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.

When we were in Provence, we spent an afternoon in the gorgeous hilltop village of Gordes, which faces the Luberon.

We arrived around lunchtime, and came upon L’Artegal.  The restaurant was full, except for this sole charming table behind the restaurant that they were willing to set for us.  So, we took it.  I appreciated having our own peaceful lunch in a restaurant that was at full capacity.

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Salade Landaise - Mesclun, Sauteed Potatoes, Smoked Duck Breast, Duck Gizzards, Foie Gras. This is the kind of salad that people come to France for.  Lightly dressed, and a treasure trove of salt, smoke, acid, buttery crispy potatoes, fresh greens, and a wealth of duck.  The duck gizzards were delicious –  even though I thought that they were some kind of toothsome mushroom at first.

Lamb with Herb Mashed Potatoes. The lamb was very fatty, but tasted good with the herbs and jus.

Sorbet with Tuiles. Hm… those tuiles are burnt.

Panna Cotta with Fruit Coulis. This had a nice full vanilla flavor and I believe a mirror glaze was on top.  I could have sworn that this had ricotta in it, but we were told that it was just cream. A ricotta panna cotta would be a great idea, though… if only it didn’t sound so silly to say out loud.

Strawberry Melba “a Notre Facon.” We came across quite a few melbas “a notre facon” in France, and I liked the different plays on them — and this was no exception.

On the way out, we happened to pass by the bar, and when I saw an assortment of intriguing liqueurs, I remembered that I like intriguing liqueurs … so I ordered…

Melopepo. Cantaloupe and Almond Liqueur. I liked the alcohol and almond tinges to the flavor of cantaloupe so much that I bought a bottle of it at a shop next door.

P’tit Bleu Pastis. Anise-flavored, obviously, and very smooth. Chad was a big fan.

Fleur de Figue. The floral flavor was almost astringent in this, although it was very sweet. I was just barely able to finish it.

When the wait for a table at Chikalicious Dessert Bar was too long one night, we stopped into this bright, clean ice cream parlor in the East Village. They have slew of traditional and Asian-inspired flavors.

I sampled the Wasabi Ice Cream. A guy next to me in line told me that “You’ll feel the wasabi come out your nose.” So true.

Honey Ginseng and Taro. Although the honey ginseng tasted as it should and was creamy, the taro was the superstar of this dish. It was extremely creamy, to the point of reminding me of a homemade marshmallow turned ice cream, if that makes sense. The starch in the taro must cause that. And its flavor was nice, like a sweet, slightly nutty potato. The two ice creams went well together — the ginseng picking up where the taro leaves off, and the honey mellowing it out.

Chocolate and Green Tea. Here was a case of two flavors that can go together, but not always — and not here. The chocolate was too bitter and the green tea too mellow for them to work in one dish.

This is a just brief note to say that I stopped into this bakery (an annex of the restaurant) in the West Village out of curiosity, promptly chose this arugula, red pepper, and goat cheese bread, and was amazed by how good it was — still warm, a little chewy but with a healthy crust, and with flavor to spare. Blue Ribbon, I wish I’d gotten to know you better.

I love Jacques Torres’s fascination with chocolate-covered cereal.  Thanks to him and my chocolate tempering skills, I snacked on homemade clusters of chocolate-covered cornflakes on most days after culinary school.

So, I was excited to visit his shop in Soho and find new takes on the idea.

The A.M. Quickie is like a chocolate “bar cookie” — its top and bottom are thin layers of dark chocolate and the filling is cornflakes, raisin bran, and puffed rice mixed into milk chocolate.  I liked how it wasn’t as dense as most candy bars, and how the cereals and chocolates worked well together.

The Chocolate Covered Cheerios were disappointing, though — stale and the milk choc tasted off; maybe the “confectioners glaze” mentioned in the ingredients dulled it.  They’re enrobed in pairs, which I think is a good idea, though, or else they’d be too small.

I also splurged on a box of his Wicked Hot Chocolate to take home.  Its wicked mix includes allspice, cinnamon, dried ancho peppers, and dried chipotle peppers.  The cool thing about his hot chocolate mixes is that they’re made of ground chocolate, not ground cocoa.  I suppose you could make hot chocolate the old fashioned way by buying a Wicked chocolate bar and melting it with milk and whatnot, but his mix also contains whole milk powder and cornstarch, which would help for a creamier hot chocolate.