By Bob AdamsI’m pretty much a simple guy. An order of buffalo wings with a side of cheese fries is a perfect dinner for me. A tub of Baskin Robbins’ peanut butter and chocolate ice cream is at the top of my dessert list. Chardonnay? Beaujolais? Cabernet? I’d rather have a Diet Coke (or better yet, a Diet Mt. Dew).
But each time I travel to Paris, I morph into a gastronome. There’s something about this most majestic of the world’s cities that makes me more keenly aware of art and architecture, fashion and style, beauty and culture, and, of course, gourmet food and drink. Not that I solely stuff myself with foie gras and escargots the entire time I’m there (although I do consume my fair share); I also love to buy simple croissants and pain au chocolat at nearby boulangeries/patisseries, crepes (essentially Parisian street food) at the myriad creperies throughout the city, and simple sandwiches of ham or prosciutto and brie on a baguette.
But there are three simply out-of-this-world pastry shops/tea houses serving the most decadent of desserts that I must–absolutely must–visit when I’m in the City of Light. A trip to Paris is not complete for me if I miss them. First up, Laduree.
Laduree: http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmxhZHVyZWUuZnIv
Founded: 1862
Four locations: 75 Avenue Champs Elysees (Metro: George V), 16 Rue Royale (Metro: Concorde or Madeleine), 21 Rue Bonaparte (Metro: St. Germain des Pres), and a small tearoom in the posh Primtemps department store, 62 Boulevard Haussmann (Metro: Havre-Caumartin).
I visited two of the Laduree tea salons on my most recent visit to Paris in November 2008–a late-evening stop for dessert at the Champs Elysees tearoom and lunch at the restaurant on Rue Royale.
The first thing you notice when you walk into the elegant, belle époque Laduree tea rooms are the massive, wall-length display cases crammed full of the most mouth-watering breads, pastries, and other dessert goodies you’ll ever lay eyes upon. We’re talking literally 10 yards or more of delicious sweets that you can order to take away (in the patisserie’s trademark pale green boxes) or select to eat in the cozy dining rooms (each location has several salons, sometimes on multiple floors).
You name it, and they’ve got it, including their famous macarons–delightfully airy sandwich cookies filled with a variety of fruits and other sinful sweets (among the choices on my visit were the standard vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and chestnut macarons, as well as such exotic flavors as violet, black currant, licorice, orange blossom, and rose petal).
I popped into the Champs Elysees tearoom on my own at about 10 p.m. on a cold, wet Monday night, and was surprised to find a wait for a table (and most of the choice desserts already sold out, darn it!). But my timing was perfect as an ideal (but tiny!) table quickly opened in the sedate wood-paneled front salon, directly in front of a window looking overlooking the world renowned Champs Elysees.
For me, it was all about dessert that cold, wet evening, and after a couple of missed opportunities (I had so wanted a Tarte Passion Framboises, described in the menu as a sweet pastry filled with passion fruit cream and fresh raspberries, topped with a caramelized biscuit, but long since sold out), I settled on the Ispahan, a rose flavored macaron biscuit topped with rose petal cream, fresh raspberries, lychees, and a perfect red rose petal.
If you’ve never had rose-flavored ice cream or even rose water, it’s a very difficult taste to describe. But try to think of it this way–it tastes exactly the way a rose smells. OK, that’s a very vague attempt to circumvent my lack of words to describe the flavor, but it is true nonetheless. And that flowery taste, mixed with sweet and juicy raspberries, is spot-on blend of sugary and tartness. The macaron provided a bit of crunch as well, while the rose petal cream offered a smooth, silkiness.
Delicious!
Laduree’s Champs Elysees tearoom is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., while the restaurant remains open each night until 12:30 a.m.
My second visit to Laduree was a lunch stop during a hectic Friday shopping spree in the ritzy Madeleine area of the city. This time, my partner and I enjoyed the tearoom on Rue Royale, a sprawling, two-floor grouping of salons that had a slightly less rustic feeling than the Champs Elysees location and a considerably larger clientele of locals (and therefore a smaller crowd of tourists). After a wait of less than five minutes, even though we arrived at the height of the lunch rush, we were seated in the upstairs salon, with a tantalizing view of the upstairs pastry case just a few feet away.
