The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City (30 page)

It’s the bakeries with their buttery croissants served oven-fresh each
morning, the bountiful outdoor markets where I forage for my daily fare, the exquisite chocolate shops that still, after all these years, never stop astounding me every time I visit one, and, of course, the quirky people that really make Paris such a special place.

And I now can count myself as one of them.

BROWNIES A LA CONFITURE DE LAIT
DULCE DE LECHE BROWNIES
MAKES 12 SERVINGS

These opened a lot of doors for me in Paris. As soon as I started handing out these chocolaty squares with a swirl of
confiture de lait
, any problems I had seemed to vanish as quickly as the brownies.

I can’t guarantee they’ll do the same for you, but if you’re coming to Paris, in addition to a guidebook, a sturdy (but chic) pair of walking shoes, and a good sense of humor, you could pack a few of these in your bag: they just might make things a little sweeter around here for you, too.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
   

2. Generously grease an 8-inch (20-cm) square pan and line the bottom with a square of parchment or wax paper.
   

3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate and stir constantly over very low heat until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.
   

4. Add the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, and flour. Mix in the nuts, if using.
   

5. Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Drop one-third of the
   confiture de lait
   in prune-sized dollops, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Spread the remaining brownie batter over the top, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining
   confiture de lait
   over the batter. Use a knife to swirl the
   confiture
   ever so slightly. (If you overdo it, the whole thing will bake into a bubbly mess. Just drag a knife once or twice through the batter and leave it at that.)
   

6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the center feels just slightly firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Cut the brownies and wrap individually, then distribute freely.
   

STORAGE:
These brownies actually become better the second day, and will keep well for up to three days.

NOTE:
Confiture de lait
is also known as
dulce de leche
and
cajeta
(which is sometimes made with goat milk, which I like, but may not be to everyone’s taste). Because it has become pretty popular over the last few years, you can generally find jars in well-stocked supermarkets and ethnic markets, especially those that specialize in Latin American products.

U.S. sources for French ingredients and other foodstuffs mentioned.

Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
Many fine food products and
cookware, available online. Search
under Gourmet Foods.

Artisan Sweets
www.artisansweets.com
925-932-8300
Prunes from Gascony, including
delectable
pruneaux fourrés
d’Agen:
prunes stuffed with prune
puree!

Bellwether Farms
www.bellwetherfarms.com
888-527-8606
Fromage blanc and crème fraîche,
made in the French style.

Bob’s Red Mill
www.bobsredmill.com
800-349-2173
Chickpea flour, buckwheat, stone-
ground cornmeal, and other grains.

Chef Shop
www.chefshop.com
800-596-0885
French salt, chocolates, honey,
anchovies, Moroccan argan oil,
and Italian chickpea flour for
socca.

Chocosphere
www.chocosphere.com
877-992-4626
A well-chosen selection of fine
French chocolates, available in
tablets or in bulk.

Cowgirl Creamery
www.cowgirlcreamery.com
866-433-7834
American-made fromage blanc,
crème fraîche, and Chèvre, as well
as hand-crafted cheeses. The exclusive
importer for Jean D’Alos
cheeses from Bordeaux.

Gourmet Foodstore
www.gourmetfoodstore.com
877-591-8008
An impressive variety of French
butters.

Kendall Farms
www.kendallfarmscremefraiche
.com
805-466-7252
American-made crème fraîche.

King Arthur Flour
www.kingarthurflour.com
800-827-6836
Pearl sugar for chouquettes as well
as flours, grains, and baking molds
and equipment.

Made in France/Village Imports
www.levillage.com
888-873-7194
French fromage blanc, chocolate,
and many condiments. San Francisco
–area residents should inquire
about open-warehouse sale days.

Rancho Gordo
www.ranchogordo.com
707-259-1935
Indigenous and heirloom varietals
of dried beans.

Salt Traders
www.salttraders.com
800-641-SALT
Fleur de sel and other French salts.

Saltworks
www.saltworks.us
800-353-7258
Fleur de sel and other French salts.

St. George Spirits
www.stgeorgespirits.com
510-769-1601
American-made absinthe, eau-devie,
and other spirits.

Vermont Butter and Cheese
www.butterandcheese.com
800-884-6287
French-style cultured butter,
chèvre, and crème fraîche.

Zingerman’s
www.zingermans.com
888-636-8162
Provençal olive oils, vinegars, anchovies,
salts, and condiments.

Here are some of my favorite addresses in Paris for chocolate and other edibles mentioned in the book. I’ve also included a few extras that I couldn’t resist sharing.

Please note that shops in Paris have hours that vary or may be closed one or two days of the week. It’s best to verify opening and closing times before venturing out.

If a shop has multiple addresses, a Web site may be given rather than all the addresses.

