Gourmet
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Croissants and pastries: the best bakeries in Paris
One of the great pleasures of a stay in Paris is to wander through the streets and spontaneously enter a small neighborhood bakery, attracted by the tantalizing smell of freshly baked bread, or the butter scent of the golden croissants, crispy on the outside and melting on the inside. Pastries and bakeries in Paris are perhaps the most visited monuments! Did you know that until 2014, it was the prefecture that decided which bakeries had the right to take vacations in July, and which others were allowed to close in August: no way to leave the French, and the Parisians furthermore, without their sacrosanct wand, under penalty of riots... What a pleasure to plant your teeth in the beautiful airy bread of a traditional baguette, or enjoy a simple but divine pastry - not to mention new fashion stores, whose minimalist look is inspired by art galleries: in these chic places, we appreciate refined delicacies as much with the eyes as with the taste buds! Let's go around some of the best pastries in Paris... The most Parisian: Boulangerie Alexine Let's start with a small neighborhood bakery, the kind of bakery that we discover when we do not expect it, at the corner of a street. In the old fashioned way, the Alexine bakery has neither Facebook page nor website, but its reputation was made without the help of social networks! Appreciated by lovers of good bread and good pastries, it is always full. To be discovered, to find the nostalgic pleasure of a Parisian bakery who contents in making excellent bread, and who finds its publicity in its location. Without worrying about blowing the trumpets of fame. Alexine bakery - 40 rue Lepic, 75018 - Abbesses metro station The most Rising Sun: Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki Who would have believed it ? A Japanese pastry chef seduced the French - and all the other aficionados who came to make their pilgrimage to the Parisian shops of Sadaharu Aoki. In these shops with a zen look, we come to admire beautiful candies and cakes. The chocolates nicknamed "Makeup" take the form of small sticks carefully arranged by colors. One would hardly dare to eat them and only admire, so much their alignment is pleasant. Cakes are not left out: some take a perfect rectangular shape to better show off their surprising colors. Matcha green tea is in the spotlight and lends its silky powdery texture to original creations. There is also another ingredient in the Far East pastry, the azuki bean, in cakes, tarts and mille-feuilles, which have nothing to envy to the French savoir-faire. Pastry Sadaharu Aoki - 35 rue de Vaugirard, 75006 - Metro Rennes or Saint-Placide - Other shops: 56 boulevard de Port-Royal, 75005; 25 rue Pérignon, 75015; 103 rue Saint Dominique, 75007 - closed Mondays and holidays, open Tuesday to Saturday from 11h to 19h and Sunday from 10h to 18h The most Norman: Aux péchés normands Pastries in France need butter. A lot, a lot and a lot of butter. Without it, no croissants, no brioches, no pleasure! A bakery and pastry under the sign of Normandy is auspicious... This traditional bakery in Paris will delight the nostalgic with its beautiful old-fashioned setting. We come to delight in mille-feuilles, pastries and fondant croissants (because of butter course!). We also stop at noon, for lunch on the run of a generous baguette sandwich, or a quiche (chicken, spinach-salmon), and there are of course breads that we nibble even without hunger, like the ficelle aux olives. Large selection of breads and pastries without gluten. Aux péchés normands - 9, rue du Faubourg du Temple, 75010 – Metro République - Open Monday to Friday from 6am to 8pm, closed on Saturday and Sunday. The most Breton: Maison Georges Larnicol It must be admitted, the Breton butter is well worth Norman butter ... The rivalry is secular and it is difficult to designate a winner! And if Norman butter makes very good croissants, it is a cake that only tolerates Breton butter: the kouign-amann. They are very lucky, those who do not yet know this delight, crisp on the outside and soft inside, because they will be able to taste it for the first time! Georges Larnicol has made it his specialty. In small format, renamed "kouignette", kouign-amann should soon dethrone