A Touch of Old World Charm
Written: Apr 13 '01 (Updated Jul 10 '02)
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Pros: Excellent bread, charming rustic dicor, and ambience.
Cons: Sandwiches and salads, bread a little pricey.
The Bottom Line: Le Pain Quotidien specializes in great bread. They also have salads, and sandwiches available.
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| soothsayer's Full Review: Le Pain Quotidien |
Among the best loaves of bread you will find in New York City can be found at Le Pain Quotidien, French for "Daily Bread". Not only do they bake bread, but make salads and sandwiches as well for their chain of eateries located all over Brussels, Paris, and recently New York City. And yes, you heard right, Le Pain Quotidien is a chain of stores founded in Brussels by Alan Coumant, but don’t let "chain", or "franchise" scare you, food comes first at this upscale eatery, not corporate greed.
Nearly all locations of Le Pain Quotidien exude a rustic countryside charm with old-world style furniture, rough wooden plank floors, and walls painted a faint pastel color. At the heart of each eatery are long wooden tables where diners can share in the spirit of a communal meal. If the place is large enough, there may be a separate area with café tables.
For lunch, Le Pain Quotidien has available delicious sandwiches, and salads. The sandwiches are simple creations that look mouthwateringly good. There is a roast beef sandwich with caper mayonnaise; and a roasted turkey sandwich with herb dressing, and many others. Prices range from $8.00-$9.00; the salmon and shrimp varieties are $12.00. I know, a bit expensive, right? Interestingly enough, the most expensive items on the menu were the salads, at $12.00 to $18.00! -- Definitely not for those without "bread" (money). Personally, I didn't care for their sandwiches; I was there to buy some bread.
At Le Pain Quotidien the bread is superb. Made with excellent flour, ingredients, and traditional methods, the difference is clearly in the taste, and it compares with the best in the city, sometimes surpassing those you thought were good. There are several types of bread available, Pain Ancienne, Baguettes, Peasant Bread, and Rye. In New York, at the Grand Street location I visited one day, I only encountered pain ancienne, a round slightly sour loaf with an X hatched out in the middle. No baguettes, no other loaves, perhaps they were not available that day. To say the least, it was a bit of a disappointment. I traveled to another location, this time Lexington Avenue uptown. It was late in the day, 5pm, near closing time, but I found the place. It is a small shop, with room enough to squeeze in two communal tables for enough seating space to seat 36 people. On the wooden bread rack that day, I noticed four round rye loaves, and a few baguettes remaining. I thought Great! I’ll just get a half a loaf. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the person in front of me brought $38.00 worth of bread, all 4 loaves of the rye. Oh well, I'll just content myself to a baguette, and brought it home.
Oh what a surprise when I tasted it. It was fabulous! The inside was soft and spongy, outside crusty and chewy. The flavor was delicious; it was a piece of leaven serendipity. I tried not to notice the price. The baguette cost $2.50. Regular loaves of bread, measuring about 10 inches in diameter, costs $9.50. At some locations, you can get half a loaf for $5.00, or a quarter for $2.75.
In addition to the bread, there were also pastry and tarts, and these looked nice. The tarts are individual sized at 4 inches in diameter, and topped with fresh mixed fruit. For $5.00 apiece, I passed this time around. There are many other places that are a bit cheaper, and I probably better. On the pantry shelves, there were a few sundry items like jams and marmalades, organic pasta, organic liquid sugar, and jars of excellent Belgium hazelnut chocolate spread for $8.00.
Locations
New York:
833 Lexington Avenue, between 63rd and 64th St.
1131 Madison Avenue, between 84th and 85th St.
100 Grand Street, near Mercer Street.
1336 East First Avenue, between East 71st and 72nd St.
50 West 72nd Street, between Columbus Av & Central Park West.
38 East 19th Street, between Broadway and Park Avenue South.
Beverly Hills, CA.:
9630 South Santa Monica Boulevard, between Bedford and Camden.
Brentwood, CA:
11702 Barrington Court, off Sunset and South Barrington Avenue.
Belgium, Paris, Geneva:
See www.lepainquotidien.com
Website
www.PAINQUOTIDIEN.com is the main website.
www.LEPAINQUOTIDIEN.com only lists the locations
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
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