Patisserie Claude Closing

[ketchupgirl]

WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Stopped by last night and picked up a napoleon, and he said he's not closing for vacation this summer but closing permanently at the end of the year. Very sad news for NYC.

[guttergourmet]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/593943

[DavyTheFatBoy]

Just be clear, Claude retired in November 2008, but his assistant Pablo took over and it's as good as ever. I'd suggest not adding to this post, as PATISSERIE CLAUDE is deliciously OPEN.

[NinaNYC]

It sucks. But go ahead Claude, enjoy retirement. And for those of you in the neighborhood who love homemade pastry in the old style, go to Lafayette Bakery on Greenwich Ave (@ west 10th, next to Funayama and Lassi). The dude who works there is a little autistic and kooky but it's great stuff. He also won my heart with his weirdo handwritten signs about making a special birthday cake for you which will be better than a mix (!) and why the Atkins diet is bad for you.

[vvvindaloo]

i love that guy. he definitely knows what he's talking about, though he can be a bit weird. he also threatened to close if/when the total trans fat ban went into effect in nyc.

[misnatalie]

I know him too, I love that he works with his mom. But I can never go in there unless I have PLENTY of time, he can talk forever.

[racer x]

I used to occasionally shop at Lafayette when I lived in the neighborhood and didn't feel like paying through the nose at Balducci's. But the food wasn't that good.

Now I would never go back to Lafayette:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/590126

[Lau]

anyone know a good replacement? i love his almond crossiants

[Miss Needle]

I haven't had Claude's almond croissants. But there's a decent version at Le Madeleine on 23rd Street. Personally, I find it a bit too sweet (too much almond paste), but you may like it.

[Lucia]

Agreed w/Madeleine. I also like Le Bergamote for almond croissants.

[Miss Needle]

Oops! Meant to say Madeleine Patisserie -- Le Madeleine is in the Theater District -- keep getting them confused.

[Denis]

I tried Tarallucci & Vino based on a rec from this board and liked it pretty well--though maybe, as an Italian place, what they were serving isn't really a croissant. (A "cornetto" or something maybe.) But in any event I thought it was nice.

Ceci-cela has also gotten favorable comments here, though I didn't love it. The interior, as I recall, didn't have the same pleasant heft as Claude's, or the same vaguely sour flavor, which--though maybe not for everyone--was catnip to me.

[vvvindaloo]

tarallucci e vino does make some surprisingly terrific cornetti! and good, cappuccino, too.

[wew]

tarallucci e vino: try the morning bun.

[vvvindaloo]

what's the morning bun?

[wew]

sorry maybe a west coast term. It is crossiant dough rolled in jelly roll manner with a cinnamon and sugar mixture between the rolled layers. then it is baked the bottom becomes lightly carmelized. what they call it I'll havr to find out.

[vvvindaloo]

sounds like what we would call a cinnamon bun. whatever it is, it can't be bad :)

[eca]

A morning bun is emphatically not a cinnamon bun (although they are related). They are not gooey or particularly sticky and they are generally less cloyingly sweet and far lighter than a cinnamon bun.

[Miss Needle]

Oh, so that's what they're called! Those were actually my first "cinnamon buns" growing up (there was a great bakery near my house that sold them). I was then introduced to what most Americans know as cinnamon buns later in life. Morning buns are so much better!

[vvvindaloo]

I did some looking around for photos of morning buns (tartine bakery, la farine, delessio, all in CA), and they look like cinnamon buns, except for the fact that they are sugared on the outside instead of iced/glazed. I saw one morning bun in particular that looked just like a cinnamon bun on the inside- very moist cinnamon swirl filling. The dough did look like it may have been a little bit flakier, however.

[Denis]

This is rough, rough news. Nothing lasts forever I guess, but this place has been a touchstone of satisfaction for me since I first went there after reading about it here. I guess I should focus on the good fortune of having enjoyed it for as long as I did--and on getting there as often as possible between now and the End Time. (It's only here, I think, using apocalyptic language for something like this can by sypathetically understood. Or I hope so anyway.)

[misnatalie]

I'm so selfish, how dare he retire... oh where to find a croissant as good as his. I must be getting too old, Ratner's, Kiev, Florent, Bleeker St. Pastry, too many to mention. I do wish him a wonderful retirement. Farewell.

[guttergourmet]

Mon Dieu! C'est dommage. I just picked up a couple of warm pain au chocolat on Friday morning and thought to myself "that's the stuff". Doesn't he have an apprentice? Probably not as he is a crazy artist like Dom Demarco who wouldn't let anyone else do anything. Damn.

[Liquid Sky]

Well, I hope another great bakery/patisserie comes after him. We need it!

Will miss Monsieur Claude!!!

[vvvindaloo]

I am actually a little bit relieved to hear this- I had heard that he was closing up for good this year when he took his vacation. In fact, just last week I was thinking about stopping in for some goodbye (sniff) pastries, but I never got there. I feel better now- I have the rest of the year to do it.

[Liquid Sky]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chezfredo]

That is sad news. Is he moving onto greener pastures or closing because he has to? Too many great places disappearing.

[MMRuth]

I'm guessing he's retiring - not exactly a spring chicken anymore! I'll miss my occasional visits there.

[kobetobiko]

Is this because of rent hike again?

[RCC]

Not rent hike.

Claude is moving to South America.