I came across the branch of Aux Merveilleux de Fred (I discovered there are three other branches in New York City) when I was exploring the Garment District for my blog MywalkinManhattan.com. I spied the delicious pastries in the window and this the last part of my trip that day. I saw items being made in front of me and a new batch of brioche just coming into the window.
The wonderful selection of sandwiches and brioche
The delicious pastries and meringues
I fell in love with the sugary brioche and the delicious meringues. The pastries here are such high quality and the selection of delicious treats is so different from other pastry shops in the City.
The store was beautifully decorated for the Christmas holidays. A little bit of Paris transported to New York City.
The delicious Sugar Brioche and the Cherry Merveilleux
The Cherry Merveilleux is a light meringue with a sugary Cherry topping. These delightful treats are sweet and whimsical to look at and more fun to eat. The sugary brioche have a chewy and crunchy consistency to them and are the perfect afternoon treat.
The Sugar Brioche
Inside the layers of brioche dough are the sugar crystals that give the pastry its extra sweetness.
The brioche pulls apart so nicely
The are so buttery and rich. These were warm just out of the oven.
The Cherry Mini Merveilleux are wonderful
This simple Meringue is delicious
The baked goods here are high quality and delicious. The service was excellent as well, very friendly and personal. It like visiting Paris in Manhattan. You can not pass by this bakery without stopping in to try something.
The history of Aux Merveilleux de Fred:
(from the Aux Merveilleux de Fred website)
About Chef Frederic Vaucamps:
Frédéric Vaucamps is a pastry chef from the North of France. During the 1980s, his career in pastry took him back to a cake dear to his heart: The Merveilleux. He adapted the recipe to make it extremely lightweight. In 1997, he decided to name his Lille store after his flagship cake, and so “Aux Merveilleux de Fred” was born. His version of The Merveilleux has quickly become a must-have, just like the cramiques and his Belgian waffles. Frédéric combines know-how and tradition to offer high-quality products in stores that are the epitome of French elegance.
Artisan pastry chef Frédéric Vaucamps utilizes his unique know-how to create his recipes whilst remaining true to his signature style: lightness and deliciousness. Each cake and pastry requires artisan know-how, a mastery of the craft that imbues them with a flavor that is instantly recognizable amongst thousands of others.
About the Company:
We love to share and showcase our artisan know-how. Our specialties are created in front of our customers, in each of our store’s ateliers. Every day we pledge our commitment to offering high-quality products, created before your eyes and baked all day long. We make our specialties using ingredients that have been selected for their quality.
These tiny and delicate meringue treats evoke a specific period in French history: high society life during the Directory regime. The aristocratic Incroyables and Merveilleuses, as they were known at the time, would gather in salons to discuss politics and economics. But their main objective there was to see and be seen, to drink tea and eat cakes. The “Aux Merveilleux de Fred” stores with their refined, baroque decor, are generously adorned with mirrors and gilding and take inspiration from this historical period.
Frédéric Vaucamps transmits his passion for the French art of living through his cakes and pastries: the art of taking your time and appreciating good and beautiful things.
I finally finished walking Lower Chelsea which means that I have now walked 2/3 of Manhattan island. It has taken a decade to do this since my initial start but life does get in the way. I hope to all you readers you have been enjoying the journey.
The streets of Lower Chelsea took so much time because here in this corner and there in that corner I kept finding more interesting things I wanted to share with everyone. It makes this journey even more fun.
I started my journey in the Meatpacking District in the early afternoon of a glorious summer day. It was clear, sunny and warm and the perfect 80 degree day.
Ninth Avenue and West 14th Street
I started the walk on the corner of West 14th Street and Ninth Avenue, which was once all slaughter houses up until about twenty years ago. Some converted to clubs in the 1980’s and then funky shops and over the last twenty years has seen a change in upscale dining, shopping and living.
There are still meatpacking businesses and distribution centers on the edges of the neighborhood but I am sure that won’t last forever with the cost of real estate in this neighborhood. It’s just funny to see the meat distribution centers sitting across the street from stores selling $1000.00 leather jackets. In just a decade period, I have never seen a neighborhood change as dramatically as this one.
