The best pastries of New York City
1. Dominique Ansel Bakery. At the moment this is my favorite bakery/pastry shop not only in New York City but the world. In the last ten years I have traveled to France, Spain, Austria, Portugal and Mexico City; all cities considered to have good breads and desserts, but Dominique has no competition. I appreciate him on different levels; he is continually inventing new forms to present classics and each time I visit he is there; working, ushering, directing. Although he became famous for the cronut and chocolate chip cookie shot, my favorite is the DKA bun: Dominique Kouign Amann. Layers of butter and sugar. When I visit Mexican bakeries I always go for the orejas (palmiers). The center part where it coils the most is usually crunchy on the outside and gooey chewy on the inside. It’s divine and my favorite part. The DKA bun is exactly that; the gooey center of the orejas. Yes, I did stand in line once for the cronut and was amused but I would never attempt to have another. I will stick with my DKA bun. Here is a video of Dominique making them.
2. Dough is my favorite doughnut of the world right now. They are everything a doughnut should be; fat, sweet, light and chewy. You must try passion fruit glaze with cacao nibs or the hibiscus glaze. Their main location is in Brooklyn but they have several smaller booths in Manhattan. You can also find them at the Saturday Brooklyn Smorgasburg.
3. Lady M. Midtown. Most famous for their Mille Crepes but have other types of cakes and they ship outside of New York City! I tried the classic and indeed it is light, creamy and rich. You have never had a cake like this before.
4. Doughnut Plant. A close 2nd, this shop has been around a lot longer and also has churros! Try their tres leches doughnut and lime coconut doughnut.
5. La Churreria in NoLita. This is the first official churro shop in New York City possibly the USA. The owners are actually Spanish including some of the staff. They also serve Spanish beer. Here you can get the regular churros to dip in chocolate or you can also get stuffed churros with dulce de leche.
6. Laduree. This famous shop is adorable and they get points for that alone. They have a very large variety of flavors and a ton of gift options. The macarons are great and this iconic French shop is worth the visit; there isn’t anything like it in the US. (unless you are in Los Angeles you can visit Bottega Louie downtown).
7. Maison Kayser. Midtown. Classic French bakery offering baguettes and creme brûlée to go. You can find any dessert here that you would find in France. They have a lot of options and you are safe choosing anything from the eclair to the sweet breads.
8. Baked NYC. Classic American baked goods in Brooklyn. You can sit with a coffee and thumb through their published dessert books. I tried the ganache, caramel, pecan bar. People that make desserts, respect this place a lot.
9. Clinton Street Baking Company. This place is famous for it’s pancakes and there is always long waits but most people don’t know you can just walk in for a coffee and pastry to go and there is rarely a wait for this. They have classic American muffins, scones, cookies and cakes.
10. Wafels and Dinges. Warm Belgian waffle with vanilla ice cream! There are various locations in the city; a cart outside of the Macy’s on 34th street and a store in Alphabet City. They open late night.
Other places where you can find flour and sugar: Georgetown Cupcakes in Soho and the Cupcake ATM in the upper east side.