Eldridge Street, on the Lower East Side, has changed yet remained mainly the same for as long as many of the longtime residents can remember. The neighborhood is mainly comprised of Chinese and Dominican families, combined Chinese and Spanish grocers, and underground nightclubs that only locals can spot. Slowly, with the opening of a few art galleries and other day-businesses the neighborhood has begun to change. Nestled among residential buildings on Eldridge Street between Delancey and Broome is the small specialty bakery, Panade Puffs & Pastries and we mean SMALL—the bakery is a whopping 250-square feet.

Since 2006, owner and chef Yvette Ho, has made due with the limited space she has to work with. Her bakery specializes a modern interpretation of an 18th-century French puff pastry called Pȃte Choux. The pastry shell, called panade, is a mixture of flour, butter, and water. Unlike breads, panade doesn’t have a rest time because there isn’t any yeast in it. The quick prep time and use-as-you-need-it panade method is ideal for Yvette who is the sole baker and employee at Panade. That's mainly because no one else would fit in there with her!

 

After a decade as an elementary school teacher, Yvette had a “shoulda-coulda-woulda” moment and decided to put her love of baking to proper use. While browsing on Craigslist for a cafe space in her hometown neighborhood, she stumbled upon the space that is now Panade Puffs & Pastries. Following her father’s suggestion of “stuff[ing] them with real food” Yvette took the versatile and simple to make puff and created savory sandwich puffs in three different sizes (full, half, and hors d’oeuvres size) as well as the standard sweet cream-filled puffs (regular and mini) with different flavored creams.

 Yvette and Panade has become a staple in the neighborhood after only six years. While sitting outside Panade enjoying a delicious array of both savory and sweet puffs, practically all that walked by smiled and said hello. This included an adorable little boy, with his father in tow, who bought cookies for his mother’s birthday. Further proof that Yvette has made an impression on the Eldridge Street locals, is her inclusion in the Tenement Museum’s tour, Foods of the Lower East Side. School children from around the city come to Panade on field trips to see how the immigrant experience shaped American foods. To showcase a true cultural fusion, Yvette offers guests with the tour her sweet puff filled with black sesame cream to show a blend of French and Chinese cuisines. Yvette jokingly remembers when one girl claimed the black sesame cream puff was “sidewalk” flavored but trust us; it’s the most delicious sidewalk-colored thing you’ll ever try.