World to Table • Where To Eat • Page 2

Aug 13, 2009

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Parisian Pastries from Cannelle Patisserie

I’m usually not big on sweets, but I can never turn down pastries and cakes from Cannelle Patisserie. Here’s a little something I wrote for LIC Bites, a food column in a newsletter for my fellow condo residents in Long Island City, Queens:

If you don’t have time for a summer getaway, or you’ve just got a craving for something sweet, take a trip to Queens, where you will find that the pastries of Paris await you. Cannelle Patisserie is a French bakery hidden deep within an unassuming mini-mall in Jackson Heights. The inviting aromas of coffee, buttery puffed pastry and French baguettes will reel you in upon entering. Inside you will find artfully decorated cakes behind the refrigerated display, shimmering tarts and quiches, and freshly baked pastries piled in woven baskets.

Cannelle radiates the energy of a lively neighborhood haunt. Packed at seemingly all hours of the day, the bakery appears to be a home away from home for a diverse group of customers, from an elderly quartet sipping coffee and enjoying sparse conversation to a father sharing a Croque Monsieur and soda for lunch with his son. With a humble burgundy awning and a window decorated with painted floral designs, Cannelle might look distinctly unlike the expensive bakeries you’ll find on the Upper East Side. However, do not expect anything less than the highest quality French fare.

Jean-Claude Perennou, the owner and pastry chef of Cannelle, is a master of flaky croissants, zesty lemon squares, and exquisitely moist Black Forest cake. Previously the head pastry chef for the Waldorf Astoria, Perennou decided to stake out on his own to start Cannelle Patisserie. Whenever I visit Cannelle to fulfill my need for sweet, Jean-Claude is usually working alongside his staff or behind the scenes in the kitchen; the intense love and dedication that goes into his pastries can be tasted in every crumb and flake of his breads and cakes. Thanks to Jean-Claude, the delicate art of French baking has become a familiar pleasure for many residents of Queens.

Jean-Claude Perennou, Pastry Chef and Proud Owner of Cannelle Patisserie

Tagged: apple strudel, apricot, black forest, cake, cupcake, elmhurst, espresso, french, jackson heights, lemon, New York, paris, pastry, queens, red velvet

Where to Eat

Jul 27, 2009

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Umi Nom in Brooklyn, NY

Last Thursday, I went to King Phojanakong’s new Brooklyn restaurant Umi Nom for a friends and family night to try some of King’s new dishes before it officially opens to the public. Occupying a space that was previously a laundromat, the restaurant is hidden amongst small local Mexican eateries and modest neighborhood bodegas. You have to be willing to walk a little further (up the stairs in the case of Kuma Inn, or on the subway for Umi Nom) to get a taste of King’s food, which takes a tapas-style approach to dining, but it’s worth the few extra steps.

Umi Nom is a long, narrow restaurant, with a dark wood bar, exposed brick walls, and Edison light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Some of the Asian-themed design accents in the restaurant include the funky bamboo lighting above the bar and white ceramic wall decorations with small dotted lights running through what resembled the cross-section of bamboo.

Tagged: asian, beef, Brooklyn, canteloupe, chili, filipino, fried rice, garlic, greens, jicama, mackerel, melon, mushroom, New York, pickles, pork chops, prawns, sausage, sticky rice, tapas, thai, tofu, tomato, vermicelli, watermelon

Where to Eat

Jun 19, 2009

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Meet Pączek, the Jelly Donut’s Fat Polish Cousin

In the heart of Little Poland– what most of us know as Greenpoint, Brooklyn– is Bakery Rzeszowska, a neighborhood Polish bakery. Large pastries pregnant with fruit and poppy seed filling await beneath a glass case. Plump loaves of babka glow with yellow-brown goodness, ready to fly off their racks as waves of neighborhood regulars quickly come and go.

Tagged: bakery, Brooklyn, cherry, Greenpoint, New York, Paczek, Paczki, pastries, plum, Polish, Poppy Seed

Where to Eat

Jun 17, 2009

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Congee with a Side of You Tiao in Toronto

Some of the best Southern Chinese food in the Northeast can be found north of the border, in the city of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. My mom, sister and I took a short trip up to Toronto to visit some relatives. While we were there, we spent one day downtown to explore the city. First stop, Chinatown. As we wandered through the unfamiliar streets, we passed by stalls selling Chinese herbs and vegetables. Unsure of where to go, we stopped by a shopkeeper to ask for a recommendation on for a place to get breakfast, specifically where we could find a good bowl of congee. “Just down the street, House of Gourmet has everything,” was his reply.

So we took his suggestion and started off our early morning with a big bowl of preserved egg and pork loin congee with a side of you tiao, a salty Chinese donut, from House of Gourmet. When he said “they have everything”, he wasn’t lying. The vast menu at House of Gourmet had a total of 426 menu items, and in the congee section alone there were 45 variations. Of the 45 variations of congee offered at the House of Gourmet, the contents mixed into the congee ranged from seafood, such as crab, abalone, and lobster, to more daring options such as pig’s blood pudding and other delectable offals.

Tagged: breakfast, Canada, chinese, Congee, Toronto, you tiao