After watching an episode of Unique Sweets, we had Lafayette in our list of restaurants to try. And we tried it! We decided to go for brunch, as the item displayed on the tv show was from the bakery. In fact, we did not think that restaurant was so big at that time, because they only showed the bakery located at the entrance.
They had lots of delicious things there, prepared by Chef Pâtissière Jen Yee and Boulanger James Belisle: from standard viennoiseries (croissants, pains au chocolat, pains aux amandes) you find elsewhere in New York, to delicacies that I had when I was a kid in France, such as the Petit Beurres.
These are homemade, not like the ones I use to have that were mass produced and that I love to dip in a café au lait. Well, I did not try these...yet!
So, back to the restaurant: it is huge! On the left side is the dining room:
And on the right side is the bar with its classic look and amazing display.
We sat at one of the tables that had a banquette on one side, like a half booth.
Some patrons chose to sit next to each other on the banquette, but I decided not to as I like to see the person I am talking to...
And I ordered a coke. Yes, no espresso this time!
I am happy I took a photo of it so I can remember it, considering that it was $5 for just a glass of soda!!! This is crazy!
Then it was time to try what we were coming for: the coconut banana chocolate croissant or pain au chocolat a la banane et noix de coco.
Let's be honest here: it was mainly for Jodi as she loved coconut.
Imagine a pain au chocolat cut in half where some banana will be spread over as well as a coconut frangipane. It was quite good, having the flakiness and buttery taste of a pain au chocolat, as well as the texture of a frangipane (almond paste that you find in almond croissants). However, I wish they put two bars of chocolate and that there were more pieces of banana. Jodi, however, was in heaven!
For the main dishes, we had quite a large choice of French dishes prepared by Chef Andrew Carmellini and Chef de Cuisine Damon Wise: duck confit, beef tartare or Pâté Maison. French specialties, yes, but interpreted and brought to a higher level by the chef. For instance, the beef tartare is served with a quail egg; the duck confit with curried lentils and crème fraîche.
Jodi ordered the egg white frittata with mushrooms:
It was good, but there were mushrooms only on one part of the omelet, the other part being just egg whites.
On my side, I ordered the soft scrambled eggs vol-au-vent with chèvre and leeks:
When the dish came, I could definitely smell some truffle that was present in the sauce. If you wonder what vol-au-vent is, it is like a well made with puff pastry that you would fill with whatever you want. This vol-au-vent was probably homemade; it was flakey and deliciously buttery. Inside was the scrambled eggs that were very soft and not dry, the way I like them. It was a good dish, however, not enough if you have a normal appetite and only order this. I think they should have thrown some potatoes with it.
I think the food at Lafayette was decent and we got good service there. Would I go back? Probably, but maybe more for the bakery than the restaurant that is a bit overpriced.
Enjoy (I did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
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