Wallflower’s Foie Gras Bagel Will Make You Rethink The Schmear

A bagel and schmear is the consummate NYC breakfast, but what if you replaced the expected cream cheese with whipped foie gras?  Not something you could order at the corner deli, to be sure, although you will find it during brunch at the West Village charmer, Wallflower.

Conceived by former Daniel and db Bistro Moderne chef, Derrick Paez, ultra-rich lobes of duck liver are combined with heavy cream, in order to mimic the silky texture of the tangy spreadable cheese.  And as if the seriously luxe breakfast item needed more of a hard sell, the eatery even adds spring’s most adored ingredient, ramps, into the mix, using verdant strands of the pickled allium as a seasonal stand-in for more prosaic bagel bedfellows, such as onions and capers.

It makes an especially indulgent second act to shareable starters like a Seafood Royale platter, featuring a half dozen oysters, shrimp cocktail and tuna tartare, perhaps followed by Sticky Buns coated with a thyme-infused royal icing, or freshly baked Chocolate Chip Cookies teamed with Spicy Cayenne Cocoa crowned with drunken rum cream.

And considering Wallflower’s owner is Xavier Herrit, who was the head bartender at Daniel for years, you’ll want to sidestep standard mimosas in favor of complex tipples like the “Red Rooster” — cognac, kummel, raspberry puree, lemon and sparkling wine — or the “Cornelia;” an alternately spicy, savory and sweet libation, made with tequila, jalapeno mezcal, fidencio, basil oil and corn puree.

Because there’s no such thing as over the top, once you’ve already jumpstarted the day with bagels slathered in foie gras.