the macaron as a pastry fashion. The kouignette is sweet or salty, in many flavors: orange, raspberry, pistachio or rum raisin - and salted butter caramel, of course. But the shop in the rue de Rivoli is also a gourmet paradise for its inexhaustible drawers filled with self-service chocolates. Not to mention the daring creations in chocolate, Egyptian sphinx, gothic church recreated even in its least gargoyles, or dragons more real than nature. Georges Larnicol House - 14 rue de Rivoli, 75004 - Saint Paul Metro - 132 Bd Saint-Germain, 75006 - Metro Mabillon or Odeon - 7 rue de Steinkerque, 75018 - Metro Anvers or Abbesses The most meringue: Au merveilleux de Fred Here is another regional specialty: neither Breton nor Norman, the merveilleux is a pastry from the North of France and Flanders. It is a crunchy meringue coated with whipped cream and rolled in caramel chips, praline or chocolate. Impossible not to have your mouth watering...Frédéric Vaucamps has made the merveilleux his vocation, and he is intractable on its quality. In his pastry shop in Paris, there is also the delicious cramique, raisin brioche, also from Belgium and Flanders. Attention, the merveilleux is very popular: it is better to avoid going to this pastry in Paris on weekends, to avoid having to endure a long queues. Au merveilleux de Fred - 24 Rue du Pont Louis Philippe, 75004 - Metro Saint-Paul - Several other addresses in Paris, see website. The most Belle-Époque : Au Petit Versailles du Marais An excellent bakery in Paris, in a period setting: all our wishes are fulfilled! In the Marais, the bakery has existed since 1860. We do not know where to look: the stall is enticing, but the ceiling of time, with its paintings on glass tiles, is beautiful. At the head of this Petit Versailles: Christian Vabret, Best worker of France. The quality is there waiting, whether it's crispy baguettes whose crumbs are good for grilled wheat, or sublime pistachio croissants. At the Petit Versailles du Marais - 27 rue François Miron, 75004 - Metro Saint-Paul - open Monday to Saturday from 7am to 8pm, closed on Sundays.
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Croissants and pastries: the best bakeries in Paris
Where to brunch in Paris: the best brunch spots in the capital
Where to brunch in Paris? Sunday's mega-breakfast, Americas invention, has long since crossed the Atlantic and has settled well in the Parisian mores. Indeed, what's more pleasant, after a frantic week "of Parisian", that to sleep in and enjoy one of the best brunch in the capital? We take our time, sip a hot coffee, wake up our taste buds with a fresh orange juice squeezed... And we settle in American time, with the help of avocado toasts and eggs Benedict. We do not go back either to the mountains of bacon and the bowls without bottom of muesli, which one demolishes with appetite. And then the excuse is beautiful to drink a small cocktail, mimosa, bellini, even a glass of champagne. After all, it's Sunday, you have to live a little! Overview of five good addresses, acclaimed by Parisians, to brunch in Paris. Japanese style brunch: Kinugawa Japanese food for "breakfast"? Why not! If a traditional brunch contains a mandatory toast or smoked salmon muffin, you can expand the concept to include delicious slices of raw fish. On Sunday, Kinugawa Vendôme offers a brunch bento that will make your mouth water. The restaurant, skillfully decorated by the architects Gilles and Boissier, breathes a zen and sophisticated minimalism. The dark wood slatted walls are reminiscent of the shoji houses of Japan, and the blond wooden benches have a refined echo. We settle in this soothing setting to enjoy original dishes, carpaccio of Yellow Tail sauce yuzu, beef fillet with teriyaki sauce or grilled eel sushi. Kinugawa Vendôme - 9, rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Paris - Tel. : 01 42 60 65 07 - Metro Tuileries - Brunch only on Sunday from noon to 2.30 pm, restaurant open every day from 12h to 14h30 and from 19h30 to 23h. Brunch gluten free: Bio Sphère Café For those who, death in their soul, thought they had to resolve to visit Paris without being able to bite into a baguette, or enjoy a croissant: Bio Sphere Coffee, absolutely, totally gluten-free, is your savior. The hostess, Sylvie, is an inveterate perfectionist. Trained among the best (Ladurée and Angelina), she works his recipes for many months before adopting them in her coffee. Not being herself allergic to gluten, she keeps as a reference the taste of the best breads and pastries, which she then tries to recreate without gluten. Result, fluffy crumbs and golden croissants out as in. And we no longer feel like depriving ourselves! Beware, the coffee is small, the attention to quality is extreme, and the reputation of the place is solid: this is why it is essential to book for Sunday brunch. And brunch is the only time you can enjoy the croissants of Sylvie ... The brunch adopts a "fixed menu" formula with a salty plate, a sweet plate, a fruit juice and a hot drink. Bio Sphere Coffee, pastry without gluten - 47, rue de Laborde 75008 Paris - Tel.: 01 42 93 45 58 - Metro Saint-Augustin or Miromesnil - Brunch on Sundays from 11.30am to 3pm, by reservation only; the pastry-tea room is open Monday to Friday from 12h to 18h and Saturday from 12h to 22h - The service stops 1h before closing. Brunch the New York style: Joe Allen Since 1972, Joe Allen has worn the colors of New York brunch. He was one of the first to serve hamburgers to the French still little familiar with American cuisine. And he continues today. So naturally we take the way to Les Halles if you want to enjoy a traditional brunch, in the rules of the art. Eggs in all their forms, scrambled or Benedict, pastrami sandwiches, Label Rouge cheeseburger and traditional buttermilk pancakes, everyone is there. The New York Style Cheesecake is not strictly speaking in the brunch menu, but nothing forbids squinting over the dessert menu... Joe Allen - 30, rue Pierre Lescot 75001 Paris - Tel.: 01 42 36 70 13 - Metro Etienne Marcel - Brunch on Sunday from 11h to 16h and Saturday from noon to 16h - the restaurant is open from Monday to Wednesday from 12h to 0h30, Thursday to Saturday from 12h to 1h, and the Sunday from 11h to 0h30. Brunch at the Museum: Monsieur Bleu au Palais de Tokyo In the restaurant Monsieur Bleu of the Palais de Tokyo, mimosa, bloody mary, bellini and champagne lead the brunch menu. But the "healthy" juices are not left out: to get a good conscience, we also order a cocktail detox kale, celery, apple and lemon, or the classic: carrot-ginger.The rest of the brunch menu does not disappoint: you'll find everything that makes for a brunch worthy of the name, bacon cheeseburger, avocado toast and smoked salmon, pancakes, French t oast and Benedict eggs. We are reassured, it is not because we are in a museum of contemporary art (and which!) That we will be content with a few leaves of salad. But because we are in one of the high places of creation, we will not be limited to the classics either. Let yourself be tempted by a coconut cucumber passion seabream ceviche, or even a gratin of truffle pasta (lovers of American gastronomy will have recognized, under this assumed name, the famous mac and cheese). Monsieur Bleu, Palais de Tokyo - 20, New York Avenue 75116 Paris - Alma-Marceau Metro - Tel.: 01 47 20 90 47 - Brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 12h to 16h; the restaurant is open 7 days a week, lunch service from 12h to 14h30 and evening from 19h to 23h. Brunch with a touch of Alsace: Café Mirabelle At Café Mirabelle, pastry chef Marion Goettlé officiates in a friendly and intimate setting: an old Parisian café that has refreshed its look. After spending time with some of Alsace's best starred restaurants, she now concocts divine treats - and an epic brunch. Judge a little: after a cocktail as an aperitif, the granola and the invigorating bettelmann with quetsches are followed by scrambled eggs with guanciale or smoked salmon, then a homemade pastry. Unless you really prefer a leg of lamb, or a chicken pie? And if the winter is cold, it will be good to enjoy its hearty brunch and warm up next to the fireplace... Café Mirabelle - 16, rue de la Vaquerie 75011 Paris - Metro Voltaire or Philippe Auguste - Tel.: 01 43 79 27 46 - Brunch Saturday and Sunday from 11h to 16h; the tea room pastry shop is open from 8am to 6pm from Wednesday to Friday, and from 9am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
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Where to brunch in Paris: the best brunch spots in the capital
The legacy of Soul Food in Paris
