We love brunch, and thankfully. There are loads of brunch places in and around NYC. We so enjoyed Butler in DUMBO, Brooklyn, and Maman Nomad in Manhattan last year. During the summer, we visited La Parisienne in Financial District for brunch. It was easy to find, as it was very popular, and saw many people dining or waiting for a table.
The inside was rather small, modern and yet cozy and homey. They had mint green, dark blue, and shiny gold beautifully decorating the space. They even painted the old wine barrels with those colors, mixing the old with the new. I really liked the atmosphere.
They had tempting looking baked goods on the counter, and I was sure to get me some of that… And of course, my hubby never says no to those yummy baked goods. A couple who shares tasty food stays together, right?
We chose Almond Croissant ($4.50), Financier ($3), and Canelé ($3). Almond Croissant was nice and tall, buttery with perfect lamination. As for Financier, I thought it was a Madeleine…therefore, it was surprising when I bit into it and got the full almond flavor. It was not as soft as I wanted, but moist and sweet, so it was pretty nice. Canelé had kind of tough exterior, which was unexpected. Blast of caramel flavor. I thought it was chocolate based on its color, but it wasn’t. Very moist, almost juicy in the inside!
With that much baked goods, we didn’t feel the need to order two separate brunch dishes. Instead, we decided order Croque Madam ($15) to share. It had a choice to add avocado, egg, side of potato chips or mixed greens for additional $2 – $4. We decided to add side of mixed greens.
The side salad was quite big in portion, or at least bigger than I expected. Super fresh, and not drenched in some heavy salad dressing, which was nice. The Croque Madam was cut in half, with a perfect sunny side egg on top. The Croque Madam is made with Paris Ham, Gruyère, and Béchamel.
Croque Madam was cheesy goodness. The ham was thicker than some other ones we had, nice and meaty! It had the perfect salty flavor from the cheese and the sauce. The egg gave us the perfect egg porn…yum! It was filling and satisfying.
Since it was such a nice brunch, we thought why not end it with some coffee and dessert? So, we ordered Cappuccino ($4.50) and Paris-Brest ($9.50). Cappuccino had the creamy foam on top, and we were happy to see the size of Paris-Brest!
Paris Brest was nice and soft, moist and airy. It had loads of cream filling! No wonder we can’t lose any weight… The cream was more solid than “cream” which was interesting. What’s more interesting is that the solid texture of the cream made it easier to cut and eat. It had a pleasant almond flavor, not too sweet which was surprising, but I thought it was excellent.
We had a nice, relaxing brunch here at La Parisienne. The staff never rushed us, even though it was a popular spot. We enjoyed everything we ordered, and we were happy and full. Definitely a place we want to go back to in a future… They are more than just a brunch spot, as they also offer happy hour!
La Parisienne – 9 Maiden lane, New York, NY 10038