for "waste disposal" as the owners put it -- happily eating whey and other by-products of cheese-making.  Seemed like a pretty nice life sleeping all day in a pile -- that us until they become tasty bacon.

The conclusion of the tour was a tasting of pate, cheese, and bread.  The pate was nice and chunky - big hunks of liver, mushrooms mixed in, nice flavor.  Needless to say, we went home with a tub, along with a hunk of cheese.

Bobolink Dairy and Farmhouse
369 Stamets Rd  Milford, New Jersey 08848
(908) 864-7277

Bien Cuit: The Smith Street Bakery, Brooklyn

The squash and quince puree dessert at the "gastronomic picnic" just was not satisfying as a dessert, so we all decided to get some coffee and check out the sweets at Bien Cuit on Smith Street.

My cousins, however, ordered more savory food -- I was impressed! My family are basically hobbits - second breakfasts and second lunches are second nature.  After trying their choices though -- open-faced quail egg, heirloom tomato, feta, and truffle salt on pugliese; and Tuscan-style salami, coppa, Tomme de Savoie, mustard and cornichon on baguette, I understood why - the bread was amazing!  Sitting there, I had wanted to grab a loaf for home, but somehow in the shuffle on moving on to our next destination, I forgot.  Sad - well, for next time I'm in the neighborhood.

The rest of us got sweets - I went with classic pain au chocolat, Redneckhunter got a hazelnut tarte - so moist! 

And Tricia got a cardamom apple danish.

While writing this post, I just noticed that they sell their bread online from the website!  Oh, so tempting...

Bien Cuit
120 Smith Street
Brooklyn NY 11211
(718) 852-0200 

Epicerie Boulud, NYC

We were up in New York to see a show at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, so we grabbed a quick bite at Epicerie Boulud, the take-out offering in Daniel Boulud's row of establishments on the block which includes the fine dining restaurant Boulud Sud and Bar Boulud.

We shared the banh mi with Thai sausage, country pate, jambon de Paris, radish and carrot slaw, and jalapeno mayonnaise. Non-traditional, but very very tasty.

After that it was time for a sweet - we got a slice of the Galette Bresanne - basically like a cream tart. The cream was ok - not too sweet, but the "crust" was more bready than pastry, and rather dry. It was sort of like a fancified cheese danish, but not a good one.

So unsatisfied with that treat, we decided to go back to the case and try again. The woman working the pastry case told us this brioche was filled with pastry cream and candied fruit, but when we cut it open there was neither inside -- instead there was something the texture of almond paste, though without any flavor. Again, the brioche was dry and not fresh.

Later that evening, we stopped back in to pick up some food for sitting out on the lawn at Summerstage -- a nice seared tuna sandwich, cheese and pate plates. Basically the lesson was, stick to the food, skip the sweets.

Epicerie Boulud
1900 Broadway at 64th Street, NYC
212-595-9606

Baking for Good

I loved the concept of Baking for Good when I first heard about them. For each online purchase, they donate 15% to a charity of your choice (there are over 200 to choose from). I first sent them to a friend when her grandmother passed away, and when she raved about how good the cookies were, they became my go-to food gift of choice.

Everyone we sent brownies or cookies too loved them, and yet, I had never actually tasted any of these baked treats, only sent them out to others. Until recently...

We took the opportunity when we had a bunch of gifts to buy to throw in a few bags for ourselves. The chocolate chip cookie brownie (basically cookie dough dropped over a brownie and all baked together), I think, were my favorite. Warmed up briefly in a microwave, then topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, they made great brownie sundaes. The s'mores brownies were super sweet but were fun ooey, gooey, treats. The traditional chocolate brownies were good, but I still think Redneckhunter makes the best on earth.

Can't wait until I have another excuse to try their oatmeal cookies, chocolate crackles, the list goes on. They also make fun decorated sugar cookie for every occasion you can think of - graduations, baby showers, weddings - they'll even do custom designs. As their motto goes, "a little sugar goes a long way."

Pastry House Hippo, Novi, MI

HelloKT told me to go to Pastry House Hippo, a Japanese bakery near Detroit, MI, to pick up her favorite item, a turtle shaped pastry filled with chocolate cream.
It certainly reminded me of bakeries I've been to in Tokyo. When you enter, you get a tray and tongs, and then you grab what you want.
The bakery has both sweet and savory choices. I was also happy to see that they had the Japanese style of sliced white bread which, when toasted, is just amazing with butter.


42130 Grand River Avenue
Novi, MI 48375-1833
(248) 347-6408

Old Time General Store / Country Pie Shoppe, Donegal, PA

As as first-generation Chinese-American from the East Coast, it may seem strange, but I love the heartland. On a weekend trip after seeing Falling Water, we stopped at a bakery on the way back to the PA Turnpike, where we got a mini pumpkin pie, a gooey chewy chocolate frosted peanut butter no-bake cookie, and some peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies. They know the value of butter out there.

