From the moment I woke up this morning I knew it was going to be a low power, low energy day. The refrain everywhere I went was “I’m so tired…” so I knew it wasn’t just me. It was a not-so-great day all the way around and we were all fumbling towards quitting time so we could go home and rest up to try resetting the whole thing tomorrow. Some days are like that.
I was in such a state of mind as I ambled through rainy Chelsea with some time to kill before meeting someone early this evening. That neck of the woods, near the intersection of 23rd Street and 6th Avenue, has plenty of restaurants (chains like Chipotle and more atmospheric affairs like Markt, for example) but no quiet, independently run cafe where you can rest your feet for a bit. Or so I thought! I was tiptoeing past puddles on 23rd street when I caught sight of this place out of the corner of my eye:
Bébé, it's cold outside
Madeleine Pâtisserie. A pâtisserie! This was just the right thing at the right moment. I stepped inside.
Pull up a chair and stay a while...
Two young women bantered in French behind the counter as I surveyed the chalkboard on the wall. Espresso drinks, hot chocolate… I could handle this. And the pastries: several varieties of the namesake madeleines and then an eye-catching assortment of colorful, sprightly macarons…
A profusion of madeleines
These macarons just popped with color
Don’t tell anyone (save the Interwebs), but I didn’t know what to call these gorgeous treats. (I’m in good company, though – Salty/Savory/Sweet blogged their first encounter with macarons as well.) So when I put my order in and pointed to these cuties I was presented with a menu of about 15 different flavors including nougat violet lavender, caramel fleur de sel and some other intriguing selections. I chose rose.
Towards the back I saw a seating area with exposed brick walls and adorable mismatched furniture. It almost reminded me of the late great Cafe Mona Lisa on Bleecker Street in the West Village. There were comfy couches and a couple of large wooden communal tables like you might find at Le Pain Quotidien. I sidled up to a little table, laid down my heavy bags and got seated comfortably in an old upholstered chair. I bit into the rose macaron and it exhibited that much sought after quality in foodstuffs we all adore: slightly crunchy with a crust on the outside but soft on the inside with smooth, silky cream to balance it out. Lovely. The hot chocolate was fine but clearly second fiddle to the macaron, which soon vanished.
You could do much worse than this on a droopy, wet evening
It was at about this point that I was able to exhale, sit back and just settle into the pleasure of not having to be anywhere or do anything. I took a gander towards the back and could spy the kitchen through a partition of sorts. Music played softly and was hardly obtrusive although it did run the gamut from French pop to Huey Lewis and the News (Jerry Lewis I might get but Huey?) right on to some aggressive rock, which I found perplexing. It wasn’t really a bother, though. I looked over and saw a woman crouched over one of the wooden communal tables writing intently. Off in a corner a couple of people kibitzed on a sofa. It was a lovely slice of tranquility.
After a while it was about time to head out, which was fortunate because the folks at Madeleine apparently mean business when they close — they had chairs going up on tables and a “Please wait to be seated” sign blocking the seating area by 6:30PM even though the sign outside said they closed at 7. We got the message and skedaddled. Next time I’ll go earlier and linger longer because in all other respects it was a warm, welcoming atmosphere that had the promise of being ideal for journal writing. It’ll be an excuse to indulge in more macarons! Now the evening didn’t stop there — I went on to explore another equally tasty enterprise a bit later on in the same neighborhood — but that story is for another post coming soon. À plus tard!
- Rosie
Madeleine Pâtisserie
128 W 23rd St between 6th and 7th Avenues
New York, NY 10011
(212) 243-2757
