A Touch of Paris Steps from Grand Central

Madison Avenue's Chez Laurence



Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

Manhattan's hurry-up pace means it's rare anyone ever has time for breakfast. Most people either go without, or at the very best grab coffee, tea, a doughnut, bagel or muffin from a sidewalk vendor's cart on their way to the office. Or, after settling in at their desk, at the first opportunity for a morning break, join a line in front of one of these ever-present carts.

Now if you have occasion to plan a breakfast meeting, better yet, it is Saturday morning, or you are on vacation, consider a leisurely "civilized breakfast" at Chez Laurence, a French patisserie on Madison Avenue a couple blocks from Grand Central Station.

Step in the door. Immediately, the aroma of fresh baked bread wafting from unseen ovens is enough to make one drunk with anticipation. You'll begin debating what to order as a charming French waitress escorts you to a tiny marble top table. After just having passed a wide glass display counter of the most deliciously tempting pastries and baskets filled with baguettes and loaves of bread.

Warning, a choice will be tough. The only comfortable solution, promise yourself to return very soon. Today you will order a croissant, next time, a brioche, then a baguette, the time after that, pain au chocolat. Mmm! Think of melted chocolate between flaky layers of bread warm from the oven.

Your croissant arrives, rich with butter, warm to touch, crisp and flaky on the outside, firm and tight on the inside, and ohhh so succulent. You salivate to devour it at once. Don't even think about the calories. Luxuriate in tearing it apart, butter a small morsel and drop it on your tongue. Perhaps instead of butter, slather a morsel with orange marmalade or raspberry preserve.

If you desire more than a croissant for breakfast, scrambled egg whites served in a cup with onions, tomatoes, scallions and ham is an excellent choice. After all, one must make some concessions to cholesterol. And, how about some orange juice? Fresh squeezed with lots of pulp; it is absolutely delicious.

There you have it, a truly memorable breakfast. Enjoy! Bon Appetit.


Jacqueline Cable
For Postcards from New York

Address to remember: Chez Laurence, 245 Madison Avenue at 38th Street, 212-683-0284. Hours: Monday- Saturday 7-11 PM. Closed Sundays.

Directions: From Times Square MTA 7 or S train to Grand Central Station. Or 4, 5, and 6 to Grand Central, short walk to Chez Laurence.

Photo by Joseph Knight

©Copyright 2007 The Cable Group

Remembering Princess Diana

Althorp - Princess Diana's childhood home

Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

continued from A Day at the Kasbah

Princess Diana will always hold a special place in my heart since she died on my birthday. So I paused a moment when I saw the book, Althorp Living History, lying casually on a coffee table in the Antique Galleries at ABC Carpet and Home.

But, how can one remain sad when you think of Diana's beautiful laughing smile and her shy mischievous eyes?

Soon after she and Charles were married, I had the good fortune to finagle an invitation for art collector clients to visit Althorp for a luncheon with her late father and the Countess of Spencer. The long drive on the estate's gravel road to the mansion remains a vivid memory.

If you have lived in or visited the British Isles, you are familiar with the sight of herds of sheep as they graze in lush green fields and meadows all over the countryside. In a city like New York, we are completely isolated from such bucolic scenes right out of an 18th century novel. What made the drive to Althorp unusual, was not only were there sheep grazing, but a herd of Black Angus cows as well. Holding my breath to avoid the pungent odor of manure nearly made me gag; I had never seen such massive animals outside of ones at a zoo, so close-up.

We quickly forgot the unpleasant odor outdoors as we stood in the elegant guest entrance hall surrounded by great horse portraits by John Wootton. With magnificent collections of paintings, silver, antique furnishings, Persian carpets, decorative art, porcelain, and objects of art, great country houses like Althorp are a reminder of a time and a past way of life.

In today's world, these homes present a real problem. The cost to maintain such properties is staggering, while repairs and upkeep never end. No matter the resources of the owner, they are a constant challenge.

Anyone who owns a home knows the time and money required to stay ahead of repairs and maintenance. It's always something, the boiler, the gutter, the ceiling, the roof, the plumbing, or the vents; Now image your home has over 100 rooms!

How clever of Diana's brother, Charles Edward Earl of Spencer, to collaborate with Theodore Alexander to create exquisite reproductions of Althorp's extraordinary antiques. He has found a way to finance the maintenance of his ancestral home, while at the same time, he shares Diana with all of us.

We can imagine her as a youngster running and playing games like hide and seek, peeking out behind a high-backed wing chair, or on her knees under a great desk or table.

Take a walk through the Althorp Collection and live the dream of being lord or mistress of the manor. Then go home and rent a movie like "Remains of the Day" or "The Queen" ( just released on DVD.)


Jacqueline Cable
For Postcards from New York

P.S. Have you been watching TV? Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were at the White House yesterday, they are here to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first British settlement in America at Jamestown Virginia.


Address to remember: ABC Carpet and Home, 888 Broadway at 19th Street. New York, NY 10003. 212-473-3000.

Hours: Monday – Friday 10 AM – 8 PM, Saturday 10 AM – 7 PM, Sunday 11 AM – 6:30 PM.

Directions: From Times Square MTA, N, R, or W to 23rd Street. Bus M2, M3, and M5.

Address to remember: Althorp, Northampton, Northhamptonshire. England, UK NN7 4HQ

Directions: From London M1 North Exit 16 or 18

Photo courtesy of Beric Tempest & Company

©Copyright 2007 The Cable Group

A Day at the Kasbah

An invitation from ABC Carpet and Home