Rt. 31 East, Donegal, Pa
(1 Mile East of PA Turnpike Exit 91)
Pie Shoppe: 724-593-7105
General Store: 724-547-7112

Bread and Chocolate, Montreal

Redneckhunter and I went up to Montreal earlier this month for a long weekend.  Single digit temperatures would not deter us from our annual foodie trek.  Because it was early January, we didn't get to Le Fromentier for Montreal's best baguette, because it was closed. We were quite happy anyway with a loaf of 36-hour risen French baguette from Au Pain Dore.  We also gobbled up a buttery angel cookie with mittened hands on the street.  

We also picked up a mini loaf of chocolate bread and a tart from Chocolats Privilege.  The bread was delicious with cashew butter.  

Au Pain Dore

Multiple locations

Chocolats Privilege

7070 Ave. Henri-Julien

(514) 276-7070

Payard, Las Vegas

While staying at Caesar's Palace in Vegas, we made it a habit to go to Payard every morning for a delicious breakfast.
A couple mornings, we even say chef Guy Savoy there getting breakfast.

First off, the croissants were good, simple, and delicious. Always good with a cup of joe.
In their sit down breakfast area, they made an eggs Benedict using the croissants that was incredible.

We also tried two kinds of waffles: the vanilla waffle with whipped cream and berries, and the chocolate waffles with bananas and Nutella. Both were great.

Payard also had a nice breakfast buffet including breads and pastries as well as smoked salmon and fresh fruit. Fougoo loved the granola & yogurt parfait.
I picked up a ham & brie sandwich and a chocolate croissant for my plane trip home- so much better than airport food.

Berkshire Mountain Bakery

Brownie was the one who introduced me to this place in Housatonic, MA. The Berkshire Mountain Bakery bakes natural sourdough bread, crusty and full of flavor. We stocked up with loaves to bring home - a sunny flax for brownie, a cherry pecan for 1000yregg, a peasant French for us (above).

But the real treats were the mini-ciabattas -- cheese jalapeno and dark chocolate chock full of dark Callebaut chocolate chunks. Toasted whole, then sliced, these were just so good - crunchy crust, gooey cheese and chocolate within...



Berkshire Mountain Bakery
367 Park Street, Route 183
Housatonic, MA 01236
413- 274-3412

The Southfield Store, Southfield, MA

While at the Berkshires, Brooklen recommended I try the Southfield Store in particularly for breakfast. He made the claim that their croissants were better than any croissant he had in NYC. Big words, eh?
I went early in the morning and ended up eating 2 croissants. They were warm, buttery, and flakey.
The store also made nice bite size pain au chocolat which were decadent.

Southfield Store
163 Norfolk Road
Southfield, MA 01259

Hot Breads, Plainsboro, NJ

New Jersey's strip malls are just rife with potential ethnic food treasures. You just never know, so you should just try everything and anything. So when the oddly named Hot Breads popped up next to the Asian Food Market in the Princeton Meadows Shopping Center, I had to check it out. It's a European-style South Asian bakery.

Now I love Euro-style Japanese and Taiwanese bakeries for all the wonderful hybrid things they come up with -- like baked buns filled with char siu (roast pork) or red bean paste, swiss cake rolls with green tea whipped cream or chestnut paste, yellow cake topped with whipped cream and tropical fruits -- that kind of thing. The Asians are not known for their prowess in either breads or desserts, so it's all for the best that they adopt European techniques. So this was basically the same thing with South Asian fusion. We tried a variety of buns -- curry chicken, keema, and aloo (potato, pictured above). I thought the curry chicken was a little dry, but both the keema and aloo were very tasty. Haven't tried any of the sweet treats yet, but will report back later...

Hot Breads
660 Plainsboro Rd
Plainsboro, NJ 08536
(609)799-2737

Desserts: Lady M and The Little Chef

We're lucky enough in Princeton not only to be close to NYC, but to have a top-rate pastry shop right around the corner. Last week, after a trip to the Met, my parents brought back a couple slices of Lady M's famous mille-crepe cake. Twenty crepes with layers of cream between, and burnt sugar on top.

On Saturday, some friends were visiting from NYC and Philly, so walking home after dinner we stopped at The Little Chef and picked up some treats. I can't remember the name of this mini-cake, but it was light, chocolatey and cinnamony, and oh-so-pretty. The chocolate-hazlenut torte was rich and fudgy, and redneckhunter's a huge fan of the macaroons, though the plain ones while good, are nothing compared to the ones dipped in dark chocolate.




Lady M Cake Boutique
41 East 78th Street (bet. Madison Ave & Park Ave)
New York, NY 10021
Tel: 212-452 2222

Little Chef Pastry Shop
8 S Tulane St
Princeton, NJ 08542
(609) 924-5335