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Paris by Pastry
Good Morning All!
My Husband had surgery on his knee yesturday. He will be laid up for at least 10 days. I was going to work today, but he woke up in pain and he's not a baby (like me) he was pale and I was worried. Especially after he asked me to make him biscuits and gravey. So I called off today at the restaurant (they are slow too, we have about 16 inches of snow at our house) and stayed home and made him b&g will all the fixings, he's now out like a light on the couch. SO...... As most of you know, I'm headed to Paris. It's the last of our 10 day trip. We will be there touring for 2 days afterwards I hope to stay another 4 days alone. The French Teacher (who lived in Paris for 10 years as a child) gave me this book to read, and now I'm obessed with doing the whole tour of Paris by Pastry. I figure I'll starve myself for the next 33 days and eat my way through Paris. I love the after title of this book, Stalking the Sweet life on the streets of Paris. My good friend at the restaurant said I better stay a full 7 days if I want to do it up right, whatya think? |
Mamaw,
Sounds divine... a woman after my own sweet tooth heart... Stay as long as you possible can... Life is uncertain - eat dessert first! gruezi |
gruezi! I love your trip report! I have been reading it all along.
How wonderful you and your daughter spent time together and in Paris of all places. I see you all stayed at the D'Abbuson (?)Hotel, how was it and what was the cost, if you don't mind me asking? Thanks Theresa in Detroit |
Oh great...now another Paris book I MUST buy. Thanks alot. ;)
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Need a travel companion? LOL. This sounds like a divine plan.
I could live on pastry alone. |
Don't starve yourself for the next 33 days - you will walk off the damage the pastries will do as you stroll around that gorgeous city. enjoy!
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I'm in agreement with cathies on not starving yourself. I just spent 1 1/2 weeks eating LOADS of pan au chocolate and my new fav "rolls" (like a pan au chocolate, but with some sort of creamy cheese stuff too) and I swear I lost weight. My mother and our friend both felt the same. All the walking just means MORE eating.
Now we're in Italy, and I have the distinct feeling we are merely walking and seeing sights as a way to build up an appetite between the eating. |
Hi M,
I hope DH improves. >Paris by Pastry. From my own experience of sampling French cheese: You cannot make up for a lifetime of deprivation in one week. It will make you sick. Enjoy your visit. ((I)) |
My kind of trip. I made lists of stuff on my Paris trip report a couple of years ago, including one of desserts. One poster replied that that was his idea of a reason to go to Paris.
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This book is killing me, I can't put it down. My husband thinks I'm a fruitcake. I sleep eat and breath food. At home and at the restaurant. I even have the food network on all day (except Sara-Lee she makes me want to puke) and he thinks I'm nuts wanting to hang around paris and eat sweets all day. Now who is the one that's nuts? Not me!
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Go to Poilane on Rue du Cherche Midi in the 6th and have an apple tart and a pain au chocolate. Not necessarily at the same time!!
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I bought this book before one of my trips to Paris and thought it was delightful. The writing enhances the eating. It is in my suitcase as I write to share on my next trip with my older daughter. She's been on Weight Watchers, but I told her no counting points when we're in Paris. We'll just walk and walk and walk and the calories will fly off into the air. The sugar cookies at Poilane are one of my favorites and terrific to bring back as long as you don't eat them all on the plane.
