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Beard Papa on the Upper West Side
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 9, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 9, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
Share
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Cream puff, thy smell and taste is divine.
When Gothamist read that a Beard Papa was opening up on Broadway at 76th Street, we knew we had to check it out. So this past beautiful and sunny Sunday, we headed to the store with Paul Frankenstein. There were three ways we knew it was the Beard Papa store: (1) The line of people outside that snaked well outside the door; (2) the standing display of its mascot-like Grandpa character; and (3) the smell of cream puffs. As we waited with others in anticipation, watching the Beard Papa staff taking the puffs out of the oven, then filling them with custardy cream, a woman who lives in the same building told us that the line for Beard Papa cream puffs reached to the corner of the block. In fact, many people were ordering boxes of the cream puffs ($1.25), making Gothamist think Beard Papa treats will become the new item to bring to a brunch instead of the usual Krispy Kremes.
The cream puffs are baked, not fried, and, after being filled with the cream, are sprinkled with powdered sugar. The store will be rolling out other products, like cheesecake sticks (slender slivers of cheesecake) and a mango ice dessert.
The cream puffs are not like a French cream puff - they are sweeter and seem richer (though they are not fried). Gothamist is curious to know what the limits would be to Beard Papa cream puff consumption. The NY Times had noted that flavors of the day will be introduced once the store gets off the ground.
People checked out the menu outside, as well as the samples employees were handing out. "The best cream puff in the world," they implored.
Inside the store, there is a credo that is very Japanese.
Beard Papa, 2167 Broadway (at 76th Street)
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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