I Prefer Paris

Sweet Week: A l'Etoile d'Or

My good friend Elizabeth Topper from Los Angeles arrived in Paris in mid December to stay for a month. The first thing she wanted to do was to go to a chocolate shop in Pigalle she read about that was the only shop outside of Lyon that sold a particular kind of chocolate bar. It takes alot for me to schlep to Pigalle with my legs weary from non-stop touring for weeks, but suddenly my legs felt light and nimble enough to discover a new chocolate shop.

We arrived about 2PM and the outside of A l'Etoile d'Or looked like a typical old fashioned candy shop. Once inside we unearthed the treasures Elizabeth pined for: a table filled with over a dozen varieties of some very serious looking chocolate bars named Bernachon with a hefty price tag: 10 euros each. Just like the cupcake store,I had the torturous task of disciplining myself to only pick one but once I decided to buy it as a stocking stuffer for Vincent instead or myself, it was double torture. Agonizing between flavors of Fondant Nature, Super amer, Fondant amer, Orange, Aveline, Noisette, Créole, Nougat, Canelle, Café, Pépito, Amandine, Brésilien, Mendiant, Nougatine, Antillais, and Pacha, I chose the Cafe. I knew it would be another two weeks until I would get a taste, so I looked to see what would satisfy my sweet tooth at that moment. Madame Acabo, the owner of the shop, a middle aged woman looking  like a naughty school girl sporting blond pigtails, Tartan plaid tie with matching skirt, and black V-neck sweater said we must try the Leroux caramels from Britanny. Even though the caramels came in so many enticing flavors including orange/ginger, tarte tatin, tea, and pineapple, Madame Acabo wisely advised the salted butter flavor and we were not disappointed. The sweet, smoky smooth taste assaulted our taste buds in an amazing way and the salty aftertaste brought the experience to an orgasmic level.

Madam Acabo showed us some of the other treats in the store and grinning proudly,she showed off  her scrap book of magazine articles and cookbooks that her shop had been featured in. We took our time to explore every chocolate nook and candy cranny so we wouldn't miss a thing. Bergamot flavored hard candy from Nancy in red picturesque tins, nougat blocks in gold foil looking like they belonged in Fort Knox, a huge bowl of marron glace(candied chestnuts) squares, and gold ceramic baby shoes stuffed with sucking candy were all fighting to get my attention, screaming "Buy me! Taste me!".

Madame Acabo proudly showing off her rave reviews

When I calmed down from my mental and physical sweet rush, I noticed how quaint and colorful the shop was with ornate Belle Epoque style wood counters,marvelous mosaic floors of teal, rose, and citron colored tiles, and white marble counter tops. All the candy and chocolates looked so festive packaged in red and gold foil, red and hunter green satin ribbons, and pewter ballotins.

After about an hour of being sweet heaven, we forced ourselves to leave, even though we seriously thought of hiding somewhere in the store so we could be locked in overnight. I could just see it now, Madame Acabo would find us passed out on the floor in a sugar coma with chocolate dripping from the sides of our mouths and a chocolate bar that the paramedics couldn't pry from our fingers.

P.S. Vincent loved the cafe chocolate bar and of course I got a taste. Sinsational!

A L'Etoile d'Or
30 rue Fontaine, 9th arr.
Metro: Blanche
Tel. 01 4 74 59 55
Open daily except Sunday and sometimes Monday morning

Eye Prefer Paris Contest

One of my goals for 2009 is to at least double my subscriptions and I am enlisting you to help me achieve that. Many of you have turned your friends, families, and colleagues on to EPP but now I'm looking to up the ante. So I decided to have a contest to see who will register to most new subscribers. The prize? A copy of the wonderful book We've Always had Paris and Provence, the fascinating and highly entertaining story of Patricia & Walter Wells life here. It also includes some of Patricia's classic recipes.

The best way to go about subscribing people is to go to my homepage www.eyepreferparis.com and on the right hand sidebar you will see a box where it says enter email address. Enter each email separately. A confirmation message will appear that says "Please check your inbox for a verification message from FeedBurner’s “[email protected],” the service address that delivers email subscriptions for I Prefer Paris. You will need to click a link listed in this message to activate your subscription." Please cut and paste that and send it to the person you subscribed so they can confirm their subscription. Please email me at [email protected] to let me know how many people you have subscribed.