Soul food, a taste of the South of the United States If you are told "American fried chicken", what do you think about? No, no, not the fast-food brand of Kentucky ... The fried chicken is one of the pillars of the soul food, that like soul music, belongs to the culture of African-Americans. Soul food is the rich and copious family cuisine of the south of the United States, the flavors of childhood remembered with stars in the eyes. It is also a cuisine that carries the terrible fate of American slaves: inspired by their saved African heritage as best they can, despite their uprooting and suffering, Soul food is a popular cuisine, with ingredients and humble preparations always invigorating. The least we can say is that this is not cuisine for people in a diet. We find the fried chicken with fermented milk, of course, but also the sweet corn bread, sweet potatoes and fried plantain, and among others "hush puppies". Traditional soul food makes great use of lard... However, there are also typical vegetables like okra, forage cabbage or collard greens. You can also add the authentic chitterlings, a stew of guts... At first glance, nothing to do with the much-praised refinement of French cuisine - and yet, thanks to particular historical circumstances, African-American soul food has seen its splendid hours in Paris... Discovered from a forgotten episode of the Franco-American history and its descendants. Chez Haynes, The restaurant of the African-American community In Paris, during the roaring Twenties that followed the horrors of the Second World War were years of liberation in more ways than one. For the African American GI soldiers who came to fight in Europe, the discovery of Paris was also the discovery of a city which, although it was of course not exempt from racism, gave them much more freedom than their native country. At that time, segregation was still in force in the southern states. The struggle for civil rights eventually led to their abolition, but not until 1965. In France, on the other hand, nothing prevented a black man from marrying a white Frenchwoman, and that was what Leroy Haynes did. After the armistice, this athletic American stayed in France instead of returning to the United States. He met Gabrielle Lecarbonnier, whom he married in 1949. They opened Gabby and Haynes on rue Manuel. After their divorce, Leroy re-opens Chez Haynes on rue Clauzel, at the bottom of the butte Montmartre. His restaurant on rue Manuel became the high place of American black culture in Paris. Intellectuals and black artists, visiting or settling in Paris, met there: The writers James Baldwin, Richard Wright and Chester Himes, painter Beauford Delaney, musicians Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Cab Calloway, Count Basie and Miles Davies. A colorful personality, Leroy Haynes is also an actor in his hours and plays in several gangster movies. We see him in Three rooms in Manhattan, directed by Marcel Carné, in 1965, and in a film by Michel Audiard in 1971: Le cri du cormoran, le soir au-dessus des jonques. Paris an orphan of soul food? Not so fast! After the disappearance of Leroy Haynes in 1986, his third wife Maria, of Portuguese origin, continues to serve at the restaurant Haynes the cuisine that made the restaurant famous. For 23 years she kept intact the flame of soul food, while trying to renew the menu by offering Brazilian dishes. Unfortunately, the great hours of Chez Haynes now belong to the past: the Afro-American community in Paris is no longer numerous and the mythical evenings where black Power writers and jazzmen met were no more than a memory. The restaurant closes its doors in 2009, and with it turns an important page of Afro-American history in Paris. For a few years, not much new in American cooking. Fast-foods continued their inexorable expansion, offering ill-informed Frenchmen the illusion of eating "truly" American. At the time, we could have consoled ourselves by trying to bring home another dish of the soul food, which reflects the mixed history of the United States: the cornbread. This bread was originally a Native American recipe, which was adopted and enriched, to become a typical American recipe, particularly prized in Southern cuisine. The corn bread is traditionally made with bacon fat, but you can quite try a lighter version of cornbread! Too often the French