It had been close to a year since I last had a Haitian patty and last weekend the craving struck me so much that I had to make the journey to Jamaica, Queens to pick some up. With the lady away in Haiti for 2011, there's was nothing that would bring me to that area, so I wasn't having any patties at all. The patties were a normal weekend ritual and each time tasted as good as the first time I tried them. I was planning on brining Leo to the park that very same day, but the sudden craving forced me to call an audable, so I ended up brining Leo with me for a ride to Queens, and then after we would go to the park.
Haitian patties themselves aren't expensive, but since I had to go over the bridge my appetite was adding an extra thirteen-dollars to the food. The place we always go to is called Le Bon Pain and its located on Jamaica Avenue off of 212th St.(you may require a degree in scientific engineering to understand a Queens street map). Typically when going there the line is nearly out the door, and the place is so popular there's cars double-parked all along the front street. Plus, there's the usual hustle and bustle of Jamaica Avenue with cars, livery cabs, dollar vans, police cars, buses, and in the summer, Mister Softee trucks, flying all over the place. When the traffic gets near the double-parked cars in front of Le Bon Pain, its a real demolition derby. Each time I approach the block I'm worried over losing a side-mirror or just having a bus cream me from the other side of the street as I make a left turn. There's lots of red lights on Jamaica Avenue, and everyone is in a rush to not get caught by one. As I made my approach this time towards the Le Bon Pain Bakery and was only a block away, I looked to my left and saw a big flag of Haiti that caught my attention. Taking a closer look, the flag was in front of another bakery I never saw before, the Abou Bakery. Like I said, it had been about a year since I last was around that area, was someone bold enough openly challenge Le Bon Pain?
As usual there were cars crammed all over and finding parking was impossible, I ended up parking three blocks away on some residential street. Knowing Le Bon Pain was likely to have its typical long line and a fifteen minute wait, plus I had interest in seeing the new kid on the block, I had to worry about Leo in the car. Usually he just hides under the seat when he's in the car, but what if he panics that I'm gone so long and ends up going to the bathroom in the car? Or what happens if someone decides they want to borrow my car and end up adopting Leo too? There was certainly some pressure involved in the visiting of these two bakeries. I first went to the mainstay of Le Bon Pain, and as I expected the line was all the way to the entrance, in fact my back was pressed against the glass door. There were nearly twenty-five people on the line, but with two cashiers working the registers I was hoping it would go fast. Although the patties are their bread-n-butter, it is a full bakery that specializes in wedding cakes, regular cakes, breads, and all sorts of Haitian treats. I even saw red velvet slices of cake added to their menu, but I had to give those a break as it seems I'm eating red velvet every week. The wait on the line only came out to about ten minutes, and the patties I ordered were two beef(my favorite), one chicken, and one fish. The total for all four patties came out to a very modest three-dollars.
Once I was outside I had to choose between checking on Leo in the car, or going to the new bakery first and then heading back to the car. I never seen inside the Abou Bakery before, so I had no idea if their line would be as long as Le Bon Pain's. I figured since the place is probably new, its likely they don't draw as many customers and I'll be in-n-out quickly, so I decided to head over to Abou Bakery. Once again my instinct served me well as there were only two other people inside when I got there. They weren't sure yet what they wanted, so I got to go first. I ordered one beef and one chicken patty. The girl behind the counter informed me they just ran out of the chicken, but luckily one of the cooks in the kitchen overheard my order and came out with a fresh chicken patty for me. The two patties came out to two dollars, whereas at Le Bon Pain I got four patties for three dollars. Now with a total of six Haitian patties in my clutches, I headed back to my car and happily saw it was still there. In fact, Leo had left his usual hiding spot under my seat and was walking around the inside of there car. As I promised, I brought Leo to the park for about an hour, we actually had to cut the event short because it was starting to get chilly. Also, I couldn't wait to get home and try the patties from each of these bakeries to find out who has the best.
Since the patties were in the back seat of my car while I was at the park with Leo, they got a little cold(patties are served warm). I took one patty from each bakery, placed them in a plate, and heated them in the oven for a few minutes. To make it an even contest, I decided to use the beef ones from both so its similar flavors. First up was Le Bon Pain, I noticed they fold their patties higher which causes the insides to pour out a little. I took my first Haitian beef patty bite in a long time and it was as good as I remembered, it seemed Le Bon Pain hadn't lost its touch. Next up was Abou Bakery, compared to Le Bon Pain it seems they fold their patties more completely which covers the inside meat entirely, and gives it a longer look. I had a bite of Abou's, and I needed to take a second one immediately to confirm, it tasted nearly identical to Le Bon Pain's. I took another bite of the Le Bon Pain patty and it indeed they both tasted the same. Overall the Le Bon Pain patties seem to contain more meat inside and have a firmer pastry texture, plus turned out to be priced lower, but I have to say it would be very difficult to tell the difference if I was blindfolded. Customers are usually very loyal to their bakery, so despite the long lines and wonderful parking conditions out front, Le Bon Pain should have no problem maintaining their dominance, but they can't get sloppy otherwise the Abou Bakery can offer a patty just as good to attract the wandering stomach.