This was one of the scenes of “Sex and the City” where I saw the Meatpacking District change.
Once they featured this neighborhood in ‘Sex and the City’, it was already past trendy. Now most of the streets are lined with ultra chic and expensive stores. I have never seen so many stores lined next to the vestiges of meat wholesale businesses.
The edge of the Meatpacking District at the corner of West 14th Street and Ninth Avenue
Walking down Ninth Avenue to Ganesvoort Street seems to be one long Mexican restaurant. The street is lined with chain restaurants next to luxury condos. The cobblestone streets and plantings though give it a real picturesque look.
Walking down the cobblestone street of Ninth Avenue
Once you reach Gansevoort Street there is nothing left of the neighborhoods storied past
Looking down Gansevoort Street and its cobblestone look
Looking down Gansevoort Street seems like seeing a combination of what was old being converted to new plus a lot of new construction with very innovative design tucked in between. I love the hodge podge of architecture and how it all blends into the neighborhood.
Very whimsical street art along Gansevoort Street
The High Line Park ends on the edge of Ganesvoort because once upon a time these were the famous Washington Markets. The line was used to get produce and other foods transported out of the area.
The new Whitney Museum is at the very edge of the neighborhood and is a catalyst for tourists
When I was visiting the neighborhood for the second time to finish Hudson Street, I stopped at the Whitney Museum and found out that after 5:00pm on Friday nights, the museum is free for entry. That and being an NYU Alumni, I got in that night and was able to tour the museum and all the exhibitions for two hours.
On the very edge of Hudson River Park sits one of the few man made beaches in New York City , the Gansevoort Peninsula Sand Bluff that is part of the most southern part of Hudson River Park. This wonderful and relaxing park became my ‘go to’ spot when I wanted to relax after a long day of walking. The views are spectacular and if you can snag one of the lounge chairs either on the beach area or facing the Hudson River, it is even better.
Entering the park from Eleventh Avenue, the Gansevoort Peninsula Sand Bluff
The amazing artwork along the beach ‘Days End’ by artist David Hammons
This fascinating piece of art is entitled “Days End” by artist David Hammons. It looked like the shell of an empty building and struck a nerve as the sun started to set on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It is an ‘Open Air’ sculpture that explores the history of the neighborhood (Whitney Museum). This sits right at the entrance of the park.
Mr. Hammons is an American born artist who studied at the Chouinard Art Institute (CalArts) and at Otis Art Institute. He is known for his Body Prints and sculpture work (Wiki/Artnet.com).
Underneath it is the amazing and very busy beach
The pathway along Hudson River Park
The beautiful plantings along the pathways
The colorful flowers in season in Hudson River Park
The very edge of the dock in the late afternoon looking over Lower Manhattan
The views from the dock section are fantastic and have the most breathtaking views of both Jersey City and Lower Manhattan. It really shows the growth of these areas for business and residential over the last twenty years.
The view of the beach with everyone looking so relaxed
The view looking up from Tenth Avenue
I rounded Gansevoort Street and walked down little 12th Street , which itself is making a lot of changes from business to both retail and residential.
Making the turn on Little 12th Street
The mural above Golden Goose at 812 Washington Street
The view of the High Line Park from Little 12th Street
I thought the front of 12 Little 12th Street was quite unique
Little 12th Street like most of the neighborhood is in transition right now. Stores and restaurants have been opening and closing in the neighborhood and right now there are quite a few empty storefronts. The effects of COVID are still being felt all over the City.
On the contrary though, the empty store fronts are producing some interesting Street Art on the windows and doors of these establishments. These were some of my favorites.
I thought this was amusing
This looked like something out of the movie ‘Just can’t Wait’
This artist I was seeing all over the neighborhood
I love the irony of politics
Interesting art
I loved the little cents guy
This work was really creative
There is all sorts of public street art like this all over the neighborhood.