still believe that there is no American gastronomy - the prejudices that make the hamburger-fries the national dish remain. This symbol of "junk food" detested by gourmet Gaulois has however little to do with the American cuisine of gourmets. And if the fried chicken may seem to some a bit too similar to a certain fast food menu, it is necessary to get rid of these ideas. In recent years, young American restaurateurs have had the audacity (some ghastly spirits would say effrontery) to come as far as the land of France to show what the Yankees (nickname French give to Americans) are capable of. This is the case of Chief Braden Perkins, born in New Orleans - one could say that soul food is part of its genetic heritage. After the success of his first restaurant Hidden Kitchen, he opens in 2011 a new restaurant, Verjus, always with his partner Laura Adrian. Verjus is a chic restaurant whose tasting menu changes with the seasons and inspirations of the chef, and in a more informal wine bar. Fried Chicken with ribot milk, cabbage salad and jalapeno peppers is a revisited and more refined version of the big classic. Moreover, Verjus's success not contradicting itself, Braden Perkins recidivated with Ellsworth, a little further on the same street. Again, we find an authentic fried chicken accompanied by marinated vegetables, because we do not change a team that wins so well. Restaurant Verjus - 52, rue de Richelieu, 75001 - Monday to Friday from 7 pm to 11 pm - Pyramides, Palais Royal, Bourse or Quatre Septembre metro Restaurant Ellsworth - 34, rue de Richelieu, 75001 - opening hours: lunch, 12:15 to 14:15; Dinner, 7 pm to 10.30 pm; Brunch, 11:30 am to 3 pm - metro Pyramides or Palais Royal The soul food revisited: The African and Caribbean heritage at the time of crossbreeding Moreover, faithful to its African and Caribbean roots, soul food is reborn in Paris in a version that could be called "French". Inspired by the inspiration of their own heritage, French restaurateurs do not hesitate to present their personal version of this family cuisine. It would not be the first time that the French, spurred by American fashions, are encouraged to rediscover a neglected part of their own heritage. Gumbo Yaya has opted to specialize in: fried chicken and authentically American waffles, the combo is so popular that it is not uncommon to have to wait an hour to be served ... Yet, according to guests, the Game is worth the candle, and the long wait is forgotten when you bite into the crispy waffles, sprinkled with various sauces. Lionel, the owner, worships fried chicken with fermented milk, in memory of his American aunts who fed him with soul food in Macon, near Atlanta. Gumbo Yaya - 3, rue Charles Bobin, 75010 - Opening hours: from 12h to 14h30 and from 19h30 to 22h30, closed on Saturdays and Sundays - Colonel Fabien metro. The New Soul Food truck, on the other hand, presents a resolutely melting-pot cuisine, "afrodisiac" according to the words of its creator, Rudy Laine. There we find the sacrosanct chicken, but revisited in sub-Saharan or Caribbean fashion. Rudy's Cameroonian and Guadeloupian origins inspire flavors, braised chicken curry sauce coco vanilla, plantains peanut sauce, cassava attiéké sauce yassa, or the fish miondo safou. We follow greedily the food truck in Paris, but again, the greedy have given themselves the word and it will be necessary to arrive early to avoid long lines! New Soul Food food truck - often in front of the mk2 Library, find the schedule on the website – the location: mk2 Library, metro Bibliothèque François Mitterrand or Quai de la Gare As for Niébé, the name of the restaurant celebrates the cornille, a bean called "black eyed pea" in the United States, which is also an integral part of soul food. Chef Rosilène Vitorino draws soul food to Brazil and its tropical flavors. The restaurant offers its menu in two versions, classic and vegan - what allow vegetarians to discover these unique flavors, without fried chicken and lard! Restaurant Niébé - 16 rue de la Grande-Chaumière, 75006 - open from Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 3 pm and from 7.30 pm to midnight - Vavin metro
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The legacy of Soul Food in Paris
Sweet Paris: our selection of the best pastries in the capital