I will announce the winner this Thursday, so start subscribing now.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

Sweet Week: Berko

I know everybody is on some kind of diet after the gluttony of holiday eating. Well, just when you thought it was safe to go back to eating cottage cheese & jello and not be tempted by mouthwatering desserts, I'm going to make it dangerous. After all, you are probably in a little bit of the January doldrums already with holidays being over, and nothing too exciting on your food horizon except celery sticks staring you in the face.

I thought I would give your neglected sweet-tooth a boost this week by making it Sweet Week. I recently discovered three incredible sweet outlets and have been dying to share them with you.

Cupcakes have been the craze in the states in the last few years and in New York I used to frequent Cupcake Cafe and Magnolia bakery. With all the fantastic pastry in Paris I never missed them but when I was walking down rue Rambuteau last month, I stopped dead in my tracks. There was a new pastry shop named Berko and through the window I saw a metal cupcake tree on the counter inside. I busted through the door brimming with excitement that my favorite childhood and adulthood treat had finally arrived. With my nose pressed against the glass and trying not to drool on it, I intensely studied the 15 fabulous flavors in the case including traditional vanilla and chocolate dressed up with silver and gold beads, welcome nifty newcomers caramel, carrot cake,Oreo,coffee, and white chocolate, and some oddities that I'm not sure worked like lavender, mandarin, and pistachio.

Choosing as carefully as a death row inmate deciding on their last meal, I chose the caramel. The icing was creamy, buttery, and not too sweet and the cake moist.It was rich and satisfying and I didn't crave another one afterwards.

Smacking my lips after after my cupcake rush, I looked to see what else the shop offered and found some interesting choices. Chocolate Moelleux came in a small black pot so that you can heat it up at home. In case you didn't know what chocolate Moelleux was, it's a cake that's hard and cake like on the outside and gooey in the inside. Individual cakes of lemon meringue, caramba bar, white chocolate & raspberry, and cappuccino looked beautiful and mouthwatering.

The handsome dark wood that's on the floors and continues up to the cases make the minimalist interior feel warm and welcoming. The friendly, helpful staff was ever so patient when I was making my monumental cupcake flavor choice.
 
I'm so happy I finally found a cupcake haven in Paris.
Chocolate Moelleux



Berko
23 rue Rambuteau, 3d arr.
Metro:Rambuteau
Tel. 01 40 29 02 44
Open Tuesday- Sunday 10AM to 8PM

One of my goals for 2009 is to at least double my subscriptions and I am enlisting you to help me achieve that. Many of you have turned your friends, families, and colleagues on to EPP but now I'm looking to up the ante. So I decided to have a contest to see who will register to most new subscribers. The prize? A copy of the wonderful book We've Always had Paris and Provence, the fascinating and highly entertaining story of Patricia & Walter Wells life here. It also includes some of Patricia's classic recipes.

The best way to go about subscribing people is to go to my homepage www.eyepreferparis.com and on the right hand sidebar you will see a box where it says enter email address. Enter each email separately. A confirmation message will appear that says "Please check your inbox for a verification message from FeedBurner’s “[email protected],” the service address that delivers email subscriptions for I Prefer Paris. You will need to click a link listed in this message to activate your subscription." Please cut and paste that and send it to the person you subscribed so they can confirm their subscription. Please email me at [email protected] to let me know how many people you have subscribed.

I will announce the winner this Thursday, so start subscribing now.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

Eye Prefer Paris Contest

One of my goals for 2009 is to at least double my subscriptions and I am enlisting you to help me achieve that. Many of you have turned your friends, families, and colleagues on to EPP but now I'm looking to up the ante. So I decided to have a contest to see who will register to most new subscribers. The prize? A copy of the wonderful book We've Always had Paris and Provence, the fascinating and highly entertaining story of Patricia & Walter Wells life here. It also includes some of Patricia's classic recipes.