Bon appetite!!!!! |
Hi Mamaw,
Just returned from a whirlwind college tour in the US with the same daughter so I've been off Fodor's for a while. I do hope to finish my Paris report sometime soon... About the D'Aubusson... In November we paid right around 500USD a night for a superior room on a higher floor (we heard the lower floors you can hear the jazz at night - our room was perfectly quiet). I have mixed emotions about the hotel. The location is perfect for exploring all the basic tourist sights which was great since we were there during the transit strike and so walked just about everywhere. Plus the neighborhood is very charming both day and night. The concierge service was friendly and excellent. The fireplace parlor needs all the furniture cleaned or reupholstered. Service there, and at breakfast, left a lot to be desired (no one around, cold tea, etc). Breakfast came with lots of choices but just a very mediocre croissant - a mini one - disappointing for Paris! The room was large as was the bathroom but furnishings were average and a bit gloomy and dark. Bathroom had very nice Hermes amenities and large towels. The turn down service was wonderful with really comfortable beds and wonderful linens and a helpful weather report for the next morning. So, having not been to Paris for many years, I have nothing to compare this hotel with, and I guess 500USD isn't that much anymore for Paris and certainly not for NYC, so maybe it's a great spot but I can't say I was "wowed" but maybe I'm too picky... I'm heading back to Paris in March (on the 22nd which is my birthday - her's is the 27th) with my other daughter and have chosen the Hotel Luxembourg Parc. I don't think the neighborhood will be quite as convenient, but this daughter is not a big museum buff and gets tired more easily, so I'm hopeful the rooms are a bit more cheerful as I think I'll spend more time at the hotel this time. I will let you know how the two hotels compare IMHO. Where will you stay? gruezi |
Has anyone sampled the pastries at Finkelsztajn?
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I just ordered this book and have every intention of spending at least 2 of our 11 days in Paris doing nothing but pastry crawling around the city!
We're staying in the Marais and we'll definitely be visiting Finkelsztajn's! Mamaw, I can so relate to the food obsession, especially with a trip tp Paris coming up. I've been reading E-gullet and Chowhound every day as well as countless other Paris food blogs and magazines. I've been carefully compiling lists of restaurants, food markets, patissieres and boulangeries that I must visit. I can't wait to read your report on your food experiences, especially your "Paris by pastry" finds! |
plafield and Gru and DJ I am so obsessed with the food and restaurants. I found some webpage the other night and this guy photographed every meal they had. Some of it I have to say didn't do anything for me, but most of the dishes (especially the desserts) were making me soooo hungry.
This is how desperate I am to stay in Paris 4-5 days longer after my tour with teenagers.....I'm considering purchasing a round trip ticket. From Paris to Detroit and not using the otherend of the ticket. You ask how much is that? Well the lowest non stop fare is 769.00. That does not include hotel. NWA won't let me extend my original ticket because it's a group rate and buying a one way ticket is SO out of the question 1350.00 up to 3500.00, hard to believe. I have the Paris by Pastry book right here at the computer. I have been researching every store online. My Honey is gone for 10 days to Cancun, so I will have lots of time to surf the net. When I asked my DH what should I do about staying in Paris, he said " do whatever you want" that was the go ahead, but I can't see myself shelling out that kind of money. But on the other hand, I don't know when I will ever get back to Paris. |
To Gruezi:
We have stayed at D'Aubusson and are currently booked there for six nights this March...I keep wondering if we are missing something- should we be pursuing other accomodations? Such a lot of money for a room in Paris. I have read your Paris travelogue and thoroughly enjoyed it. My husband and I will be taking our 15 year old daughter with us...any suggestions regarding restaurants, sites, etc, would be most appreciated! KathrynP |
There are so many hotels in Paris that are probably less than 500E/$ per night. Have you done a hotel search? I know there are websites by arrondissement - so pick the arr. you want to stay in and check out the hotels in that area.
