Put the New Year’s diet on hold: Pearl patisserie Nuvrei are holding a brioche week from January 5-9. Nuvrei is known for its remarkable pastries, while their warm croissants and macaroons have to be amongst the best in town, so when founder Marius Pop says he’s making brioche, it’s time to take notice.
Brioche is made from flour, butter and eggs and is a cross between bread and cake, light but very rich, and originated in Medieval France. And here’s your historical fact for the day: The haughty statement attributed to Marie Antoinette when hearing of rioters in Paris demanding bread—“Let them eat cake”—is a mistranslation as she was actually referring to brioche, which would have been an acceptable alternative at the time.
Nuvrei’s brioche menu is perhaps more extravagant than an 18th-century Parisian would have been used to—the sweet variations include craquelin (candied orange brioche with almond paste crust), berry (brioche dipped in French toast batter, topped with almond cream, marionberries, cranberries and blueberries) and apple cinnamon (apples, cinnamon and cardamom, wrapped up in laminated brioche dough, finished with vanilla glaze). It’s a sweet toothed, pastry junkie’s paradise, though brioche savory sandwiches will also be available. (One thing you won’t find is the ‘Bruffin’, a fusion of brioche and muffin that New Yorkers became obsessed with this year. There’s a reason we live on the West Coast.) Nuvrei, 404 NW 10th, nuvrei.com (note, the upstairs café is closed for renovations so the brioche will be served downstairs in the Mac Bar)
