Frenchette Bakery
Johan Cottier's baguette is what makes the $16 jambon beurre at the Whitney counter work, and Michael Ruhlman says you can see how good it is from the color of the crust before you taste it.1 It is big enough to split.
Why go
Two Frenchette Bakery counters trade and they are not interchangeable. The bakery on this page is 220 Church Street in Tribeca, which took over the old Arcade Bakery space, and it is where the pastry case lives: kouign amann, pistachio croissants, rye loaves, hot chocolate.2 The second is a counter inside the Whitney on Gansevoort Street, and that is where Ruhlman's sandwich is. Both come out of the Frenchette restaurant kitchen. Ruhlman's argument is that three ingredients leave nowhere to hide. The ham is sliced thin and folded over itself for height.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the jambon beurre at the Whitney, and split it. Ruhlman rates the butter
a gratuitous amount
, quoting the Chicago chef and butcher Rob Levitt.1 - Order: the kouign amann or the pistachio croissant on Church Street.2
- Order: a rye loaf to take away.2
- Avoid: walking into Tribeca expecting the ham sandwich Ruhlman wrote up. You want the other door.
What locals & experts say
- Michael Ruhlman, Ruhlman's Newsletter, 15 September 2024:
Here is a French classic—jambon beurre, ham and butter on bread—and I've never had one in this country that even comes close to an average one in Paris. Until now.
1 - Nikko Duren, The Infatuation, 12 February 2021:
From kouign amann and pistachio croissants to loaves of rye and hot chocolate, it's an excellent French bakery follow-up from the people behind Frenchette.
2
Good to know
- Doors: 220 Church Street in Tribeca, and the Whitney counter at 99 Gansevoort Street.1
- Booking: none at either counter.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Classic ham sando from ruhlman" The piece is his Below 14th newsletter of 15 September 2024, and the sandwich is at the Whitney.
Verdict
should-visit — Go to the Whitney counter on Gansevoort Street for the sandwich and to 220 Church Street for the pastry, and neither takes a booking. Michael Ruhlman had never eaten a jambon beurre in this country to match an average Paris one until he ate this one. Jeff's note points at exactly that sandwich.