I ordered the Club Laduree sandwich, served with pommes Pont-Neuf Laduree (basically crisp French fries with fresh seasonings), while my partner opted for the Salade Concorde, a mix of spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mustard, topped with grilled chicken. Both dishes were tasty and filling, but a bit on the pricey side (sandwich and fries 17 Euros, salad 20 Euros–at the exchange rate at that time about $22 and $26, respectively).
Mais bien sur, we saved room for dessert!
I chose the Religieuse Anis-Framboise (the English translation is literally “religious”), so-named because the shape is reminiscent of a nun in her habit (although it looked more like a domed church to me). It was a delightful concoction of cream puff pastry, aniseed cream, and fresh raspberries, all frosted and glazed in pink and white. Joey indulged in the Saint-Honore Rose-Framboise, a combination of flaky and choux pastry layers, rose petal confectioner’s custard, raspberry compote, Chantilly cream flavored with rose water, rose syrup fondant, and fresh raspberries.
As a pastry chef student at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena,Calif., Joey was simultaneously delighted with the dessert and intrigued by its construction. He carved into his pastry and analyzed its various layers with the precision of a surgeon and the joy of a one who truly could comprehend the skill and technique needed to accomplish such a culinary feat. And, of course, I made him give me a taste before he devoured it!
For me, it was all about dessert that cold, wet evening, and after a couple of missed opportunities (I had so wanted a Tarte Passion Framboises, described in the menu as a sweet pastry filled with passion fruit cream and fresh raspberries, topped with a caramelized biscuit, but long since sold out), I settled on the Ispahan, a rose flavored macaron biscuit topped with rose petal cream, fresh raspberries, lychees, and a perfect red rose petal.
If you’ve never had rose-flavored ice cream or even rose water, it’s a very difficult taste to describe. But try to think of it this way–it tastes exactly the way a rose smells. OK, that’s a very vague attempt to circumvent my lack of words to describe the flavor, but it is true nonetheless. And that flowery taste, mixed with sweet and juicy raspberries, is spot-on blend of sugary and tartness. The macaron provided a bit of crunch as well, while the rose petal cream offered a smooth, silkiness.
Delicious!
Laduree’s Champs Elysees tearoom is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., while the restaurant remains open each night until 12:30 a.m.
My second visit to Laduree was a lunch stop during a hectic Friday shopping spree in the ritzy Madeleine area of the city. This time, my partner and I enjoyed the tearoom on Rue Royale, a sprawling, two-floor grouping of salons that had a slightly less rustic feeling than the Champs Elysees location and a considerably larger clientele of locals (and therefore a smaller crowd of tourists). After a wait of less than five minutes, even though we arrived at the height of the lunch rush, we were seated in the upstairs salon, with a tantalizing view of the upstairs pastry case just a few feet away.
I ordered the Club Laduree sandwich, served with pommes Pont-Neuf Laduree (basically crisp French fries with fresh seasonings), while my partner opted for the Salade Concorde, a mix of spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mustard, topped with grilled chicken. Both dishes were tasty and filling, but a bit on the pricey side (sandwich and fries 17 Euros, salad 20 Euros–at the exchange rate at that time about $22 and $26, respectively).
Mais bien sur, we saved room for dessert!
I chose the Religieuse Anis-Framboise (the English translation is literally “religious”), so-named because the shape is reminiscent of a nun in her habit (although it looked more like a domed church to me). It was a delightful concoction of cream puff pastry, aniseed cream, and fresh raspberries, all frosted and glazed in pink and white. Joey indulged in the Saint-Honore Rose-Framboise, a combination of flaky and choux pastry layers, rose petal confectioner’s custard, raspberry compote, Chantilly cream flavored with rose water, rose syrup fondant, and fresh raspberries.
As a pastry chef student at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena,Calif., Joey was simultaneously delighted with the dessert and intrigued by its construction. He carved into his pastry and analyzed its various layers with the precision of a surgeon and the joy of a one who truly could comprehend the skill and technique needed to accomplish such a culinary feat. And, of course, I made him give me a taste before he devoured it!
Laduree’s Rue Royale location is open from 8:30 a.m.to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.Sundays. Stay tuned for Part II, which will recall Bob’s visits to two other renowned goody-makers, Stohrer and Angelina.
About the Author: Having grown up in a household of avid domestic and international travelers, Bob Adams has been passionate about experiencing new cultures since childhood. A lover of all things European, Bob finds himself returning most often to his favorite destination in the world -- Paris, France -- and already has his seventh trip to the City of Light booked for November 2009.
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