Jefffrey's Breakfast Toast

It’s hard to imagine as a main course but head to a handful of restos serving up a weekday breakfast and toast now gets title case on the menu along with the ubiquitous omelet and granola topped yogurt.  I’ve actually dreamed about getting toasted at Jeffrey’s Grocery & Oyster Bar – not with the see-and-be-seen nighttime crowds that pack into this rustic West Village charmer but early in the morning when the shop feels like local luncheonette Americana circa early 20th century. Deviled egg salad has a kick with spicy mayo and arugula while there’s a deep freshness to the avocado mash that is tinged with lime and cilantro and topped with a roasted tomato confit.  Factor in the ciabatta toast – it’s rich and chewy with just the right amount of crisp – and the proletariat toast takes on a royal pedigree.

What’s up next for that toaster?  There’s a pricey crostini waiting for you at Gottino and a tartine over at Buvette.  Now, that’s something to toast about!

JEFFREY’S GROCERY & OYSTER BAR 172 Waverly Place, at the corner of Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, NYC. Tel. 646-398-7630.

GOTTINO 52 Greenwich Avenue, between West 10th and Charles Street, Greenwich Village, NYC. Tel. 212.633.2590.

BUVETTE 42 Grove Street, between Bleecker and Bedford Streets, West Village, NYC. Tel. 212.255.3590.

A Candle Conundrum at FPB

As far as his shop goes, too bad Mr. Payard just can’t keep it simple….

Somewhere in the transition from the overly wrought Rococo splendor of  the Upper East Side’s now deceased Payard Patisserie and the trying-too-hard-to-be-hip industrial designed space on the border between Greenwich Village and Soho Mr. Payard’s branding went into overkill.

Yes, with Valentine’s day around the corner, heart shaped boxes of macarons make sense, even if they are a bit too thematic. And the chocolate squirt bottles – think high end dermatologist sunscreen packaging – are odd, but it’s not too much of a squeeze from his core bakes business, sort of.  Candles? Well, that’s a different story.

A Choco Squirt?!

My Valentine Macaron

I am not sure where Mr. Payard found these cloyingly Glad-like bougies but there they were front and center 0n the products display wall, a setting that was more gift fair than patisserie.  “Gourmet Candles” with scents (or, should that be flavors?!) like “Cranberry Compote”, “Chestnut Souffle”, and “Lemon Biscotti” were all olfactory offenses that reeked of cheapness.

Mr. Payard walks the thin line between confection and affectation. Candles inspired by the teashop and perfumery are examples of when scents make sense.  Food flavored candles in the bakery are an example when they do not.

FPB (aka Francois Payard Bakery) 116 West Houston Street, between Thompson & Sullivan Streets, NYC. Tel. 212.995.0888

Yes, there have always been meatballs – lots of varieties from lots of cultures – but here in New York the first that comes to mind are those sauced inside a hero or laid out upon a mound of pasta at your local Italian American joint.  Now, instead of just an option on old school menus, meatballs have come front and center at meatball-centric restaurants like THE MEATBALL SHOP and THE MEATBALL FACTORY.

The Hero at the Meatball Shop, Greenwich Village, NYC

At THE MEATBALL SHOP (so far three branches and counting) the gimmicky menu-as-order-form keeps it relatively simple with pick-and-choose balls, cheeses and sauces that come as naked balls (bread-less and in a bowl) , sliders, smashes and heroes.  You also get to pick-and-choose a vegetable (usually good) and/or an arugula house salad (actually very good). Overall, it’s pretty well organized and easy to make a selection. I remembered my first visit to THE MEATBALL SHOP on the Lower East Side and the hero of beef balls, spicy tomato sauce and mozzarella on an Il Forno baguette:  toasted with a light brushing of olive oil it was an ah-so crunchy moment almost up to the very last bite.  With that sensory memory moment on my palate I couldn’t help being saddened with the spongy-at-mid bite experience at the fledgling chain’s newest shop on Greenwich Avenue. Even so, this was still satisfying comfort food with some pedigree to its ingredients (Creekstone beef though Bell & Evans chicken is not that impressive) that is relatively inexpensive, filling and, yes, fun to eat.  La nonna would be smiling though she might take issue with the too-cool-for-school (overly edgy waitstaff (formula: Williamsburg-type guys and gals that look part immigrant, part struggling rock star)) and thematic design (vintage meat grinders decorate the walls and are also used as substitutes for beer tap handles)) but,  overall it’s a formula that works just fine.