And last, a warning about French Web sites: If you’re easily startled, you may want to switch off the speakers on your computer before visiting them. Some open with a fanfare of musical accompaniment. Consider yourself warned.

Angelina
226, rue de Rivoli
01 42 60 82 00
Rich, thick hot chocolate served in a
classy pastry salon.

L’Atelier du Chocolat de Bayonne
www.atelierduchocolat.fr
89, rue de Rennes
01 53 63 15 23
Rustic chocolate from the Basque region
and piment d’Espelette (smoked
chile powder).

L’Atlas
12, boulevard Saint-Germain
01 44 07 23 66
Couscous and Moroccan cuisine
served up in traditional surroundings.

Bazin
85 bis, rue de Charenton
01 43 07 75 21
Excellent bakery and pastry shop.
Gorgeous exterior, which is perfectly
matched by the lovely pastries and
staff inside.

BHV
www.bhv.fr
14, rue du Temple
01 42 74 90 00
The Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville is one of
Paris’s grandest department stores,
where you can find (almost) whatever
it is you’re looking for. Great kitchenware
and hardware departments.

biocoop
www.biocoop.fr
33, boulevard Voltaire
01 48 05 02 09
Well-stocked natural-foods store with
several locations in Paris. I appreciate
the American-style self-service bins.

Blé Sucré
7, rue Antoine Vollon
01 43 40 77 73
Lovely pastries, breads, and Paris’s
best lemon-glazed madeleines, tucked
away in a charming square.

Boulangerie au 140
www.au140.com
140, rue de Belleville
01 46 36 92 47
Wood-fired breads and viennoiserie.
Visit their pastry shop, Pâtisserie de
l’Église, just around the corner on rue
du Jourdain.

Brûlerie Jourdain
140, rue de Belleville
01 47 97 92 77
Coffee roasting done right on the
premises.

Café de Flore
www.cafe-de-flore.com
172, boulevard Saint-Germain
01 45 48 55 26
The famous Left Bank café for the
well-heeled, featuring thick hot chocolate.
Great for people watching, but be
prepared to pay for the privilege.

Café Le Moderne
10, rue Saint-Antoine
01 73 71 20 76
Simple café serving everyday fare,
near the Bastille.

Cantada II
www.cantada.net
13, rue Moret
01 48 05 96 89
Sip absinthe among les goths of Paris.
Black lipstick is
obligatoire!

Aux Caves d’Aligre
3, Place d’Aligre
01 43 43 34 26
A favorite wine cave, in the marché
d’Aligre. Helpful owner speaks excellent
English.

Chez Omar
47, rue de Bretagne
01 42 72 36 26
Hip restaurant serving couscous, Moroccan
cuisine, and steak frites. Always
a scene, but no reservations, so you’ll
have to wait. (It’s a good chance to
practice your line-jumping skills.)

Da Rosa
www.restaurant-da-rosa.com
62, rue de Seine
01 45 21 41 30
Chocolate-covered spiced almonds,
Christine Ferber jams, Rollinger
caramels, Spanish hams, olive oils, and
other specialties. Wonderful spot for a
light lunch or dinner.

Debauve & Gallais
www.debauve-et-gallais.com
30, rue des Saints-Pères
01 45 48 54 67
One of Paris’s oldest, most historic,
and most expensive chocolate shops.

Le Dôme
108, boulevard du Montparnasse
01 43 35 34 82
This former literary hot spot is now an
upscale restaurant specializing in
seafood and oversized trays of fruits de
mer, heaped with oysters and chilled
shellfish. A Parisian classic.

E. Dehillerin
www.e-dehillerin.fr
18, rue Coquillière
01 42 36 53 13
Classic shop in Les Halles specializing
in copper cookware and other items.
Great cookware–but hang on to your
credit card!

Eric Kayser Bakery
www.maison-kayser.com
8, rue Monge
01 44 07 01 42
Financiers, pastries, and exceptional
bread. Reliably excellent. An ever-
expanding list of locations across Paris
ensures that you’re never really far
from good bread.

A l’Etoile d’Or
30, rue Fontaine
01 48 74 59 55
Paris’s most unusual chocolate and
candy shop. Find Le Roux salted butter
caramels and Bernachon chocolate
among Madame Acabo’s treasure
trove of sweets.

Fromagerie 31
64, rue de Seine
01 43 26 50 31
Compact and friendly cheese shop
with a few tables for cheese tasting.
Well located for visitors staying on the
Left Bank. And they’ll happily
vacuum-seal your cheese to take
home.

G. Detou
58, rue Tiquetonne
01 42 36 54 67
Chocolate, nuts, pearl sugar, and tons
of other products for professionals and
serious cooks, with a special emphasis
on baking ingredients.