Have you considered an apartment? My group stayed in an apartment on my last trip to Paris and I will probably never stay in a hotel again. You can pick up great food items at the various outdoor markets and eat at your own table in your own apartment. However, I see that as of February 7th, you only had 33 days, so it might be late to find an apartment. If you want to, however, try www.vrbo.com, choose Paris, and then dive in to whatever arrondissment suits your needs. There are tons of Paris apartment websites to look through, not just the vrbo. Enjoy! joy/luvparee |
Mamaw-
Treat yourself - you know you will be sorry you didn't and we all know you deserve it!! When exactly is your trip? What are the top 3 spots for pastry so far? I'd love to try them, but don't have time to get the book... I head to Paris in March but I'm crazy busy between now and then. Kathryn- Well, it's hard to say about the hotel with nothing to compare it to... so let us know what you think and I will report back on the Luxembourg Parc! I have read every single hotel review (well, a lot of them anyway) here on Fodor's and on Tripadvisor. People really seem to love D'Aubusson so I guess it's just me... I like a bright, sunny place which our room at D'A. was not - this is one of my quirks I guess. My favorite thing was the location. If your daughter likes jazz they have the piano bar there too... With your 15-year-old... Do take her to the Laduree in the 6th and sit upstairs for tea or hot chocolate or a pastry. My daughter loved this spot and we went 3x's. The Eiffel tower at night was her other favorite - walk under and around it and stay for a few of the twinklings...also, there was a huge ferris wheel that looked like fun but my d. doesn't like them and I didn't want to go alone. I think I mentioned in my trip report we sprung for the restaurant on top of the Musee du Quai Branly - Les Ombres - and the view of the Eiffel tower was pretty spectacular. The food was good, but not unbelievable, but again I'm a bit picky...You pay for the view...We didn't really eat any other fancy dinners as my daughter has a small appetite - in fact one night we had sandwiches in our room and read... she's a bit nerdy;) My older daughter is into art and history and really loved the Louvre. Since she is studying art history and the weekend was a birthday gift, I booked a private tour through Paris Muse of the Louvre. She really enjoyed it and so did I. I had never been before, and the tour guide made the museum very approachable and not tiring at all. I'm thinking of repeating this with daughter number 2. www.parismuse.com Older daughter also loved the Rodin museum as did I... not too big and if you have a sunny day a pretty garden as well. The audio is good. I loved the Musee D'Orsay but we did the audio there and it was really overwhelming and hard to just get an overview - my daughter was less enthused but perhaps tired by then. Perhaps head to the Degas room if your daughter likes dance - lovely sculptures of ballerinas. We also enjoyed Sainte Chapelle and walking around the outside of Notre Dame. Also, we loved the Place des Voges - reminded us of the "who will buy?" scene in the movie "Oliver"... I think with daughter number 2, who isn't quite the museum fan, I will try the Marmottan in the 16th. I hear the neighborhood is lovely and it's a smaller museum, with great Monet's, and not so busy. Also, I will definitely do a Seine cruise with her. I am looking for suggestions on which cruise to do and whether day or night is better...Also on the list for her is Centre Pompidou, climbing the Arc de Triomphe, the Pantheon (she's into domes since she studied the Renaissance), and of course the Eiffel tower but I'll skip the fancy restaurant as she basically just eats plain pasta... Also, she has a sweet tooth like her mom so hopefully Mamaw will suggest some pastry stops... There is a tour of the sewers that is supposed to be pretty cool but not my kind of thing... The view from Sacre Coer is really wonderful at sunset...and there are some souvenir shops in that neighborhood. My daughter had limited shopping funds, but had it in her head to buy perfume in Paris. We spent a couple hours at Galleries Lafayette trying a million scents and she found one she loved. Funny, it was an American scent, but she wears it every day and it reminds her of our trip. Plus, it was easy to fit in her luggage. Okay, she also wanted to buy French underwear but I am glad she could not afford to do that - I'm just not ready to go there... Let me know what you plan to do as well as I need ideas for my next trip... my second daughter will be 14 and she is not as energetic nor as keen on museums except in a more overview way. She likes shopping and "cool" things, interesting people watching, and is more mechanically and scientific minded... gruezi |
Mawmaw - Please could you give us the publishers name of "Paris by Pastry" and also the author.
Thanks a whole lot. Tod |
Aduchamp1,
Finkelstajn is fine, but there is a Kosher bakery (can't remember the name) a few doors down (same side of the street) from L'As du Fallafel. It is to die for. They have the best poppy see strudel I have ever tasted. Think traditional Jewish, but made in Paris, so it's LOADED with butter. Thank God I don't live in the Marais. I still have a chance to stay fit. |
There is a paris GTG being planned for the end of March - 23rd or so - if Mamaw or Kathryn or others are there than....