Turning on to West 13th Street,, I saw the last vestiges of the Meatpacking and Distribution industries. Some companies are still holding on in the area and their buildings prominently display their signs.
On some buildings, the signs have been kept as a reminder to the areas past and house expensive stores. The neighborhood has not totally gentrified yet and still has a grasp on the food industry, probably catering to the local restaurants and hotels.
Turning onto West 13th Street is a small look into the neighborhood’s past.
The Meat distributors who still operate in the neighborhood are becoming less and less. The London Meat Company and the Weichsel Beef Company still stand strong with their building on Little West 12th Street. These companies are the last holdouts of the old neighborhood. I have a funny feeling with the land worth millions that this will be a luxury condo or hotel in about five years.
What I read about the Meatpacking District is that this area was zoned for the Food Wholesale Markets going back to a deed from the Astor family when they owned this area. This tiny section of the neighborhood is still on that deed and many of these companies still have long term leases. How long before the real estate industry buys them out is anyone’s guess.
The Collier company was a producer of high end books and magazines and produced the publications in this building to up until the 1960’s. The building was designed by architects Trowbridge & Livingston in 1901 in the Neo-Classic style (Daytonianinmanhattan.com).
Looking at the view down West 13th Street and its future in upscale shopping and residences.
The cobblestone streets on the corner of West 13th Street and Hudson Street
I took a long turn around the neighborhood and walked up Tenth Avenue from the park on Gansevoort Street and walked up this still seedy stretch of the neighborhood.
I have been seeing this artist’s signs all over lower Manhattan
The Gansevoort Market Meat Center is in a state of transition eight now located on 10th Avenue
Surprisingly, the building has become a haven for street artists. These were some of the works on the building that I thought stood out. It is like an open air contemporary art gallery.
I loved the cartoon like character of this work
I love seeing this artist’s work
This artwork I thought was unique
This was on one of the garage doors
This poster was prominently shown on one of the walls
The signs along 11th Avenue still remind you that this is an area of food distribution.
I never noticed this interesting piece of art on the Rivian Building at West 14th Street
To give both our longtime followers and those new to our brand a chance to connect with a distinct facet of who we are, we’re introducing yearly, rotating concepts that will come to life through immersive design, content, events, and programming. The first concept, “Adventure Is In Us,” tells the stories of people who embody this spirit in their daily lives, including real Rivian owners. While adventure is core to our brand, it doesn’t always mean scaling cliffs or going off-roading. It can also mean starting something new or pursuing a creative path. “Adventure Is In Us” is about celebrating that broader, more inclusive view of adventure and inspiring visitors to embrace it too (Rivian website).
The last block I walked was down the tiny stretch of Washington Avenue that was the ‘Avenue of extremes’.
The upscale shops across from the meat distributors
On one side you had the back of the meat distribution building and on the other side of the street were boutiques selling $1000.00 sweaters and jackets.
The changes in the neighborhood from manufacturing and distribution I staggering. The front of Louis Zucker & Company still stands guard at 830 Washington Street
The neighborhood still showing its grit with the Louis Zuckerberg & Company distributor across the street from ironically enough a new Shake Shack all underneath the High Line Park.
I loved the messages on the garage doors
The view of the transition of 9th Avenue and views of the Highline Park
The tiny cafe tables across the street from the meat distributors and right under the High Line Park
On the second day of the walk around the Meatpacking District, I finished the small corner around Hudson and Gansevoort Streets on the very edge of the neighborhood that it shares with the West Village.
I loved this colorful mural outside of Starbucks but I could not find the artist. I am not sure if it is independently painted or is a corporate painting by the store.
The change in the neighborhood at Hudson and West 14th Street
I walked down 10th Avenue again to see if any of the distributors were still open but they had closed at this time of the evening.
What is left of West Street off 10th Avenue on Gansevoort Street
I realized this is where my grandfather back in the 1930’s owned his garage in side the old Washington Markets. I had a lively conversation via text with my brother that I wished our family still owned the building what we might be worth today. He laughed and said where it stood is an upscale condo. To have a crystal ball!
