By Abigael T. Sidi
If you’re anything like me, your life has been sunshine and rainbows since the spring season started. Out with the sumo oranges and Granny Smith apples, in with the gold star of all fruit: strawberries. I’ve always been the kid who tries to force their mom to buy strawberries in mid-January, and who is always met with a slightly apologetic, but definite “not the season, NO.” But now, there is no excuse; it’s time to eat the berries.
Out of all the pastries you can find in a Parisian bakery, the tarte aux fraises (strawberry tart) has always been my automatic go-to. It’s colorful but tame, traditionally glazed with a strained apricot jam that gives it a mesmerizing shine. Pâte sablée (French sweet shortcrust pastry) is its base, and crème pâtissière (vanilla pastry cream) supports a generous arrangement of strawberries, creating this remarkable dessert that I call perfection. Occasionally, a pâtissier will swap out the soft vanilla goodness for a punchy lemon custard, which, although slightly unconventional, I actually prefer.
While my parents have been diligently testing all of the baguettes at the French bakeries on the Upper West Side, I personally always look for a tarte aux fraises. The search had been essentially fruitless for my 16 years as an UWS resident, until yesterday, when I discovered La Farine Pâtisserie et Café, between West 87th and 88th streets on Broadway.
I walked in during this bright Saturday afternoon, with low expectations but hope, nonetheless. My “expect disappointment and you won’t be disappointed” mentality instantly vanished when my eyes fell upon stacks and stacks of flour right next to the bakery’s doorway, all adorned with French words. Yes, you have that right. T65 flour, the BEST flour, imported directly from Quebec. Suddenly, the name of the bakery (farine means flour in French) made sense. Scratch the low expectations; I’m looking for greatness.
As my family tends to do at bakeries, we promptly ordered half the menu, crafting a well-balanced lunch out of both the café and pâtisserie offerings. Amongst the former was the mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes in sourdough ($13.95), a classic Caprese sandwich with the added bonus of a beautifully pesto-soaked bread; smoked salmon in challah roll ($14.95), which I personally viewed as an inferior version of a classic bagel combo (though my parents disagreed); and the spring pea soup ($7.95), which was steamy, earthy, textured, and served with two slices of crispy sourdough. None of the savory elements were letdowns, but the pastries were where La Farine truly shined.
We began our not-so-delicate indulgence with a classic chocolate chip cookie ($6.95), which was delicious and crisp but did not hold a candle to others around the neighborhood (Orwashers’, for instance, blows this one out of the park). We then ventured into perhaps the most visually impressive offering at La Farine, the miso vanilla croissant ($7.95), which is shaped in a circular spiral rather than the classic shape, standing vertically on its edge with a piped vanilla cardamom cream nest hosting a few drops of vanilla bean extract on the top. A bit of a mind-boggling pastry to eat—I recommend just slicing through it with a knife—but it was nonetheless spectacular. The croissant was flaky and buttery, a rare find in the city, and the vanilla cream—which could also be found in abundance in between the pastry layers inside the croissant— was light and airy, with a delicate flavor that turned a simply beautiful croissant into a generous dessert.
But, of course, let’s not forget the star of the show. The strawberry cardamom tart ($11.95) was gorgeous, with the strawberries arranged pointing up, further decorated with a few cardamom leaves. La Farine does not glaze the tart, and to my dismay, makes it with a traditional crème fouettée rather than the more adventurous lemon custard. I still gave it a shot, taking a bite directly into the tart. (It’s hard to cut with the strawberries placed as they are.) Heaven. One of my main concerns with this dessert was that it would be too sweet, but the hidden strawberry jam in the crème fouettée brings enough acidity to level the sweetness, making it the perfect dessert for those with a sweet tooth and the sane alike. Also, the cardamom, which infused the creme with controlled balance, elevated each bite with just enough exotic undertones, and the light and crunchy-yet-slightly-resistant pâte sablée was expertly crafted (the chef pâtissier has true mastery here). Lastly, the strawberries were fresh, flavorful, and ripe, proudly declaring their 2026 debut. The tart was gone in two minutes.
La Farine Pâtisserie et Café is a larger, more open space than a typical bakery, with a second-floor balcony entirely designated for seating. The space is quiet and classy, bright and airy, perfect for a mid-day break now that the weather is (finally) getting warmer. Service is quick for everything on the menu, including the coffee, which I found well above-average. If you don’t want to let any of the sun go to waste, you can opt for the outdoor seating, which is rather vast and accommodates at least a dozen people.
La Farine Patisserie et Café is open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., with pickup and delivery available at these times. As expected from the T65 flour, the bakery’s baguette, which we tested, is very, very solid, but not cheap ($5.45, perhaps because of the imported T65). Overall, La Farine was just that, on the pricier end, even compared to the French community’s revered Heritage Bakery down in Bryant Park.
The Dish: Strawberry Cardamom Tart ($11.95)
The Restaurant: La Farine Pâtisserie et Café, 2394 Broadway(between West 87th and 88th streets)
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I have noticed that the price of baguettes has gone up at the few locations where a good one can be found, reaching at least $5.
Wouldn’t one think that flour imported from Québec—about 375 miles—would actually be cheaper than flour from the midwest, around 1200 miles?