Melted chocolate? Praline bites? Breathtaking éclairs exposed in glass stalls and other pastries? Mythical or more confidential, discover our selection of the best pastries in Paris, for a gourmet journey in the heart of the capital. The great classics Pierre Hermé, The pope of pastries Voted the best Pastry Chef of the world in 2016 and dubbed the "Picasso of pastry" by American Vogue, Pierre Hermé needs no further introduction, whose reputation is now international. With the "pleasure only guide", he revolutionized the codes of traditional pastry, and was for example, the first to imagine a cake with a renowned designer, Yan Pennor, and his creation "La Cerise sur le Gâteau." Macaroons, chocolates and pastries, his 10 Parisian stores are full of delight. Do not miss the macaroons of foie gras or the white truffles, deliciously subtle. His specialty: The ispahan macaron, of rose, raspberry and lychee flavors, so acclaimed that Pierre Hermé has now presented it in choux, cheesecake or saint-honoré flavors. Your gourmet starting point: Our apartment "Opéra Garnier" is not far from the beautiful boutique on rue Cambon. Philippe Conticini, The pastries of our dreams It bears well its name: ”La Pâtisserie des Rêves de Philippe Conticini”. This great pastry chef, inventor especially of the verrine glasses in the 1990s, revisits the great classics of our childhood and excels particularly in choux pastry: pièces montées, Saint-Honoré, or Paris-Brest are the best-sellers of his Paris boutiques or Tokyoites. His specialty: The Paris-Brest, a cake to die for! Your gourmet starting point: Our apartment "Jardins du Trocadéro” is two steps away from the “Patisserie des reves of Longchamp” and of his puffs choux bar! The rising star Yann Couvreur, From the palaces of Saint-Barth to the Xth arrondissement After having his classes in the most prestigious institutions (The Trianon Palace, Hyatt Park), and then taking the reins of pastry; of the Hotels Eden Roc in St. Barthelemy, Burgundy and Prince of Wales in Paris, the young Yann Couvreur, at about age 30, opened his first shop, away from the gold of palaces and to the heart of the tenth arrondissement. His originality: Bringin out his desserts to the minute, just like in a restaurant, to respect the different tastes and ensure an optimal freshness. After the residents of the neighborhood, it's all of Paris who rushes into his shop, as they have a reason to! His specialty: The “mille-feuilles” with Madagascar vanilla, monté minute, produced only 50 per day. Your gourmet starting point: not far from Yann Couvreur’s gourmet shop is our apartment "Passage Vendome". The exotics YLG Pâtisserie, Parisian-Japanese pastries Yann Le Gall, his name could not be more French. Yet, it’s Japan with his roll cakes, angel cakes and tiny cubes, that he conveys in all of Paris. His wife; Noriko introduced him to Japanese pastries, and since then he delights the taste buds of many Parisians with his sublte "Kawai" creations of: matcha green tea, yuzu and cherry that invite themselves in creams and cupcakes. Delights to be enjoyed in his “salon de thé” of the 2nd arrondissement.: “Les Souris Dansent”, order during the week for a Saturday delivery, or have him cook in your own kitchen, for your own “salon de thé” right at home. His specialty: The tiny cube, choux à la crème… squared! Your gourmet starting point: 2 steps from the “Salon de thé, Les souris dansent”, our apartment "Square Emile Chautemps" is found. Sadaharu Aoki, Japanese master of macaroons No doubt the Japanese are gifted! The Chefs that have come from Japan have already conquered the Parisian kitchens for a long time and the bakers are not excluded. Leading the way, Sadaharu Aoki, who arrived in 1991 in France amazes us with his perfect aesthetic creations. Chocolates, macaroons, sweets... his window is mouthwatering and a real treat for the eyes. Asian-inspired flavors and top quality French products, the winning combo for this master of macaroons whose creations rivals those of larger creators. His specialty: tinted macaroons from Japan: matcha, black sesame, yuzu and more audaciously …wasabi! Your gourmet starting point: near the Vaugirard shop, our apartment "Jardin du Luxembourg" is in the vicinity.
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Sweet Paris: our selection of the best pastries in the capital