Double Espresso
Dish
By David Nelson

IT’S JUST AS WELL that Opera isn’t quite Les Deux Magots, where jostling tourists wait to dive on about-to-be-vacated tables. But it is the quintessential French café, from classical music and Auguste Renoir reproductions to a display case arranged like a jeweler’s window, pretty café tables and dainty chairs. Situated on a sleepy downtown block, Opera is a pastel showplace for the deft creations of master patissier Thierry Cahez, a native of Strasbourg whose résumé sparkles with stints at the Plaza Athenee in Paris and the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco. The color-coded macaroons (pistachio green, café au lait cappuccino) taste exactly like the artful mouthfuls at such Paris institutions as Laduree and Fauchon, the chocolate truffles melt like butter, and the swoon-inducing almond croissants (usually long gone by noon) are big enough to justify a second cup of powerful French espresso. Gorgeous pastries and a menu of quiche Lorraine, crudités, croque monsieur sandwiches and such make Opera a memorable temple of self-indulgence (1354 Fifth Avenue, 619-234-0425).

Read other reviews