Grazing: Little Sweets at Maglianero
Anyone who still has room in their belly at the end of a meal at Burlington's Hen of the Wood knows that the pastries from pastry chef Andrew LeStourgeon are swoonworthy. The pull of his molten brownie topped with scorched pine merengue is so strong that I've gorged on it twice.
Which is why today was a happy day, especially for 7Dayzers who work a few steps away from Maglianero. HOTW's pastry arm, Little Sweets, made its first delivery of petite croissants, doughnuts, buns, muffins, cookies and scones to the café this morning, including crunchy-on-the-outside glazed chocolate donuts ($2 each), chewy, intensely flavored coconut macaroons ($2 each) and caramelized caneles de Bourdeaux ($3.25 each). Most of them were gone by mid-afternoon.
"I really wanted our pastries to be more in line with what we're doing with the coffee," says Corey Goldsmith, Maglianero's manager, who seems passionate that first-rate pastry should be an integral part of the Maglianero experience. "I wanted to work with people who are really dedicated to their craft."
LeStourgeon is certainly that. Goldsmith got to know the former pastry chef of New York City's Fig & Olive and Balthazar during his visits to HOTW to train staff in espresso drink prep. Recently, LeStourgeon set up a tasting for Goldsmith, who has "blown away by the variety and the depth of how good these things are," as he puts it.
Goldsmith arranged to have an ongoing morning delivery of Little Sweets to Maglianero. The booty, which arrives before 8 a.m. each day, will slowly rotate — so that the cheddar-chive-pepper scones and cinnamon buns that filled the case this morning might trade places with other items. Goldsmith trusts they might attract people a few blocks south and west of the downtown core. "People are more willing to go out of their way for something that's more unique," he says.
Bets on the 7D staff getting a little bit fatter, along with the laptop army that converges here each day.
Photo courtesy of Maglianero