Amy's Bread: Breakfast, Dessert

Rosemary-Olive Ficelle

On certain mornings, I'm over at Amy's Bread in either the West Village or Chelsea for breakfast.

Breakfast = Coffee + Pastry.

The Irish Soda Bread is my favourite breakfast treat (not including cake, because you can totally eat cake for breakfast here and no one will say a thing).

Sometimes we switch it up and go with the whole wheat version, which as you can imagine, is heartier and more crumbly. Both are good - it depends on your mood.

I was obsessed with the Hot Cross Buns during that too-short period in which the buns were offered...

...and every now and then, I have the Chocolate Croissant, even though Patisserie Claude is only two-minutes away (isn't amazing how convenient life is here?) The two croissants couldn't be more different from one another. Amy's Bread is not authentic, but satisfies a very certain desire. I wouldn't even stick it in the croissant category, so do not think of it as a croissant. Think of a flaky, not very buttery, pastry with decent quality chocolate. Stick with Claude's for the real deal.

And if I'm running late to where ever it is I'm going, I grab a Cinnamon Challah Knot and stick it in my purse. Those are the days in which I am guilty of being one of those-people-who-eat-on-the-bus.

Sometimes I like to trade in the Coffee + Pastry combo with a Ficelle + Gelato Combo. The gelato, of course, always comes from L'arte del Gelato down the street. You'd have to be crazy to settle for anything less ;)

Sometimes a return trip is made in the evening, post-dinner. Case in point -> Sunday night with Shann = Red Velvet Cake...

...and a Chocolate Brownie. With walnuts, of course. I do not like un-nutted brownies.

Oh! And yes. Getting back to the cakes. For those who are from Hawai'i and/or are familiar with the Napoleon Bakery inside Zippy's...guess what? The baker who designed the recipe for the Coconut Cake here is FROM HAWAI'I and baked at Napoleon Bakery. That means she knows what a Coconut (aka HAUPIA) Cake is supposed to taste like! The Coconut Cake from Amy's Bread is the closest thing in NYC to the Haupia Cake we get back home. How sweet is that?

Goodness...it's nearly 2:00am. I took a much needed "cave" Friday this evening and made dinner (for the first time in months ^_^). Soba, cucumbers, green onions, tofu, salmon flakes, and lots of fried panko with toasted sesame seeds. Tucked in with a viewing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' Follow the Fleet. Nights like these are prefect for re-energizing.

Have an super duper weekend!

Amy's Bread
250 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 675-7802