Local Global Cafe, Part One
Upper East Side Offers a French DIning Experience
Every return visit to New York City (from Barbados) surprises me with the seemingly sudden proliferation of one particular or specific type of store or shop. First visit I witnessed the spike in number of marajuana shops. Second visit offered an new array of bake shop and bakeries. (I’m sure those bake shops were in no way a business-minded consequence of the pot shops….)
And this recent/present visit I was shocked to discover a noticeable increase in a business-type that New York City to really need the least, and that is the cafe/coffeeshop.
Maybe the coffeeshops/cafes were likewise trying to cash in to the new pastry and baked goods popularity by also offering the common go-to pairing of a cup o’ joe, but even that idea is already realized on nearly every block or so in Gotham.
So when a friend offered to meet me for coffee — in the Upper West Side area where I was staying though no nearly as familiar with as I was in my youth — I did a Google search, hoping to find a place that was uniquely different than the more ubiquitously accepted sit-sip-and-snack eateries that dot the city.
And one finally stuck out to me. It was called Patisserie Chanson and its menu had items I’d never seen or heard of before.
That item was the Latte Violette, made with ube (purple yam), taro, and rose (petals). The friend I was meeting was intrigued by it enough that they ordered one as well. I also ordered the Raspberry Cheesecake Eclair.
Both the latte Violette and raspberry cheesecake eclair were lovely to look at and expertly delicious. The ombre-like gradient of light to dark purple is pleasing to look at yet still plays second fiddle to the creamy and rich, slightly sweet and minimally spiced latte; the raspberry cheesecake eclair is a nice play of textures the pastry shell giving way to an airy interior cradling smooth, soft cheesecake and luscious raspberry preserves, and topped with more of that cheesecake cream and fresh raspberries.
Though only the eclairs and wide variety of macarons support, in idea, the French nature implied by the name Patisserie Chanson (which would translate to “Bakery Song[?], and by the business touting itself as a “combination of classic European coffee shop and French bakery ambiance”), the whole vibe, does make the dining experience feel a little “foreign” — if not “global” — yet in a rather welcoming and delicious way.
