Paris Sugar Fest 2010

A few pics of our trip so far… since you can’t taste what we have eaten perhaps you’d like to savour a few tasty morsels via photos?

Today Minty and Rémy consumed so much sugar they went off it – I couldn’t have paid Minty to eat another macaron!

We don’t eat beef at home – so Minty is more than thrilled to tuck into a cheeseburger on the Rue du Rivoli on Tuesday. The frites weren’t bad either.

There’s something so simple and yet so delicious about a simple baguette with butter and ham. Why can’t we get this right at home in Los Angeles? Is it really that hard to make this bread? Is the butter impossible to churn? To cure ham and cut it a little thicker shouldn’t be so impossible. Or is it that the Parisienne’s know they are on to the perfect lunch and won’t share their secrets with the rest of the world?

I used to buy a quarter of this bread at Harvey Nichols in London and then thinly slice it and toast tomatoes on it – salt, pepper – sometimes basil – my idea of a quick, delicious supper.

We headed off to Bistro Jadis for lunch today – one of the 16 on Chef Ludo’s list. The decor was very basic, so much so that Minty and Rémy both commented upon it. But the food was exceptional – a perfect tartine with a green salad for me and Minty and a four cheese pizza for Rémy.

Thank you Chef Ludo for the recommendations – we are having fun finding these little bistros across the city.

And then there was Geraldine’s recommendations today on Facebook – Ladurée – bien sur! Off we went for breakfast to the latest Ladurée tea-room on Rue Bonaparte in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, since it’s just around the corner from the apartment. The room – La Veranda – was exquisitely decorated with a menagerie of birds, exotic trees and flowers, sparkling chandeliers and sumptuous mirrors. After eggs and bacon (Minty – “Is this what they think is bacon in Paris? It’s more like ham!” – oh the English in them came through – they both spent some time at the front in the boutique choosing a dessert. Minty selected the classic Rose Religieuse – rose petal flavored confectioners custard and raspberries in choux pasty.

Small, delicate treats made from seasonal ingredients – so many flavors to choose from it took at least 15 minutes and three or four visits to decide:

Flavours that are permanently available:
Chocolate – Bitter Chocolate – Vanilla – Coffee – Rose – Pistachio – Raspberry – Blackcurrant Violet – Caramel with salted butter – Red Fruits – Orange Blossom – Liquorice – Lemon

Seasonal flavours:
Coconut – Mint – Amande – Spice and soft fruits – Chesnuts – Praline – Lemon Cedrat.

Needless to say Rémy chose a chocolate religieuse. He ate the top in one bite!

On the way to the Jardin du Luxembourg we passed another of Geraldine’s recommendations – Pierre Hermé- and since it would have been rude not to we stopped in for an ice cream sandwich – these were the ice-cream sandwiches to end all ice cream sandwiches with a price to match.  Minty selected more rose and framboise – Rémy more chocolate. Creatures of habit and this just might be a habit that’s been broken through excess.

I have never known Rémy not finish something – especially ice cream.

After running off the sugar high in the park and then crashing with serious tears and misery Minty declared she would throw-up if Rémy mentioned dessert ever again. Both children declined the free dessert with lunch and dinner. The cherry lollipops they were given in a childrens’ clothing store were put in the bag and not touched. A first – or perhaps a last?