Monday, March 15, 2010

Ode to Financier Patisserie

I am in a long-term relationship.
With Financier Patisserie.

We met over a year and a half ago, endured some rough patches, but still remain together as mon Financier knows what I like, is comforting and awfully pretty (dude, I'm totally into looks).

We had breakfast together this weekend for the first time. : )

There are a variety of breakfast options like beautiful and delicious baked goods (croissants,turnovers, etc.), and at select locations, they also have hot breakfasts (like the location by my apartment ! Convenient !). Hot breakfast items include giant bowls of oatmeal (bo-ring), quiche, waffles and crepes with nutella and egg sandwiches.

I had been craving a good ol' fashioned waffle all week. So eyes on the prize, I ordered the Belgian waffle + maple syrup. And one scrambled egg. And a side of Harry's canadian bacon (because who is Harry and what's up with his bacon?). Oh and fresh squeezed orange juice (as a shoutout to Diana, hollahhh).

The spread:

The waffle was solid. Nothing spectacular or eye-rolling-to-the-back-of-your-head-amazing, but totally solid: slightly cinnamony with a nice firm crunch. I ended up eating a lot more syrup than usual because the waffle would not absorb anything ! So on the plus: waffle stayed amazingly crisp despite drowning in syrup, but on the downside, if you want your waffle to be an absorbent, mushy mess, perhaps this one is not for you. The scrambled egg was normal. The canadian bacon was dry to a beef jerky-esque texture (not recommended unless it was in a sandwich). The orange juice was nice and fresh.

So the best part about Financier is that he is a totally cheap date.
Check out this bill !

I am totally down with satisfying future waffle cravings for $3.50.
And a nice-sized glass of fresh squeezed OJ for $2.50 in NYC?

Seriously. You cannot beat that.

And here are scenes from my past dates with FP:

My favorite-favorite food item is their L'Italien panini sandwich: pesto + fresh mozzarella + prosciutto ! Super delicious combination. Fresh mozzarella makes me go wild. I find that the Stone St location in FiDi makes the sandwich best (they seem to use extra cheese + pesto). I've had this sandwich at three other locations, and they really never taste as good.

My favorite-favorite dessert item is Fraisier, a French version of the strawberry shortcake: fresh strawberries, vanilla biscuit, mousseline with a touch of Grand Marnier. What I love is the attention to detail on their desserts. At the very bottom of the Fraisier, the cake is kissed by a thin layer of dark chocolate, providing a nice, unexpected crunch as your mouth is reeling from the cream and ridiculously scrumptious strawberries. Love. It.

I've dabbled in a couple of their quiches. Quiches change by day, but my favorite is Friday's crab and braised fennel. I am a sucker for anything crab, and this one is great - crab tastes fresh, and the accompanying salad is a good offset of flavors. There is also no crust to their quiche, so if you're anti-carbs (so blasphemous), this might be up your alley.

I've also tried their macarons (good for a quick fix), the Palmier (so buttery + flaky + wonderful) and their brownie (pictured below). Brownie was okay, not as good as I wanted it to be (prefer brownies to be chewy + fudgy) but good for a chocolate fix.

There is still so much more I have yet to learn about FP, but I am sure we will be together for a long time. (awww)


Financier Patisserie (multiple locations, my favorite below)62 Stone Street (Bet Mill Lane and Hanover Sq)
New York, NY 10004
Financier Patisserie on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

  1. i am SO jealous of your long-term relationship - might have to steal away that fraisier!! <3

    and fresh squeezed oj - what a magnificent choice...

    ReplyDelete