The best way to go about subscribing people is to go to my homepage www.eyepreferparis.com and on the right hand sidebar you will see a box where it says enter email address. Enter each email separately. A confirmation message will appear that says "Please check your inbox for a verification message from FeedBurner’s “[email protected],” the service address that delivers email subscriptions for I Prefer Paris. You will need to click a link listed in this message to activate your subscription." Please cut and paste that and send it to the person you subscribed so they can confirm their subscription. Please email me at [email protected] to let me know how many people you have subscribed.

I will announce the winner next Thursday, so start subscribing now.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

Paris Solde 2009

Today, Wednesday, January 7th is the official start date of the winter 2009 Paris sales. Thousands of anxious and patient shoppers will wait on line in their favorite shops to take advantage of 20% to sometimes 80% off.This year will be especially good because of the the recession. I already have my strategy and schedule down so that I don't miss a thing- baby wants a new pair of shoes and he's going to get them at 50% off! In case you didn’t know, the government regulates sales and technically stores are not allowed to put something on sale if it’s not during the set time that is either in January or July. In fact, shops can be fined thousands of euros if they don’t comply.

There's an official sale site http://www.shoppingbyparis.com/ that has great information about how to navigate the sales and includes a shopping book with shopping itineraries in five categories: La Classique,La Trendy, La Bobochic, La Creative, and Le Fusion Fashion World.

Happy sale-ing!

 

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

La Galette de Rois

Every year starting on January 6th, la galette de Rois (the cake of the three kings), a cake made of frangipane (almond cream paste) and a buttery crust, is sold in patisseries all over France. These delicious cakes celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, where the three wise men came to see the baby Jesus. In certain parts of France the cake is made with brioche and filled with glazed fruit.

A feve- a little china figure is hidden inside of the cake, and whoever gets it, (without breaking a cap when biting into it) is crowned king and gets to choose his queen. The cake is usually sold with a gold paper crown (I suspect if Hermes or Vuitton sells the cake, a real crown is provided).

I passed these lovely Galette's de Rois in the window of Pain de Sucre yesterday. The innovative square one comes in raspberry & cassis and dark chocolate, coconut, and cherry.

Pain de Sucre 

14 rue Rambuteau,3d. arr

Tel. 01 45 74 68 92

Metro: Rambuteau

Recipe for la Galette des Rois

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb frozen puff pastry
2 eggs
7 oz almond paste

Preparation: Leave the puff pastry at room temperature for about 2 hours until defrosted but still cold.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Line a baking sheet or pizza pan with baking parchment or grease the pan and lightly sift flour on it. Shake off any excess flour. Roll each sheet of pastry into a circle about 12 inches across. Place one circle on the prepared pan.

Mix the egg with the almond paste until smooth and spread the mixture evenly on the prepared circle of pastry, leaving a border 1 1/2 inches wide all around. If you have a small piece of china, insert it into the almond mixture (you may also use a bean as the fève.) The person who gets the fève is the King or Queen.
Place the second circle of pastry on top and press it down tightly around the rim.

Beat lightly the remaining egg and brush it on the top of the cake. With a long-bladed knife, press lightly but firmly through the egg glaze marking a crisscross pattern. 

Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden and puffed. Do not check for doneness for at least 15 minutes, as the pastry may collapse. Serve slightly warm or cold.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

January Eye Need to Do's: Sonia Rykiel, Patricia Kass, and Ron Arad

Sonia Rykiel
One of the top French designers, Sonia Rykiel is finally given a long overdue retrospective. Journey through 40 years of  her whimsical fashion with her signature horizontal stripes, knits, and rhinestone encrusted velours.

Sonia Rykiel-Till April 19
Les Arts Decoratifs
107 rue de Rivoli, 1st. arr
Metro: Palais Royal- Musee de Louvre
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr
Closed Monday

 
Ron Arad
Genius furniture designer Ron Arad, who designed modern classics such as the Bookworm Bookcase and Tom Vac chair, is having his first major retrospective.

Ron Arad
Till March 16
Pompidou Centre
Place Georges Pompidou, 4th arr.
Metro: Rambuteau, Hotel de Ville
Closed Tuesday
http://www.centrepompidou.fr


Patricia Kass Kabaret
Singing sensation Patricia Kass is making cold January sizzle with her new show. Cabaret is the theme at the legendary Casino de Paris.

