A few weeks ago it seemed as though spring had sprung in Paris, but the mercury has dipped again, which has us thinking about one thing: Hot chocolate.
Ask a group of food writers about their favorite for a box of chocolate and the resulting dischord may surprise you. Of all our Five Great topics to date, chocolate turns out to be the most personal and divisive.
Thank the baby Jesus and those three kings who traveled to meet him, it’s time again for the galette des rois! Our local experts have selected their favorite sources for the Kings’ Cake in Paris and crowned their own royalty, beginning with Christophe Vasseur of Du Pain et Des Idées.
Simon gives advice on how to buy a truffle, Verjus provides a place (the Artcurial auction) to buy them, Lobrano discovers another good neighborhood bistro, and Wayda offers himself as a human target.
Talbott calls doody at Le Dodin and Lobrano accuses Racines 2 of idiom hijacking, among other sins. Verjus to the rescue?
Gaudry calls Alain Passard a “living God,” Wayda says that Jacques Genin is trying to out-do nature itself, and lots of other meals take place without any blasphemy whatsoever…
Great wine at Le Grand 8, great steak at Charbon Rouge, and the results of eating five pastries a day for several months straight.
- Phyllis Flick is (temporarily) a vegan…
- Adam Wayda dissects Genin’s Paris-Brest…
- Saturne calls the police on Aaron Ayscough…
- We ate cake. We drank wine. Pizzas were delivered. It was really windy. There were cupcakes, cute dogs, and cuter children. No one fell into the canal. We wore party hats. It didn’t rain. In short, our first birthday party was a great success. Thanks to everyone who came, and for those who missed it, we’ll see you next time!
- François Simon stops by L’Alcazar and finds himself watching a shirtless trapeze performance. This Conran brasserie is now putting on a show every Friday night around 9pm, and Frankie approves of the spectacle. “C’est pas mal du tout.” [Simon Says!]
- Aaron declares Jacques Genin to be the greatest classic pastry chef in Paris, and then reviews the milk and dark versions of his tonka bean chocolates. In case you haven’t had it, Aaron says that tonka bean is “a curious blend of cinnamon, vanilla, hay, and clove,” and that the resulting chocolate will allow you to “die happy.” Those in possession of such a death wish are invited to join Aaron and his pre-diabetic minions for an organized pillage of Genin’s shop on June 25th. [Paris Pâtisseries]
- Omnivore is throwing one last party before summer: 100% Friends will be hosted by a “brigade” that includes hot baker Gontran Cherrier, Bruno Verjus, Giovanni Passerini,
Sébastien Demorand, and Gilles Choukroun. [Omnivore]
- On June 25, a group of pastry devotees, led by their patron Saint Adam-of-the-holy-glycemic-index shall descend upon Jacques Genin’s shop en masse, buy stuff, then go eat it in a nearby park and wait for the rapture. Or something. [Paris Pâtisseries]
- Adam has drawn some early conclusions in his quest to chronicle the city’s top croissants. In this test of three shops, Des Gateaux et du Pain wins for its moist interior which “compresses on your lips and doesn’t spring back so much as it succumbs to their light weight.” Ahem. Pierre Hermé is a close second, but Ladurée is “just a step or two above mediocre.” [Paris Pâtisseries]
- Figaroscope presents their rankings for the city’s best strawberry tart, awarding 1st place to Gérard Mulot, 2nd place to Jacques Genin, and 3rd to Dalloyau. See all ten triumphant tarts, plus an explanation for why several top contenders didn’t make the cut. [Figaroscope]
Bovinappropriate?
- Pudlo has a cow about last night’s pro-meat rally at the Maison de l’Aubrac. He hates butcher Yves-Marie Le Bourdonnec’s slogan “I Love Bidoche” (that’s slang for meat), finding it insufficiently respectful of the noble beef cow. [Gilles Pudlowski] That must mean Pudlo doesn’t share our enthusiasm for the butcher’s promotion (at right) of well-aged beef…
Happy Plates
- Alec Lobrano says that Dans les Landes, the newish tapas bar from the chef behind Afaria, has “quickly become one of my favorite places to eat in the Latin Quarter.” He polished off, during this most recent visit, a platter of Ospital charcuterie, tortilla with truffle cream, deep fried chipirons, baby clams with chick peas and avocado, “the best little barbecued pork ribs I’ve ever eaten in Paris,” and two or three other dishes. Color us impressed. [Hungry for Paris]
N’Importe Quoi
- Jean-François Piège says in an interview with Luc Dubanchet that he doesn’t make blogger food like fellow chefs Inaki Aizpitarte, Petter Nilsson and Sven Chartier. To this we say Woof. [Omnivore]
Happy Plates
- Talbott says that Le Severo‘s côte de boeuf is “not for the faint of heart or wallet, running one 80 E for two - but it is the gold standard and the method of making the frites should be required reading for the chefs at the other 39,999 restos in the ville. [John Talbott's Paris]
Upcoming Food Tours
Taste of Paris
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Cherry tomato salad
22 May 2012
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Cherry tomato salad
(Delicious) Things to Do
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Paris Food & Wine Events
1 May 2012
Le Fooding’s Veillées Foodstock festival and another stellar (and free!) wine tasting at Caves Augé.
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Paris Food & Wine Events
