NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- New York has the best of everything. It also has no shortage of bakeries or patisseries. So when the craving strikes for a buttery, flaky, fluffy croissant, where does one turn?
Well, skip the Google search: we've done the research for you, and asked one of the most qualified people in the city to ask: France's consul general to New York, Cédrik Fouriscot. And just one month into his position -- he began on June 24 -- he's already in the know.
"Café Joyeux, you have to go there and taste the croissants," Fouriscot told 1010 WINS/WCBS of the French import, which opened its Manhattan location in March. "Definitely you have to go, and I'm actually going there now. [It's] the first Café Joyeux in the United States, it's the first one, but not the last one."
He added, explaining, "It's a French enterprise ... Everyone inside this cafe has different backgrounds," a nod to its mission of employing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Its mission statement, which is adorned on the wall of the NYC location, reads, "We promote inclusion of neurodivergent people through work, vocational training and encounters."
Café Joyeux was launched in France -- with several locations in that country, as well as a location in Brussels, Belgium, and Lisbon, Portugal.
The Manhattan location, located on Lexington Avenue in Midtown East, serves breakfast dishes (including egg and cheese on a bun, and baguette tartine, butter and jam), small dishes (including (gazpacho, quiche, sandwiches and salads) and of course a wide-ranging menu of coffee and tea and pastries -- think croissants, chocolate croissants, almond croissants, triple chocolate cookies, brownies, chocolate mousse and more.
Café Joyeux is located at 599 Lexington Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd streets.