I am hoping to go with my daughter... google Tedgale... gruezi |
OMG, I have been non-stop since My husband left..Here I thought I'd have 10 days to do all this re-search and drooling online about paris and it's pastries, maybe pastry is a understatement. Especially when I've seen some- stop in your tracks-whiplash-wishing for a scratch and sniff screen desserts/pastry on the web.
tod, I have my new "sugar is my drug of choice" bible right here... Paris by Pastry stalking the sweet life on the streets of Paris By; Joyce Slayton Mitchell www.jonesbooks.com some that I have found a must so far.. boulangerie patisserie putman bertrand 145, rue st. dominique au petit tonneau une cuisine de femme 20, rue surcouf closed, never, my kind of place dalloyau 63, rue de grenelle because I like the attitude no reservations, no credit cards, no toilets no coffee no questions chez germaine 30, rue pierre leroux My Husband laid around the beach in cancun all day. I was working like a dog. I was every woman today. And fed everyone but myself today. So now I have a hot bowl of pasta (palmina/meat mixed) a can of pepsi and my friends at fodor's. DH deserves a day on the beach, he got there Mondy and hasn't stopped to relax. He's been helping out at a Children's home there, He and one of the director's ran around cancun tuesday buying 39 pairs of shoes. Next is shopping for food. But I'd trade anything to be there with the Kids. My DH said they followed him around all day yesturday while he worked there. Back to Paris. The airfare has not changed, But I'm a hopeful. And if I can possibly make ther GTG, baby I'll be there with crumbs on my shirt ;)- |
Ooooh, eating one's way through Paris...what a delight. My favorite patisserie is Gerard Mulot in the 6th, an easy walk from the Metro at Odeon... but so many others.... you could easily spend a week eating in the 6th.
Don't know how you feel about chocolate as it is a step removed from pastry, but Patrick Roger is amazing. He has a shop at 108 Blvd. St. Germaine..try a citrus and herb center...remarkable. Finally, another book...David Lebovitz was pastry chef at Chez Panisse in Berkley before moving to Paris. He has a book called Chocolate and another called Ice Cream that explore those two subjects as they relate to Paris. His website will give you much of the content though... Have a little brioche bun for me.. |
A Paris GTG? Oh please, do it after march 23. That's the day I'll be leaving the US and arriving in Paris the next day, 24th. Can we come?????
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Don't starve yourself, sign for a Pastry Cooking Atelier at A World in a Pan and Escoffier at the Ritz!
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To Gruezi:
Thanks a bunch for responding! I think we will stick with D'Aubusson, as we did stay there for one night in Dec 2007. The location is really ideal and as we haven't been there beyond that 48 hour period, the 6th seems like a great spot to venture out from. We have reservations for dinner at Allard, which is right around the corner from the hotel. We ate there in 2007 and loved it- wonderful, classic, old. The picky 15 year old daughter had roast chicken. I did splurge for a reservation at Jules Verne. We will go for a late lunch and hope that it is as memorable as people say it is. Beyond that, I can't really recommend for you- it seems we will be there simultaneously with our daughters and we need to catch up with you, as you've already been with other daughter. We will do the usual- Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, although no plans to travel outside of the city. Our stay is a total of six nights. The only thing that my daughter would probably recommend is that we walked the Seine and she purchased some wonderful french magazines from the 50's and 60's and has them framed in her room- Princess Grace and Audrey Hepburn. I'm wondering if anyone has taken any tour of Paris markets combined with a cooking course? I looked at Patricia Well's sight and the Cordon Bleu, but nothing during the time we will be in the city. Any suggestions? I must add that your travel journal from your trip with other daughter made me smile- how neat is it when you are at a museum and your child suddenly sees a piece and can name it, describe it, tell the story? That happened to us in New York City several years ago. Please write back- it's been great getting excited for Paris with others that are just as passionate about this wonderful city! KathrynP |
Kathryn,
I finally finished my Paris trip report. When are you in Paris again? gruezi |
Paris by Pastry by Joyce Slayton Mitchell
