*Photo obtained from Yelp.com* because I forgot to take one.
Pastry Shop: Venieros Italian Bakery
Website: www.venierospastry.com
Location: 342 East 11th Street
Phone: 212.674.7070
Price Range: $$
Choices: Cannoli (Vanilla), Red Velvet Slice, Frangipane, Cheesecake NY Style w/ Strawberries, Tiramisu Pastry, Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Slice; Latte
Veniero’s Pasticceria & Caffé is an Italian Bakery established in 1894. It was not difficult to find this bakery, although it was far walk from any train station. Looking at the front of the shop, you immediately feel you have stepped back in time to the mid 1900’s which was the time of their last renovation. Every detail of the interior design from the tiles on the floor, the furniture used, and the lightings looked as if it hasn’t changed; kept in its old-fashioned ways.
When my close friend and I walked in at first, we were not greeted; it was possible that it was because we looked as if we were lost. We were actually wondering if there was a room in the back for us to dine in. The waiter found us and led us to a table. His name is Raba, and looks well in his 40’s. Hint hint – turnover rate is probably very low. He was attentive, giving us just enough time to look over the menu before asking if we were ready to order. After about 20 minutes of debating, my friend and I decided to pick our desserts this time and ask Raba for his recommendation on the beverage pairing. In the end we ordered a Vanilla Cannoli, Red Velvet Slice, Frangipane, Cheesecake – NY Style with Strawberry toppings, Tiramisu Pastry, and Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Slice; Raba recommended the Latte to pair with our selections.
The way we start our tastings is always from light to heavy so that the heavier pastries will not overpower the lighter pastries. We started off the day with a Vanilla Cannoli. The shell was crispy with proper browning. Within the shell was a thick, creamy, smooth filling prepared with bits of fruits and crunchy chocolate chips. This palatable filling gave the overall pastry just enough sweetness.
We chose the Red Velvet Slice because I had recently baked my own Red Velvet cake not too long ago and wanted to compare it to one of the oldest and best pastry shops in New York. It was apparent from first taste the frosting is a cream cheese recipe with a hint of white chocolate aftertaste. The slice composed of strong vanilla flavors. The texture was grainy, stiff, and crumbly although you can still feel some moisture. This slice was garnished with a small piece of white chocolate and crumbs alongside the cake. It definitely isn’t recommended with coffee. We don’t need you here Joe!
Frangipane was one of our first selections because my friend is fanatic about it! I’m not too sure why… Here were his thoughts, “Fantasizing about the Frangipanes we made in school, I couldn’t help but to order one …” When it arrived, we instantly noticed that it was completely dry. Sadly, we couldn’t taste any of the almond paste either. The candied raspberry fruits and raspberry jam did it no justice due to its excessive sweetness. We believed that if this pastry was made perfectly it would’ve been delightful with our latte. “…but it was a total disappointment,” with these last words we moved onto our next delight.
With the first bite of the NY Style Cheesecake it instantly coated the inside of your mouth. The texture was thick, luscious, and creamy with strong flavors of sour cream and cream cheese. The cheesecake was paired amazingly well with the fresh strawberries; however it was noticeable that these fruits were soaked in sugar before used for garnish. The fresh strawberries gave a wonderful balance to the heaviness of the cake. The body is soft and fluffy with perfect browning along the circle surface of the cake.
The Tiramisu Pastry was a small layered cake garnished with a small piece of white chocolate. It was supposed to be composed of sponge cake soaked in coffee with coffee flavored cream and dusted with bitter cocoa powder. To my surprise, the cake was not properly soaked with coffee rather it contained a hint of alcohol in its taste; it was dry and not flavorful, quite the disappointment. On the other hand, the cream had a very strong coffee flavor and was unbearably sweet. The bitterness of the cocoa powder counteract the sweetness of the cream giving the overall pastry somewhat of a balance.
Our last pastry was the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle. From the looks of it, we already knew it was going to be the heaviest of all. This slice consisted of a moist chocolate sponge cake soaked in Kirsch, raspberry jam, very rich truffle, a thin crumb layer of chocolate butter cream, and heavy ganache completely covering the outer layer. This is an intense chocolate lover’s cake. Extremely sweet to the point where it feels like you’re about to have a toothache. If you would still like to order this cake, you might want to ask them for a glass of milk.
The experience at Veniero’s was quite unexpected. I suppose we had higher expectations of the pastries from one of the oldest and best pastry shops in New York. I must say the service we received from Raba was just as unexpected. He was attentive to our needs, applied the 50/50 rule when we asked for knives (remember dining room class?), also it turns out that he goes out to the bakery section of the shop to retrieve our orders from the shelves and personally prepares our lattes. If you get a chance to come here with a friend, some must-haves are the Vanilla Cannoli, the NY – Style Cheesecake, and if you’re chocolate lover the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle slice. The overall experience was enjoyable.
Mishii's Rating: 7/10
Mishii's Rating: 7/10
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