Scratch Bread

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Food will always outweigh my hatred of hipsters

I admit: I hate going out the Brooklyn. I hate that the subway ride is so longer. I hate that I am not familiar with it. I hate hipsters. Brooklyn is crawling with them. I am a straight hater for Brooklyn and I will step to the right. One thing that Brooklyn does right however is food. I do not care what Mimi Sheraton says here, Brooklyn has a growing food culture and people that are willing to put in the hard work in supporting it and making the perfecting whatever craft. One of these places is Scratch Bread.

The cliché is that food connects with people. As cheesy and stupid as it sounds, it is true and I believe that bread has the ultimate personal connection and anyone that has made bread, real yeast bread (quick breads like banana bread and stuff I do not recognize as being bread. It is a cake in a loaf pan) that requires your hands to knead the dough has a connection with food like no other. The warmth of your hands and the bread as you slowly stretch and fold the dough as it transform from a shaggy, sticky, goopy mess, to a elastic, sleek, smooth and stretchy living organism. Dough itself is a living thing where you leave that sucker alone and it will grow and rise within hours and it is constantly changing.

Bisous Ciao Macarons

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Bring manly looking bag to disguise feminine macron bag 
 
Real men watch the Jets game and eat macarons. At least that is what I am telling myself while sitting here watching the Jets game…and eating macarons. But if it was a choice between Pringles and Frenchy macarons, I choose the macarons.

Bisous Ciao opened in the summer of 2010 in the Lower East Side and is a minimalist store. It is just a chilled case of macarons and a cash register. There is a very small counter towards the window front that I think you can maybe eat the macarons in the store, but it is basically a takeout kind of a place.

This is pretty much it to the store.

The store goes right to the point and sells macarons. Bisous Ciao makes 16 varieties, and currently have 4 seasonal macarons which are the peppermint chocolate, the masala spiced chai, the pecan caramel and the cranberry. All of these macarons were bursting with intense flavor especially the masala spiced chai, tasted like Slumdog Millionare. Each spice in the macaron from the subtle cloves to the touch of ginger explodes immediately after biting into it. Aside from the seasonal flavors I picked up their salted caramel (their signature) and the gianduja. All the macarons had a delicate thin crust and soft, chewy meringue which a rich and intense filling. Eating a good macaron such as this, like in the movie, Next Friday "makes you wanna slap yo Momma". Please do not hit your mother or women, I do not advocate domestic abuse. 

 Left to Right: Salted Caramel, Pecan Caramel, Cranberry, Peppermint Chocolate, Masala Chai and the Gianduja.

Although the macarons are pricey, clocking in at 2.25 a piece this is something that everyone should selfishly indulge in or guilt trip a loved one into purchasing for you. One thing about the French is that they do not skimp on packaging. The macarons come in a fashionable box and sleek bag. Its one of those bags that you keep, even though you may never use it but you keep it because it would be such a waste to throw out, I mean look at it! It has a bow on it! I’m serious, real men eat macarons. Excuse me while I go do some ultra manly stuff like eating glass and fighting lions. Brb.

Seriously, look at the box they give it to you in and bag. Frenchies knows how to do up presentation.

 Bisous Ciao Macarons
101 Stanton St.
NYC 10002
http://www.bisousciao.com/