Postcard from Paris | A Sweet Bite from the City of Light

Laduree ... is just the tip of the iceberg.

A few sweet bites in the City of Light ...



A little late in the game as I've never really ridden on trends but I finally know what a "cronut" is.

These are from Raffles - not in Paris but in the beautiful City of Makati. I mention them because I just had them a few days ago and these are what inspired this post.

They use the other halves of the words involved: "doussant" - obviously for donut and croissant.

Look at how pretty they are:

Doussants from Cafe Macaron

The chocolate doussant uses Valrhona, by the way, but what I love is the butter, butter, butter. My favorite is the strawberry.

Now those doussants are not from Paris but they did remind me of the most heavenly pastry shop that I stumbled upon while looking for a restaurant in the Bastille area. It was this very colorful display that drew me in.

So I stepped in and drowned in the display of macarons and other sweets.

Needless to say, the macarons were heavenly. They were ... gentle, delicate, with a lovely creamy filling. But what I fell in love with were the eclairs. Ate them while walking to save time and literally stopped in my tracks after the first bite.

Only later did I learn who Maison Lenotre is: check it out here. And apparently among his apprentices include ... Alain Ducasse - according to Wikipedia:

Early life and career

Ducasse was born in Orthez, but educated on a farm in Castel-Sarrazin in southwestern France. In 1972, when he was sixteen, Ducasse began an apprenticeship at the Pavillon Landais restaurant in Soustons and at the Bordeaux hotel school. After this apprenticeship, he began work at Michel Guérard’s restaurant in Eugénie-les-Bains while also working for Gaston Lenôtre during the summer months. In 1977, Ducasse started working as an assistant at Moulin de Mougins under legendary chef Roger Vergé, creator of Cuisine du Soleil, and learned the Provençal cooking methods for which he was later known. He currently holds 21 Michelin stars.

They also have a shop on Champs Elysees but the more obvious-to-the-eye on Champs Elysee is Laduree.

But I have a confession to make: I find Laduree's macarons to be too sweet. It still makes a pretty pasalubong but for that lovely afternoon on Champs Elysees after wiping out Louis Vuitton with your year's savings, have a cup of French hot chocolate instead.

Although if you are obsessed with hot chocolate, the must-try is Angelina's. It is really near the Louvre. But make sure to go before 7pm, they close on time. I think the best time to go is for breakfast before hitting the museums. They open at 7am.

For a lovely ambiance, there's Plaza Athenee's La Cour Jardin which I've written about here. There's chocolate ...

... and strawberry ... 

... the Ducasse way.

There are a ton more tips out there - please feel free to share - but this is a start!

Lenotre

10 Rue Saint-Antoine
Paris
+33 1 53 01 91 91

 

 

 

10 Champs-Élysées
Paris
+33 1 42 65 97 71

Angelina
226 rue de Rivoli, Paris 1er
01.42.60.82.00 

Laduree
75 Champs-Élysées

La Cour Jardin
Hôtel Plaza Athénée
21, avenue Montaigne
75008 Paris, France
Tel. +33 (0)1 53 67 66 02
Fax. +33 (0)1 53 67 65 12