Bourke Street Bakery has launched its first international venue, swinging open the doors to its NYC outpost on Saturday 4 May.
The iconic Sydney bakery is now slinging sausage rolls, pastries, sourdough bread and high-quality coffee at The James Hotel in NoMad on East 28th Street in Manhattan.
While a quintessential Aussie food experience is on offer, there are some changes for the North American market. Beyond a few US-only pastries — think pecan pie and peanut butter and jam croissants — the biggest difference will be longer hours, with Bourke Street Bakery NYC trading from 7am to 8pm. The extended hours mean a full menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a liquor licence.
Co-founder and chef-baker Paul Allam will lead the team from an open kitchen, firing up the ovens at 4am. Allam and his wife Jessica Grynberg moved to New York with their family to build the business. They’ve ensured the Bourke Street Bakery ethos remains intact, with an emphasis on artisanal traditions and seasonality.
Breakfast has a distinctly Australian bent. Dishes are toast-centric, including avocado with lemon, mint, pickled red onion and radish on sprouted toast; salmon rillettes served with daily toast and a Mediterranean plate with slow-cooked eggs, olives, cucumber, tomato, house-made labneh, pepperoncini and whole wheat toast.
Sandwiches are on offer for the lunchtime crowd with the menu featuring Wilbur’s sandwich with broccoli and slow-roasted fennel-infused pork shoulder with cheddar and dijonnaise; the Grandma sandwich with poached chicken, celeriac and tarragon remoulade on sourdough and the Muffaletta with salami, mortadella, mozzarella, provolone and olive salad on panini.
After hours will see a range of mains dished up alongside natural wine and craft beer. Gnocchi made from sourdough bread and mortadella; mackerel escabeche with sprouted sourdough crisps and salmon rillettes with pickled cabbage and daily toast will be available from 4pm onwards.
The venue was slated to open in November 2018, but a gas leak pushed the launch back by months co-founder David McGuinness told Good Food.
It seems the delays only made New Yorkers hungrier. According to US publications Eater and the Gothamist, Bourke Street Bakery NYC launched to long queues, with the outlet close to selling out on it’s opening day.
Bourke Street Bakery has 11 outlets across Sydney, as well as social enterprise bakery The Bread & Butter Project.
