Some people think that all day long I visit pastry shops. Although I'm often quick to deny it, I sometimes do! When I hear of someplace interesting or that sounds fun, I put it on a list and then I set out a plan of attack.
Pim and I took off late one morning, beginning at Poujaran. Even though Jean-Luc Poujaran sold the bakery last year, it still retains it's rustic charm in spite of the location in the chic 7th arrondisement. Poujaran makes the most de
It is so unfair! Lucky David and his lucky friends can hoover their way through all those deeeelicious and wonderful foods and still be slim and svelte. If I ate what they have been eating I would be the size of a house! (Sigh)
If you notice, we walked a lot that day (Pastry crawl...) so that burned everything off. Plus in France, it's quality, not quantity. A Pierre Hermé macaron here, a financier there, is not all that much. But Pim really is really a serious, studied eater...while I just wolf things down.
Am heading back to Pierre Hermé today however. Hope I can be as restrained as I sound!
David L.
Until today I was able to resist jumping on a plane back to Paris. Your article and pictures have me salivating on my way to the airport. The best to date!
David, if it isn't too much to ask, is there any way that you might do something for me? On what you would consider a normal eating day for you--in other words, not a day when you decide to go scouting out all of Paris' finest pastry shops, but one where you might visit one or two (whatever is normal for you), along with a favorite cafe for lunch--could you record everything you consume in one day, from breakfast until dinnertime?
Speaking of which, I read a lot about your lunches and your jaunts to different pastry shops (for what I can only refer to as a snack, since macarons in the middle of the day are hard to consider as a meal on their own), but what about your dinners? Are you eating at home (I have to confess that I hope you are), or with friends? Do you usually go for something light?
I spent some time in Paris, and dinner was one of my most favorite meals. I regret not going to as many pastry shops and bakeries as I would have liked, but then you must remember that I was an American woman worried about her waistline at the time. Of course--and it's always this way--I've learned my lesson (the lesson being: how to enjoy and savor food), and next time I am in the city I plan on venturing to every place on the list I'm compiling of all of your recommendations.
Back to that list I was politely requesting from you of everything you eat in one day. Perhaps I should explain why I'm asking for it. You see, I am fascinated by the way the French (or people living in France/Europe) eat. I lived with a French family while I was there, and I feel like I really learned a lot from them: eating for quality rather than quantity, eating according to a schedule (rather than eating on the go, whenever we want, in the car, etc..), and making meals celebrations, etc. Now, this is a bit of an overgeneralized and romanticized characterization of how the French eat, because trust me, I saw plenty of women scarfing down chocolate chocolate chip muffins at L'Opera Starbucks at all hours of the day, or a young businessman haphazardly eating a nutella crepe before he darted onto the metro; but history tells us otherwise, and it's a known fact that the French treasure food and approach it with respect, wonder, patience, and dare I say it...love. About as much as you profess for all of the delicacies you rant and rave about on here.
I'm looking forward to hearing something back from you; and while I hope you're up for making that list, I won't hold it against you if you're just too busy eating good food not to.
take it over here, you said! : ) so here i be. and i confess that imvho one of the best desserts in all paris is the pear sorbet from berthillon.
well, maybe the fig. no -- probably the wild strawberry. . .
Hi Aliza: Thanks for your comments. Here's what I ate yesterday..
Breakfast: Three toasted slices of Pain Nordique (grainy bread) from the Grand Epicerie, with a bit of salted butter and chestnut honey. I had café au lait and a 'nature' (plain) whole-milk yogurt (which is 4 oz in France, instead of the whopping 8 ounce, 300+ calorie in the US.)
Visit to Marche d'Aligre: I had a few cherries and strawberries, then an espresso at perhaps my favorite spot to stand in Paris, at the bar at Café Aouba, at the market.
Lunch: At Cuisine de Bar, the small restaurant next to Poilane bakery. I had their goofy small salad with iceberg lettuce, sprouts and raisins (which was void of that canned corn that French like to put on their salads...and pizzas), then an open-faced sandwich (1 slice of bread) with mashed sardines and coarse salt. Afterwards I had an espresso and the pre-packaged spice cookie which they give you wiht the coffee. Since I was leading a tour, I opted for a bottle of water instead of a glass of wine (a tipsy tour leader is not a pretty site.)
Le Snack: Although the French are reported not to snack, Je suis Americain, so I do. When I came home in the late afternoon, I had a bad allergy attack and my eyes were stinging with pollen. I was feeling like I needed some energy, so I ate a leftover leg and thigh of roast chicken from my market. Still a bit famished, I had a bowl of strawberries moistened with some candied cherries (see previous post). Although it was 5pm, I had a party to go to later at night, so I got into bed and watched an episode of Bewitched, which was dubbed in French. Then I fell asleep until the strong wind slammed my bedroom window open, which scared the heck out of me.
I took an Advil, which I smuggled back to France from Target hoping to calm my allergies.
Evening: I went to my friend Lauren's birthday celebration and brough her a Chokaria, a fabu block of dark chocolate and caramel from L'Atelier de Bayonne in St. Paul, made in the Basque region. I drank perhaps 3 glasses of Champagne at the party, snacked on some smoked almonds, a few small toasts smeared with foie gras, and then I discovered...Bugles!! Those corn snacks shaped like cornets, so I ate some of those, which were DELICIOUS.
Later, I had dinner with a friend at Le Tonneaux, an old bistro/wine bar in Les Halles. I had a steak 'nature' (without sauce) that I asked for 'saignante' (medium-rare) but came out 'bleu' (raw inside) which is how the French like their beef. Mine came with a heap of fresh green beans and I swiped some fries off my dining companions plate, which were rather limpid and not worth the calories. I had one glass of Touraine, red wine.
Hi Fortune:
I love the Pear Sorbet, but I always get it with a scoop of Chocolate Ice Cream, since I love chocolate (or their Chocolate Sorbet at Berthillon, if I'm feeling over-fed.) The Fig is great. Incidentially, the re-vamped Tea Salon at Berthillon has the best desserts imaginable, including a superb tarte Tatin, which you can get with their candy-like Caramel Ice Cream (to die for) or Vanilla (yum, as well.)
I had a funny interaction with a Parisian on the street yesterday, who told me that Italian ice cream was better than anything in France, including Berthillon (I should have asked to see his passport to make sure he was French!) I have to admit, since coming back from Torino and eating all that amazing gelato, I'm checking EasyJet constantly to find a cheap flight back to Torino. Find out if EasyJet flys from NY, then you can meet me. I'll be at Gelateria San Carlo. David
David.. now you can have the best of both worlds.. Torino's gelateria GROM has opened in Florence!
I had the pear with venezulaen chocolate chips.. Guido Gobino's chocolate!
hope to see you soon!
Ciao
Judy: I hope you realize how jealous I am of you, having all that fabulous gelato in Italy! I am still raving over the class I took with you and just made that aromatic Herb Spice Rub that you demonstrated. A friend of mine knows someone who owns an Italian restaurant here in Paris that drives a truck to Italy (to Turin) once a week for supplies. I'm going to see if I can be a stow-a-way!...although I doubt any gelato would make it back, xx David