In the late afternoon, as I was walking back down Gansevoort Street, I noticed that the Whitney Museum was having a free Friday night and I used my NYU pass to get in. What a breathtaking museum with interesting contemporary art and gorgeous views of the Hudson River.
I traveled floor by floor from the top to ground floor and explored the museum. There was a special exhibition with artist Christine Sun Kim, whose art reflects the artist’s view on being deaf. I thought her art told a good story on how she has been treated.
In works full of sharp wit and incisive commentary, artist Christine Sun Kim, engages sound and the complexities of communication in its various modes. Using musical notation, infographics, and language—both in her native American Sign Language (ASL) and written English—she has produced drawings, videos, sculptures, and installations that often explore non-auditory, political dimensions of sound. In many works, Kim draws directly on the spatial dynamism of ASL, translating it into graphic form. By emphasizing images, the body, and physical space, she upends the societal assumption that spoken languages are superior to those that are signed.
The Sun Kim exhibition
This exhibition surveys Kim’s entire artistic output to date and features works ranging from early 2010s performance documentation to her recent site-responsive mural, Ghost(ed) Notes (2024), re-created across multiple walls on the eighth floor. Inspired by similarly named works made throughout her career, the exhibition’s title, All Day All Night, points to the vitality Kim brings to her artmaking; she is relentlessly experimental, productive, and dedicated to sharing her Deaf lived experiences with others (Whitney Museum website).
One of the pieces of relatable art
Then I toured all the floors to see the different exhibitions of art and some of the restaurants and bars in the museum. Food here is very expensive.
The bar on the Eighth Floor
The American flag on the Seventy Floor
The picture of Gertrude Whitney , the founder of the museum
The view of the Hudson River from the Seventh Floor staircase
The lower floors had large scale pieces or were closed for the new exhibitions being mounted for the Fall. So I headed for the first floor to visit both the gift shop and restaurant.
The restaurant, as pretty as it is and as nice as the pastries look, is extremely expensive and I think $14.00 for an eclair is a bit much. I was there on a busy Friday night and no one was in the restaurant. Since it was a free night for patrons, they probably did not get their usual crowd. This is considering it was a lot of tourists and local New Yorkers that night.
The exhibitions will be closing in two weeks to prepare for the fall shows so much of this art will be moved around. What I like about the new Whitney Museum versus the old one on the Upper East Side is the openness and airiness of the galleries and balconies that over look the neighborhood. It feels more inviting and less confined and elitist as the old building. The new museum is so inviting and easy to view. I saw the whole museum in about an hour.
It was still sunny when I got out of the museum at 6:00pm and I went back over to the Gansevoort Beach again. It was clear, sunny with no humidity and a slight breeze, perfect to sit by the river and relax.
I first decided to visit the beginning of the High Line Park, that starts on Gansevoort Street which was once the center of the Washington Markets. They sent produce and farming items to places all over New York City.
The start of the walkway of the High Line Park at Gansevoort Street
Artist Brittany Marakatt-Labba is a Swedish Sami textile artist, painter, graphic artist, and a member of the Maze Group. She is a BA in Textile Art from the Art Industrial School. While Marakatt-Labba works with numerous types of media, it is primarily her narrative embroidery using motifs from the Sámi culture and mythology that she is known for around the world (Wiki).
The sign of sculpture “Urmodern”
The view of the High Line Park at 14th Street
The view of West 14th Street from the High Line to the Hudson River
The of West 14th Street border of the neighborhood, which is undergoing massive renovations
After exploring the remainder of the neighborhood and touring the beginning of the High Line, I finished my day relaxing by the Gansevoort Beach and sitting on one of the wooden lounge chairs by the Hudson River. There is nothing like the breezes and the views by the Hudson River.