With the six patties I bought from both bakeries, the real winner from this contest was me...
Haitian patties themselves aren't expensive, but since I had to go over the bridge my appetite was adding an extra thirteen-dollars to the food. The place we always go to is called Le Bon Pain and its located on Jamaica Avenue off of 212th St.(you may require a degree in scientific engineering to understand a Queens street map). Typically when going there the line is nearly out the door, and the place is so popular there's cars double-parked all along the front street. Plus, there's the usual hustle and bustle of Jamaica Avenue with cars, livery cabs, dollar vans, police cars, buses, and in the summer, Mister Softee trucks, flying all over the place. When the traffic gets near the double-parked cars in front of Le Bon Pain, its a real demolition derby. Each time I approach the block I'm worried over losing a side-mirror or just having a bus cream me from the other side of the street as I make a left turn. There's lots of red lights on Jamaica Avenue, and everyone is in a rush to not get caught by one. As I made my approach this time towards the Le Bon Pain Bakery and was only a block away, I looked to my left and saw a big flag of Haiti that caught my attention. Taking a closer look, the flag was in front of another bakery I never saw before, the Abou Bakery. Like I said, it had been about a year since I last was around that area, was someone bold enough openly challenge Le Bon Pain?
As usual there were cars crammed all over and finding parking was impossible, I ended up parking three blocks away on some residential street. Knowing Le Bon Pain was likely to have its typical long line and a fifteen minute wait, plus I had interest in seeing the new kid on the block, I had to worry about Leo in the car. Usually he just hides under the seat when he's in the car, but what if he panics that I'm gone so long and ends up going to the bathroom in the car? Or what happens if someone decides they want to borrow my car and end up adopting Leo too? There was certainly some pressure involved in the visiting of these two bakeries. I first went to the mainstay of Le Bon Pain, and as I expected the line was all the way to the entrance, in fact my back was pressed against the glass door. There were nearly twenty-five people on the line, but with two cashiers working the registers I was hoping it would go fast. Although the patties are their bread-n-butter, it is a full bakery that specializes in wedding cakes, regular cakes, breads, and all sorts of Haitian treats. I even saw red velvet slices of cake added to their menu, but I had to give those a break as it seems I'm eating red velvet every week. The wait on the line only came out to about ten minutes, and the patties I ordered were two beef(my favorite), one chicken, and one fish. The total for all four patties came out to a very modest three-dollars.
Once I was outside I had to choose between checking on Leo in the car, or going to the new bakery first and then heading back to the car. I never seen inside the Abou Bakery before, so I had no idea if their line would be as long as Le Bon Pain's. I figured since the place is probably new, its likely they don't draw as many customers and I'll be in-n-out quickly, so I decided to head over to Abou Bakery. Once again my instinct served me well as there were only two other people inside when I got there. They weren't sure yet what they wanted, so I got to go first. I ordered one beef and one chicken patty. The girl behind the counter informed me they just ran out of the chicken, but luckily one of the cooks in the kitchen overheard my order and came out with a fresh chicken patty for me. The two patties came out to two dollars, whereas at Le Bon Pain I got four patties for three dollars. Now with a total of six Haitian patties in my clutches, I headed back to my car and happily saw it was still there. In fact, Leo had left his usual hiding spot under my seat and was walking around the inside of there car. As I promised, I brought Leo to the park for about an hour, we actually had to cut the event short because it was starting to get chilly. Also, I couldn't wait to get home and try the patties from each of these bakeries to find out who has the best.
Since the patties were in the back seat of my car while I was at the park with Leo, they got a little cold(patties are served warm). I took one patty from each bakery, placed them in a plate, and heated them in the oven for a few minutes. To make it an even contest, I decided to use the beef ones from both so its similar flavors. First up was Le Bon Pain, I noticed they fold their patties higher which causes the insides to pour out a little. I took my first Haitian beef patty bite in a long time and it was as good as I remembered, it seemed Le Bon Pain hadn't lost its touch. Next up was Abou Bakery, compared to Le Bon Pain it seems they fold their patties more completely which covers the inside meat entirely, and gives it a longer look. I had a bite of Abou's, and I needed to take a second one immediately to confirm, it tasted nearly identical to Le Bon Pain's. I took another bite of the Le Bon Pain patty and it indeed they both tasted the same. Overall the Le Bon Pain patties seem to contain more meat inside and have a firmer pastry texture, plus turned out to be priced lower, but I have to say it would be very difficult to tell the difference if I was blindfolded. Customers are usually very loyal to their bakery, so despite the long lines and wonderful parking conditions out front, Le Bon Pain should have no problem maintaining their dominance, but they can't get sloppy otherwise the Abou Bakery can offer a patty just as good to attract the wandering stomach.
With the six patties I bought from both bakeries, the real winner from this contest was me...
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