Cannelle Patisserie – A Diamond in the Rough (of the Strip Mall)
Finding Cannelle Patisserie is an adventure in its own right. Since it’s located in the upper reaches of Jackson Heights (and dabbling into East Elmhurst), it involves both train & bus for me to get there from my Brooklyn roost. Then… hmm… where is it? Did I write the address down wrong?  Nope, it turns out this real French patisserie is located waaay back in Waldbaum’s strip mall, requiring you to walk through a suburban-sized parking lot to get there.
From the cheerful flowers painted on the windows to the shelves overflowing with baked goods to the employees wearing jaunty berets, this place is really trying to say, “I know we’re in a weird location, but we’re legitimate, we assure you!” And they are. There are two pastry chefs here: Jean-Claude Perennou, a former executive pastry chef at the Waldorf-Astoria for 12 years & his assistant, G. Sabaratnam (Samba).  With such experience, I wondered what delights they’d craft.
We got in about an hour before they closed, so I tasted everything bearing in mind that everything wouldn’t be at its height of freshness. The Praline Crunch ($3) fell into this trap, and was just ok. It was pleasantly chocolatey, but the praline layer had no indication of its titular crunch, and another cakey layer was somewhat stale. The Framboisine ($3.50) was much better. It had a simple vanilla or white chocolate mousse which was a great foil for the sweet ‘n tart raspberry jelly in the middle. The Macaron ($1) was not-so-great (also not crispy/soft as it should be). And while I’m at it, the coffee was watery. But wait!! Everything else was magnificent! The Caramel Puff ($0.75) had a lovely caramel brittle on top of a pastry poof filled with silky vanilla cream. The Tarte Au Citron ($2.50) was a perfect citrusy-sweet delight, and the Paris-Brest ($3) was a decadent hazelnut cream puff– possibly my favorite of all.
If you live anywhere near here, you should become a regular. If you don’t, this makes for an enjoyable foodie outing, and you’ll spend about 1/2 the price you’d usually spend on fine pastries in Manhattan.
Cannelle Patisserie 75-59 31st Ave. Jackson Heights, NYÂ 11370 within the Waldbaum’s mall off 77th St. & 31st Ave. 718-565-6200http://cannellepatisserie.com/
1 Comment to Cannelle Patisserie – A Diamond in the Rough (of the Strip Mall)
I envy you for having tasted a lot of these! It all looked delicious! I guess I’ll just get one myself.. haha! 🙂
October 21, 2009