Panade

Tucked along a quiet stretch of sidewalk on Eldridge Street sits Panade, an unassuming, miniscule shop that focuses on one thing: pate a choux, the airy, impossibly light French pastry dough that makes cream puffs, eclairs, gougeres and ladyfingers possible. With its open storefront, lack of signage and a mess of kitchen equipment visible from the street, Panade would be easy to miss if it weren't for one dead giveaway - the intoxicating scent of choux pastry, rising by way of its own steam, wafting out onto the street, cloaking the air with a buttery sweet smell.

Panade seems to be owned and operated by a sole proprietor, Yvette Ho, who singlehandedly bakes all the pastries, serves customers and makes cream puffs to order. As I sat on the one of two wooden stools available on a lazy Saturday morning, I watched neighborhood regulars stroll in, order coffee, snag a puff or two and chat with Ms. Ho before being on their way. It's that kind of place.

Herb savory puff: Panade offers savory puffs in a variety of flavors, including plain, cheese, ham & cheese and rosemary.

Black Forest ham and Brie puff sandwich on plain puff pastry with cucumber and honey mustard: This sandwich is one of the best offerings at Panade. The airy egginess of the pate a choux elevates what would normally be a heavy lunch into a delicate lady's sandwich. The paper thin slices of black forest ham and crisp cucumbers mirror the diaphanous nature of the pastry, while the perfectly ripe hunks of Brie confer an understated richness to the whole affair. I liked Panade's honey mustard as well; rather than the usual sweet concoction, it retains the bitterness of the mustard seed, rounding out the spectrum of flavors.

Vanilla cream puff with fresh blackberries: After two plates of food, I sheepishly ordered a cream puff for dessert. (Apparently, hipsters don't eat very much). I recommend inquiring what types of fresh fruit they have available that day and ordering your cream puff accordingly. On that hot July day, peaches and blackberries were on the menu, so I decided to go for a classic berries-and-cream puff. Ms. Ho pipes cream filling into each puff as it is ordered, making it completely customizable and preventing the soggy, dairy logged interior of other cream puffs. The blackberries' burst of tart juicyness mingled with the prevalent vanilla flavor of the cream, putting a refreshing textural spin on the decadent filling. The only thing I found wanting was the scarcity of fruit compared to the abundance of cream. More berries, I say!

You will walk away from Panade satisfied but not overwhelmingly full, happy without a trace of guilt. More than anything, you will leave Panade struck by the exquisiteness of Ms. Ho's fare and the studied craftsmanship of each pastry and sandwich, with the feeling that you have been privy to something both very simple and very exceptional.

Panade

129 Eldridge St.

(between Broome and Delancey)

New York, NY 10002

Best dishes: Sandwiches, cream puffs

Hours: Tues-Fri, 8AM to 7PM; Sat-Sun, 9AM-7PM; closed on Mondays. Minimal seating.