This past weekend while recovering from a jam-packed week in DC at the Global Business Coalition for HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria (depressing, I know), I decided to venture into my neighborhood in search of a delicious afternoon sweet treat. May I just say though, the Upper West Side is extremely lacking in small, locally owned (NON-STARBUCKS), comfy couch coffee shops. Most of the establishments that serve coffee are restaurants with servers, hard-backed wood chairs, and no wireless. My trip to DC and my brief tryst at Tryst Coffee House in Adams Morgan was a much needed breath of fresh comfortable coffee aroma.
So, I walked up Broadway. Instead of finding a coffee shop, I found almost ten different bakeries with very little seating room. I also happened upon a block-long semi-yard sale. The entirety of 107th st. between Broadway and Amsterdam was blocked off and filled with friendly vendors selling jewelry, old books, and furniture.
Walking through the main gates of Columbia University, I was, as usual, taken aback by the grandeur of the main campus. The library is so epic with its tall Corinthian columns and the names of the great thinkers etched into the stone. I felt more regal just walking through going to Amsterdam Ave.
On Amsterdam Ave. just after 112th st. there is a lovely little shop called the Hungarian Pastry Shop. The classic red awning and outdoor seating was really inviting and very old-school. I went inside to find a very European-esque setting. Ornate sconces. Dimly lit seating area. Simple, yet elegant collection of black and white portraits and still life on the walls. Many men in skinny jeans and horn-rimmed glasses reading literature. I even spotted some guy in the corner immersed in Dostoevsky.
I got sucked into the baked goods display case like a moth drawn to a very bright light. My eyes can get very big and, let me tell you, they could have very easily swallowed half the things in that case. After some internal debate I decided upon a hazelnut and white chocolate petit foule. At least that's what the waitress called it. For a grand total of three bucks, I got a delicious fake cupcake pastry that has satisfied my sweet craving for the next week.
The petit foule consists of three main layers. The bottom layer is a crumbly hazelnut cake. On top of that is a vanilla/white cake layer, topped by a white chocolate ganache. Powdered dark chocolate and crushed hazelnuts are the garnish. This delicious, palm-sized treat is slightly frozen so it has a cooling and sweetening effect. It was served on a warm plate so the chocolate started to melt a little. It was too good.
If I'm ever in the mood for something notoriously sweet again, I will definitely come here. And, if I want to shamelessly check out and people watch young pretentious literature students, I know exactly where to go. The Hungarian Pastry Shop.
No comments:
Post a Comment