Patricia Kass Kabaret
January 20- 31
Casino de Paris
16 rue de Clichy, 9th arr.
Metro: Liege
Tickets http://www.fnacspectacles.com/place-spectacle/fichesalle/PARIS-CASINO-DE-PARIS-KSINO.htm

Paris on Ice
Yes, it's cold but what better weather for ice skating. You can show off your figure eights at three locations.

Paris sur Glace
Hotel de Ville- till March 1
Mon.- Fri. 12_M-10PM, Sat. & Sun. 9AM-10PM
Metro: Hotel de Ville

Montparnasse- till March 1
Mon.-Fri. 12PM-8PM, Sat. & Sun. 9AM-8PM
Metro: Montparnasse

Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand- till Jan. 18
10Am-8PM daily
Metro:Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand

Admission free
Skate rental 5 euros

Note: I want to thank everyone so much for their warm holiday emails and comments.Happy new Year and may all your dreams, especially the ones to visit Paris, come true.

I received a very special email from Bill Avedovech in Washington state in which he shares an incredible story about Strasbourg.

I attended the University of Strasbourg in 1965/66 and spent a year and a half in my favorite city in France (although I adore Paris; it's just too expensive), Strasbout.  A grammatical mistake landed me a sejour spent with Pierre et Marie-Odile Pflimlin.  He was twice Premier Ministre during the 4th Republic, the second time in 1958 (Coty was President) and it was Pierre Pflimlin who called DeGaulle in Algers and asked him to come to Paris and the Fifth Republic was formed.  He then became DeGualle's finance minister and then mayor of Strasbourg in 1962.

The grammatical error?  My French teacher in the states gave me a contact in Strasbourg (I thought I could learn both French & German) who arranged home stays for foreign students.  One of the questions on the questionnaire she sent me was my father's occupation.  As it happened, my father was President of the ACA in the state of Washington.  Only I used the preposition "a" instead of "dans l'etat de" and of course she thought my dad was President of the National ACA.  My choices?  I could stay with the Baron & Baroness de Grouvel outside Strasbourg or with Pierre Pflimlin, who was mayor of Strasbourg at that time - 1965, and since their 14 room apartment (at 1 place brandt) was across from the university, I requested to stay with them.  They were most gracious to me - even when they discovered my grammatical error.  M. et Mme Pflimlin were received by John and Jacqueline Kennedy at the White House a few years earlier.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

A Very Gossip Girl New Years

I am a huge fan of the hit American TV show Gossip Girl, which is about the trial and tribulations of  rich upper east side teens who go to a private high school.

A few weeks ago when Vincent returned from New York, he announced that a big New York TV celebrity was coming to Paris for New Years and that he or she would stop by our house. Of course, I tried harder than Lucy tried when she wanted to be in one of Ricky's nightclub shows to find out who it was, but no matter how much I cajoled, manipulated, and tricked Vincent, he would not tell who it was.

So I surrendered to the surprise and went about my business of planning my new Years eve fete. I invited 12 friends and we planned a menu of foie gras, lemon risotto, Caesar salad, Laduree macarons, chocolates, and Champagne.

The dinner started at about 9PM and and at about 10PM  my friend's teenage daughter walked in with an entourage of about 12 friends and the mystery celeb guest.It turned out to be Connor Paolo from Gossip Girl, who plays Eric, the gay younger brother of the main character Serena van der Woodsen. Of course I was swept away and immediately told Connor that I was a fan and religiously watched the show every week. He was just as adorable and sweet as he appears on the show, and we chatted for a while before the restless gang left to go to the Eiffel Tower for the stroke of midnight. After my fill of celebrity, I got back to the party and we celebrated the night away. We had a international crowd including friends from New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Amsterdam.

It was a perfect New Years Eve celebrating with good food, an opportunity to hang out with teenage heartthrob, and most important of all, warm and wonderful friends.

Happy New Year to all and hope you had a great New Years Eve too.
xoxo

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com