An Ispahan in New York??? Thank god. I didn’t get to try the traditional one when I was at Pierre Herme in Paris, so I was grateful for this second chance. It’s made of rose macarons, raspberries, lychee buttercream, and lychees. It looks like this inside.

This is such an amazing pastry. And unusual. I didn’t realize how wet and refreshing it would be — thanks to the chopped lychee and raspberries. The macarons ameliorated that and added another soft texture with a hint of crispness. I like that the bulk of it is composed of fruit, pure and simple, and that the flavors worked so well together.

I had another one — a “Goodbye Ispahan” — the day before I left New York, but the macaron was too chewy that time. It still tasted like magic, though.

There are other pastries in the shop that look the same as the pastries at Pierre Herme and have the same names, too. I quizzed an employee, and altogether was told that Bouley and some of his patissiers were trained in Paris and that they use the same recipes as Pierre Herme. From the internet, I can only cobble together a story about a deal gone bad btw David Bouley and Pierre Herme over a proposed joint venture and maybe a former chef from Pierre Herme working at Bouley, so that would reasonably explain the presence of Herme’s pastries here.

Remember that Tango that I didn’t get on my last visit to Pierre Herme because I didn’t want to try a risky pastry? That was here, too…

It had a sesame seed crust, red pepper and raspberry puree, parmesan cream, raspberry glaze, fresh raspberries, and a crispy parmesan tuile. It was a little too heavy for me, and the aftertaste of parmesan and sesame lingered too much, but during the bite, the flavors worked well together. It looked like this inside.

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Vanilla Cupcake. The cake part was one of the best that I had in NYC — moist and strong with vanilla; a little heavy, but in a good way. Although the speckles of vanilla bean in the frosting showed immense promise, the frosting was too strong on the butter for me.

Envie (Left) - with Bergamotte Sable Breton, Violette Creme Brulee, Black Currant Preserves, White Chocolate. Coffee Tart (Left) - Coffee Chantilly, Coffee Soaked Biscuit, Coffee Streusel, Coffee Ganache.

The Envie grew on me up to a point, but the preserves dominated its flavor and texture, and it got a bit monotonous. I do admire the engineering, though, with the enrobed box of creme brulee and preserves that’s adhered to the rectangular flat crust.

The Coffee Tart was pretty good, and I especially liked the coffee streusel bits on the top with the coffee chantilly and ganache. The mirror glaze was too thick, though, and the biscuit got lost amidst everything. I liked all the different forms of coffee in this, but maybe a contrasting flavor would be welcome, too.

Lobster Sandwich w/ Yuzu and Herbed Mayonnaise on Brioche. A little too much mayo and not enough yuzu, but a lot of tasty lobster.

Le Noeud - Cardamom & Hazelnut Flour. Crispy, flaky. Tasted like butter more than anything else.

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