The Sammie at The Meatball Factory, East Village, NYC

Over at THE MEATBALL FACTORY the menu is a mishmash of meatballs and sauces that boast of well sourced ingredients but nonetheless confuse with silly names, descriptions and sheer abundance. Balls in bowls are the mainstay and sandwiches are a side note with the traditional hero replaced by the Sammie – a challah like roll (courtesy of Eli’s bread) scooped out and laden with three meatballs. I stuck to the Old School (beef, pork and veal balls) and in a carb conscious moment opted for the side salad rather than the french fries. The sheer speed in which the Sammie arrived at the table was amazing – no toasting that boat-like roll. I was underwhelmed by the flatness of the meatball taste that, for the most part, was overwhelmed by the sweetness of the too-mushy-for-balls bread. This is one meatball boat that just would not float.  There’s an okay Mac ‘n’ Cheese but I avoided the Customized Fettucine (someone was clearly over thinking that one!). The Seasonable Sides were okay but the Green Machine Salad was far from fresh and the metallic edge to its dressing rendered it inedible. No thought here to the restaurant itself (we guess the owners were too busy writing up that menu rather than focusing on interior design) with its plain and unadorned bar-like room.  The waitstaff were unmemorable at most but, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The problem with THE MEATBALL FACTORY is that it’s just what it calls itself, a factory with mass produced food that seemed more budget cafeteria than specialty restaurant.

Next up at McDonald’s the McMeatball? Let’s hope not.

Washington Square, Greenwich Village

Take a short stroll from the imposing neoclassical arch, past the fountain sprays and newly refurbished gardens of Washington Square Park to Laguardia Place and, voila, you’re at MILLE FEUILLE BAKERY CAFE. The shop, recently opened by a French engineer turned pastry chef may be simple by Ladurée (the haute Parisian patisserie chain that just opened up on the Upper East Side) standards but, on this oddly suburban-like stretch that hosts a strip mall and NYU campus housing, it’s a moment of bakery opulence.

At MILLE FEUILLE there’s no “wow” factor to the resplendent-less design. The small shop is centered around an unremarkable stone counter running the length of the bakery; the front displays pastries and the back serves as the prep table where excellent croissants take shape.

The Croissants

The Mille Feuille

In addition to the croissants there’s the bakery’s outstanding namesake, the mille feuille (aka Napoleon), tarts and patisserie staples, including canelés, Madelaines and financiers.  There may be lots of beautiful visuals with these very French bakes, especially with the rainbow of ever-so-popular macarons but, we’re not sure where they got the idea to use plastic wrap for the mounds of cookies and sliced loaf cakes – this is a serious faux pas for such haute-minded bakery crafts.

Now, back to Laguardia Place. Turn the corner just past the Morton Williams supermarket at Bleecker Street and you’re in the gardened and wooded five acre expanse of  SILVER TOWERS.  Sitting center stage in the broad plaza fronting the three mid-century Internationalist Style apartment buildings from architect I.M. Pei’s is the Bust of Sylvette, the massive statue of Pablo Picasso’s smaller original.  It’s really quite the setting, something more reminiscent of a housing project you might come upon in a Paris’ 13th arrondissement rather than in New York’s typically predictable urban grid.

Welcome to Paris, Greenwich Village.

The Bust of Sylvette

MILLE FEUILLE, 552 Laguardia Pl  New York, NY, tel. 212.533.4698