The most southern part of Hudson River Park
Looking north to Little Island
Walking around the park with a view of the Hudson Yards in the background
The view of the skylines of Lower Manhattan and Jersey City
Enjoying a beautiful sunny day by the Hudson River
The one New Yorker who found the perfect spot in New York City
Video of walking along the pier
The Meatpacking District has so much to offer from interesting architecture to wonderful restaurants at funky street art, there is something for everyone here. You just have to walk around and enjoy the views.
Some much is changing in this neighborhood so we will wait and see what happens next.
The front of La Sandwicherie Chelsea at 239 West 15th Street
When I was walking the Lower Chelsea neighborhood streets, I passed the signs for La Sandwicherie Chelsea, a tiny little French Cafe concept in the more residential part of West 15th Street. Although I had already eaten at another restaurant for lunch, I wanted a little snack to tide me over as I finished walking and exploring the neighborhood. I saw the sign for the Crepes at $6.00 and I stopped to look at the menu.
While I was inside, the manager showed me the fresh crepe batter he used to make the crepes and how each is made to order. That made it even more tempting. I really liked the list of sandwiches that they had on the menu. The problem is that in New York the price of said sandwich is double of what it would be in Paris under the ‘formula system’. The ‘formula system’ in Paris is that a Boulanger (a type of sandwich shop) consists of a sandwich, drink and a dessert for a reasonable price as $10 euros about $11.00 in US dollars which is much more reasonable.
The inside of this cute little French cafe in the middle of Lower Chelsea
The ambiance matches the wonderful food the you will dine on here. When I was finishing my tour of walking around Lower Chelsea and found that I needed something to snack on before I finished for the evening, I headed back to the restaurant and all I could think about were the wonderful meals I had in Paris two summer ago.
The crepe menu
The sandwich menu
When I had seen the sign for the crepe, I had my heart set on one. So about an hour before they closed, I stopped in and had a crepe to finish the day. I swear, I have not enjoyed more than that crepe in the late afternoon to finish the day. I ended up getting one with sugar and filled with strawberry jelly. I also ordered a San Pellegrino with Orange and Pomegranate to drink with it.
The crepes are made right in front of you and on a cool day
The crepe was delicious
The food and service is excellent and the service so personable and the manager speaks fluent French so it adds to the ambiance. It is so interesting when the French tourists find this place and are so happy the staff speaks fluent French.
I was so impressed by the crepe and wanting to try the Ham and Butter sandwich on the baguette, I went back for lunch when I was finishing walking the Meatpacking District. I swear I am transported back to Paris when I enter the restaurant with all the French grocery items and the French music.
The panel right by the front door
I ordered my sandwich at the counter and enjoyed my Italian Orange soda while I was waiting for the sandwich to come to the table.
My Ham and French Buerre sandwich with a San Pellegino Orange soda
The sandwich was served on a chewy baguette with thick slices of French jambon (ham) and sweet beurre (butter). I loved the little French flag on the sandwich. I thought it was a nice touch.
The sandwich was so flavorful and brought me back to the lunches I had all over Paris at the Boulanger with their sandwiches and pastries piled high in the cases and the formula lunches.
The sandwich was picture perfect
And loaded with ingredients
Yum!
The manager could tell I was enjoying my lunch and we talked for a bit in English and French. He was telling about the cost of importing foods into the US from France and the prices he had to charge. I thought for the quality and the taste, it was worth the $11.99.
Before I left, the manager offered me a complimentary Ice Tea that they made homemade at the store. What made the tea so good was that it was infused with fresh lemons and mint. You could really taste the fresh mint.
The fresh Ice Tea at La Sandwicherie
I said my goodbyes in English and French and walked down West 15th Street back from trip to Paris via New York City.
I happily drank the Icd Tea on a hot day walking around New York City
La Sandwicherie Chelsea is part of a small chain of three locations in New York City, the others being on the Upper East Side and the other being in Brooklyn. Yet on this tree lined residential street in Lower Chelsea, you are brought back to the tiny neighborhood places in Paris, where quality and service still mean something.
The French grocery products
I plan on many trips back to the restaurant to try the other sandwiches and soups.
mywalkinmanhattan 