Rare it is to find a perfect thing. The ancient road in Capri leading to the Faraglioni rocks is a perfect thing. That street is so breathtaking that you feel you’re in a movie when you walk along it. The pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel is a perfect thing. The pool setting contains such beauty that it has attracted stars like Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Paul McCartney, who would hang out there all day long. The world-famous bakery Laduree is so perfect that there are always lines down the Champs-Elysees with Parisians willing to wait an hour just for a taste of one of their macarons.
But alas where do we turn on Long Island to gaze upon something perfect? Well, what do you know. I think I have found something perfect right here on the corner of 7th Street and Franklin in Garden City. Welcome to The French Workshop, the new artisan bakery owned by the Pantelatos family. The minute I strolled into this posh looking café I recalled the feeling I had at Laduree in Paris and knew I was on to something special.
When it comes to food and especially sweet food I am an expert. Long gone are my teen years spent hoarding Oreo cookies from the ravenous mouths of my siblings. I graduated to the big leagues when I began traveling to Europe. I have had breakfast on the veranda at the Villa D’Este Hotel and a poolside lunch at the Quisisana Hotel in Capri, so I know what heaven feels like. I like the look, the smell and the taste of fine food. So with a big smile on my face I scanned the glass display cases at The French Workshop and gazed upon an array of other worldly delights like vanilla eclairs, Mlle-Feuilles, French macarons, berry tarts, lemon meringue pies and crème brulees. There were European-style sandwiches and a coffee bar and within view in the back was the kitchen with their master bakers hard at work. This was the kind of place Long Island has been waiting for.
Last weekend I sat down with Theodora Pantelatos and discussed the history of this remarkable bakery. I was not surprised to learn that she and her two brothers, Neil and Jerry, are part of a family that has been in the bakery business for some time. Her father, Nick Pantelatos, is from Greece and he founded a number of bakeries in Queens, but I could see that the second generation had taken this operation to an entirely new level. She has earned a degree in marketing at Hofstra, her brother Jerry has a degree from the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and Neil has a computer science degree from NYIT. Upon graduation they all returned to the family business and opened the first French Workshop in Bayside, Queens.
This family operation reminded me of the Kohler family in Wisconsin, who started out four generations ago making farm equipment and built the Kohler company into 17 different companies, the most famous of which makes bathroom fixtures.
I asked Theodora to explain a bit about their approach and she said that working in Nassau County is very different than New York City in that here the customer has time to spend in the café and is not in such a rush to get in and out. She told me she has gotten to know customers by name and find out what their preferences are. I thought that in some way this is the next evolution of the café, which Starbucks tried to provide with its long wooden tables and fine coffee. But for some time now Starbucks has lost that communal feel and now seems tired and worn out.
The French Workshop has a more relaxed, open, fresh airy feel with marble tables and a French aesthetic. And the French have the most refined aesthetic on Earth. Victor Hugo gave us “Les Miserables.” Honore de Balzac gave us “Le Pere Goriot.” Marcel Proust gave us “In Search of Lost Times” and Antoine de Saint-Exupery gave us “The Little Prince.”
And now the Pantelatos family have given us The French Workshop. True they are Greek, but who can argue with that. The Greeks also gave us Aristotle, who once said “all advancement in society begins with the development of the character of the young.” Well, it was evident to me that Nick Pantelatos has managed to develop special character in his three offspring.
After I took a few photos I shook hands with Theodora, wished her the best and was about to make my exit when she said. “Oh, wait a moment, Dr. Ferraro, I want to give you a little gift. Here try our award winning almond cake.” She took one from the counter, put it in one of the fancy French Workshop shopping bags and I made my way home.
On a weekly basis I promise myself that I will give up sweets in order to lose my pot belly, but in this case I knew I had no chance. Just the smell of the almond cake made me smile. So I sped home, walked into my kitchen and opened the cake box. I cut myself a large piece of the almond cake, placed a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and sat down in the living room to take a bite. I turned on the television to see if Patrick Reed would win his second tournament in two weeks as he played at the BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club. I got comfortable, took a bite of this world famous almond cake and said to myself: “Ah yes, I’ve just found another perfect thing. Aren’t I a lucky lad?”
