If Heaven is a place, then a bite of Lady M’s Mille Crêpes is a part of the neighborhood!
The Mille Crêpes is a layer of twenty paper-thin handmade crêpes, layered with light whipped pastry cream. There are several irresistible flavors, such as strawberry, green tea, vanilla, chocolate, red beans… My favorite is the Marron Mille Crêpes with chestnut pastry cream. Unfortunately, they make it only for Christmas. Oh, how I wish Christmas was all year long!
“A fork plunged into a slice slides like a shovel through fresh snow. You get a whiff of smoky sugar, then layer after silky-sweet layer,” says the New York Times. It’s difficult to better describe the effect of the Mille Crêpes, it’s just a succession of delicious bites of crêpe and cream layers that melt in the mouth.
The owner, Mr. Ken Romaniszyn, was greatly inspired by beautiful Japanese desserts as well as French pastry techniques. I remember having this kind of cake in Tokyo when I used to live there. It was at my daughter’s friend’s birthday party that I first tasted the layers of crepes with chocolate cream; it was so delicious and refined.
Lady M is located in different parts of Manhattan, but the one I usually go to is on 36 W 40th St, in front of Bryant Park. The shop has a few tables where you can sit down and order coffee or tea with your cake. The line to be seated typically extends outside of the store and is quite long; I’ve frankly never had the time or the patience to wait. The take-out is way faster.
The inside of the store is all white: the walls, the chairs, the tables, and the long display table. The shop tenders wear black uniforms, and the beautiful cakes bring the only touch of color. It’s all smartly studied to bring out the delicacy of the pastry.
The cakes are prepared with subtlety and fine details. They are delicately sweet, made with a shrewd combination of texture and flavor. On their website, the description of each cake is just a poem.
Lady M has more to offer but I must confess I only tried their Mille Crêpes and the Mont Blanc – with cream and rich chestnut purée – but the Raspberry Chocolate – chocolate ganache layers with raspberry puree – must be equally outstanding.
Lady M Boutique
Upper East
41 E 78th St, New York, NY 10075
Midtown
36 W 40th St, New York, NY 10018
30 Rockefeller Plaza U, New York, NY 10112
Nomad
1178 Broadway, New York, NY 10001
Financial District
101 Liberty St #1415, New York, NY 10281
