NYC Bouchon Bakery Brunch

Waking up late the next day worked advantageous as Bouchon Bakery the little baking heaven at the Times Warner building does not take reservations and when it opens at 11am there is invariably a long line of eager foodies in wait. The retail and café side of Thomas Keller’s bakery is open earlier so you can grab some sandwiches, cookies, hot chocolate and of course the bouchons to go:

We started with hot chocolates, clearly my weakness at all meals at all times. This was not bad; very creamy similar to Koko Blacks but not as chocolaty thick as the Italian hot chocolates of Brunetti.

For the main I decided against all odds to try the vegetarian Légumes de la Provence. I think I had a strange craving for eggplants that day but this was not just a simply grilled eggplant but white wine braised sweet delight. The sandwich is served hot in a pressed rosemary sourdough infused with garlic and in addition to eggplant there was also sour roasted tomatoes and bitter arugula. It was delicious.

Mr. Z tried the Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich. He liked to dunk the crunchy toasted sandwich into the almost tomato pureed soup creating a blend of tomato and cheese sandwich slightly softened by the soup and yet still a crunchy bite.

For desserts I was influenced by the DGBG Kitchen and Bar soufflé so decided to try the Bouchon version which was the Chocolate Soufflé. Although this was amazingly rich and creamy it was very dense and heavy; a far cry from the DGBG version.

Mr. Z opted to test their Profiteroles which came as a triplicate stuffed with ice cream and smothered in a thick dark warm chocolate sauce.

This has to be the best brunch we have had so far in the USA. Most importantly we did not leave without picking up a pack of Bouchons or chocolate corks for which the bakery is named (see first pic). After five to ten minutes in the oven then served hot you are indulged in a miniature molten chocolate cake that if possible could potentially induce a chocolate coma. This is not the cheapest bakery around but a little indulgence every now and then is worth it. If you are in the Big Apple for a weekend I recommend to swing by for brunch or just to pick up some bouchons to take home.