The Three B's

In musical parlance, this refers to Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.

On a Sunday in NYC, it translated to Botero, Bouchon Bakery, and Bar Boulud. (Alas, no Balthazar.)

Before meeting The Book Designer for brunch, I spent a few spare minutes in the Time Warner Building, which houses two hulking Boteros- Adam and Eve- standing guard.  You cannot miss them.

His sculptures and paintings are united in their depiction of exaggerated, robust figures.

“I believe that it is important to create something in which the painting functions within free, imaginative, innovative parameters. It is not a matter of creating the kind of beauty that fits into the classical canons. The purpose, rather, is to reach a stage at which it has become possible to surprise and be surprised. It is a matter of finding something that, in the midst of exuberance and distortion, conveys peace and equilibrium.”

-Fernando Botero

Baking also allows for much creativity.  I love that every Sunday, I can log onto any one of the other {sms} bakers' sites and see what they've created. Though we've all baked from the same recipe, each one is uniquely imagined and presented. Not one is ever alike.

I passed by Adam and up two flights of escalators to visit Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery.  Whenever I'm in Midtown, I try to stop by this gem of a storefront and pick up some goodies.

I forego the Chocolate Tablets and the Foie Gras Dog Biscuits ($14/box) and eagerly see what pastry offerings there are.  

Everything looked so good, and I wanted to buy lots, but I was 30 minutes away from eating brunch at Bar Boulud, so I only picked up a raspberry almond croissant and two macarons for The Kids.

In the past, the macarons have underwhelmed us in their semi-dry state, but I kept the faith that Keller would deliver with his product.  They didn't have our favorites, passion fruit and lemon, so I chose pistachio and raspberry, which run a close second.  

I'm glad I picked some up, because this time the macarons were excellent, moist, flavorful, delicious.  The Son concurred.

Wishing you today what Bouchon has painted on their back wall- 

The Happy Charms of the Morning. 

to be continued...