What is going on with the corner of Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street? Several long time businesses have recently closed up shop—Scott’s Flowers, Runway and the locksmith store all stand vacant. On the other hand, a Lenny’s sandwich store is brand new. Another Ricky’s is just about to open its doors. It makes me fear for the fate of this little bakery.
J’adore is a terrific place. The cakes, bread and pastries are all made on the premises. But before I even ordered, I fell in love. The people who work here are inexplicably charming. They are surprisingly pleasant and they actually smile. While I was deciding what to order, I noticed that they even knew the names of some of their customers.
Here you will find interesting soups like Jerk Chicken with Rice or Harvest Grain with Portobello Mushrooms. You can also order a sandwich with slabs of brie and green apple on a fresh baguette with honey mustard. They have ginger, banana, zucchini and carrot breads. There are some pretty good-looking croissants. The lemon coconut bars are pretty tempting, too.
The cupcakes here have a distinctly home-made quality. I purchased a slightly lopsided chocolate cupcake that had vanilla and chocolate icing smeared together on top. Honestly, it looked like something I would bake (and the last time I made something like that was with an Easy Bake Oven). But that’s the charm of this place.
The chocolate cupcakes are so dark they look like loamy forest earth, but they have a nice springy texture. The baker here has the knack for getting a dense chocolate flavor without adding too much sugar. The mixed frosting makes each bite a different experience than the last. These are the kind of cupcakes you find at church bake sales, except they are really good.
The only bad thing about this place? They close at 5 pm, so get there early.
-Sherry Mazzocchi
J’adore French Bakery
2 West 23rd Street (at Fifth Avenue)
New York, NY 10010
Tel: 212-620-0388
Fax: 212-620-0350
Actually, this place's posted closing time is 6pm Monday to Friday. It's only on Saturdays that it closes at 5pm.
Posted by: PJ | May 01, 2007 at 01:05 PM