Q. What could be better than a book about pastries in Paris? A. Every other travel book I have ever read. This is by far the most misguided, poorly organized, poorly written, misleading, worst edited travel book I have ever purchased. The cover looks like a stock photo issued by the Vichy government. OK, that can be quaint, but as I thumbed through it, I noticed many pages regarding the top tourist sights in Paris, a slew of recipes, rambling and inapplicable analogies, sleep-inducing asides and memoirs, and recitations of overheard conversations. There are simplistic graphics and poor quality black and white photos including one that appeared to be a colorfully decorated cake. This evoked a fond childhood memory. Do you remember when color TV sets first came out and they ran ads for them on your black and white set for you only to imagine what color images may look like. Oh yeah, there were some reviews of boulangeries and patisseries buried among the muck. Not one of which made me think, man does that sound delicious or I must go there. The reviews are as enticing as a sidewalk cafe next to a bus stop. So, I decided to google the author, to see what she written and the publisher to ascertain if this was a vanity press publication. It is not. Amazon enumerates the following books for the author: (I swear I did not make up these titles): Tractor-Trailer Trucker: A Powerful Truck Book Crashed, Smashed and Mashed: A Trip to Junkyard Heaven Knuckleboom Loaders Load Logs Her credentials clearly qualify her for Paris by Pastry. So I prepare for my trip to Paris, I never thought I would consider Rick Steves' advice regarding eating the discarded food of others at cafeterias as brilliant. |
toupary6 - I think I know what kosher bakery you're talking about in the Marais. I also don't know the name, but is this it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenandgreg/2075945534/ I LOVED their pastries with almond paste! I've never had a pastry as good! I had also tried Finkelstajn and it was good, but not AS delicious! |
Aduchamp, I tend to agree, unfortunately. I bought and read this based on discussions here and it really is poorly written and not terribly informative. I cross-referenced many of the patisseries with Pudlo's Paris (an absolute gem, IMHO) and only 3 that I could find made it.
In concept, this had the potential to be awesome. But the writing is no-so-great (the authors, there are two refer to themselves in the third person the entire time) and they really don't add much in the way of more than the very basics of sightseeing or describing patisseries so that I might actually want to go out of my way to try them. I was thoroughly annoyed reading it and decided it won't be making its way with me and Pudlo's Paris next month. I wish I'd read Amazon first to see its reviews there....sigh. |
I loved the book and the way the authors referred to themselves as Jeannette et Georgette, even though their names are something else (Joyce and ?). The book is not meant to be a sightseeing guide; patisseries are the focus and the authors will mention a nearby sight so you can kill two birds with one stone. I thought the book was light and frivolous and useful, which suits me. The authors provide maps and by-arrondissement lists. We weren't even going to Paris but I xeroxed pages from the index & took them along just in case. The Amazon reviewer took quite a sour view of the book, but I thought it was great fun. I am extremely patisserie-centric, which is probably why I enjoyed the book so much. I wish Michelin reviewed boulangeries and patisseries.
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Well, part of my point was that I didn't find it extremely helpful in making the patisseries worth visiting. Almost everything is rated an 8 or better, which makes them all equal in my eyes. Only a very few said something like "best croissant in Paris", which I might go out of my way for.
I think if you attempt to work an angle like this, and include both patisserie AND sight information, you should do both well, or not at all. Unfortunately for me it didn't deliver on either count. |
chocalaterie Pierre Hermé and Pierre Marcolini are two amazing little shops that are not to be missed.
For patisseries, La Durée remains and institution for macarons and other french delights. For teas, le mariage de freres is the best. i think all of these places can be found in or around the 6th arrondisement. there is also another La Durée on the Champs. bon apetite. www.traveldynamicsgroup.biz |
By the way, the review on Amazon was mine. It was the first time I submitted a review.
The reviews of the patiiseries are useless and lack an understanding and knowkledge of French pastry. Even as a piffle this book fails. I am under the odd assumption, that if you are a book, you should actually know something about the subject matter. |
If you want to learn more about European pastry, you should really check out our new book Pastry in Europe 2009. You'll find more information on our website: http://www.PastryInEurope.com
with the sweetets regards, Joost |
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