Goumanyat
www.goumanyat.com
3, rue Charles-François Dupuis
01 44 78 96 74
Specialist in saffron as well as exotic
spices, nut oils, and culinary curiosities.
Also sells ingredients for molecular
gastronomes. Fine wines line the
walls of the cave downstairs.

Graineterie du Marché
8, place d’Aligre
01 43 43 22 64
A great place to stock up on grains, including
lentilles du Puy, nut oils, and
old-fashioned French candies. A good
source for seeds and specialty foods,
with an empasis on organic.

Le Grand Colbert
www.legrandcolbert.fr
2–4, rue Vivienne
01 42 86 87 88
A Belle Époque traditional Parisian
bistro, which starred in the film Something’s
Gotta Give.

La Grande Epicerie
www.lagrandeepicerie.fr
38, rue de Sèvres
01 44 39 81 00
Paris’s grand department store of
food, adjacent to the Bon Marché.
The chocolate aisle is a great place to
stock up on tablets from across
France.

Le Grand Véfour
www.grand-vefour.com
17, rue de Beaujolais
01 42 96 56 27
Elegant dining in one of Paris’s most
historic and gorgeous dining rooms.
The fixed-price lunch, a relative bargain,
is an affordable way to experience
the grand luxe and cuisine of Guy
Martin.

Hôtel Royal Fromentin
www.hotelroyalfromentin.com
11, rue Fromentin
01 48 74 85 93
Sip absinthe in the same quartier
where artists imbibed before it was
banned. Now it’s back!

Huilerie J. Leblanc
www.huile-leblanc.com
6, rue Jacob
01 46 34 61 55
Argan, hazelnut oil, and other fine nut
oils and mustards. Ask for a sniff of
each; the aromas will knock your
socks off.

Jean-Charles Rochoux
www.jcrochoux.fr
16, rue d’Assas
01 42 84 29 45
One of Paris’s masters of chocolates,
well known for his dazzling sculptures.
Don’t miss the tablets of chocolate
embedded with caramelized hazelnuts
and his gianduja (chocolate/hazelnut)
almonds.

Ladurée
www.laduree.fr
16, rue Royale
01 42 60 16 57
World-famous macarons, as well as exceptional
morning pastries. The kugelhopf
is my favorite of their breakfast
treats.

Laurent Dubois
47ter, boulevard Saint-German
01 43 54 50 93
Superb cheese merchant; knowledgeable,
well located, and will vacuum
seal for travel.

Au Levain du Marais
28, boulevard Beaumarchais
01 48 05 17 14
So-so baguettes, but fantastic croissants.
Arrive early, while they’re still
warm.

La Maison du Chocolat
www.lamaisonduchocolat.com
52, rue François 1er
01 47 23 38 25
The classic Parisian chocolates, available
in several boutiques around Paris.
Each one is exquisite perfection.

A La Mère de Famille
www.lameredefamille.com
35, rue du Faubourg Montmartre
01 47 70 83 69
Confections, chocolates, and specialties
from across France, including exceptional
pain d’épices and a
surprisingly good glace au chocolat,
which rivals Berthillon.

Michel Chaudun
149, rue de l’Université
01 47 53 74 40
Extraordinary chocolates and sculptures
from master chocolatier Michel
Chaudun. Be sure to try his pavés
(chocolate squares); each is a bite of
pure chocolate bliss.

Moisan: Le Pain au Naturel
www.moisan.fr
5, place d’Aligre
01 43 45 46 60
Hearth breads made with organic
flour and rustic, if underbaked, pastries.
Multiple locations in Paris.

MORA
www.mora.fr
13, rue Montmartre
01 45 08 19 24
Madeleine molds and pastry supplies;
a destination for bakers from around
the world.

Pain de Sucre
14, rue Rambuteau
01 45 74 68 92
Homemade marshmallows galore,
plus gorgeous pastries and breads by
pastry chef Didier Mathray.

Au Pain Saint-Gilles
3 bis, rue Saint-Gilles
01 42 77 57 88
One of my daily breads, the seeded
baguette, is known as la tradigraine.

Paris Kléber Santé
www.parisklebersante.fr
21, boulevard Saint-Martin
01 42 72 72 11
The latest and greatest in orthopedic
hosiery.

Pascal Bellevaire
www.pascalbellevaire.com
77, rue Saint-Antoine
01 42 78 48 78
A well-chosen selection of cheeses,
but I come for the heavenly salted
butter.

Pâtisserie Viennoise
8, rue de l’Ecole de Médecine
01 43 26 60 48
My favorite hot chocolate in Paris,
which you can sip while eating classic
Viennese pastries and breads.

Patrick Roger
www.patrickroger.com
108, boulevard Saint-Germain
01 43 29 38 42
Contemporary chocolates featuring
traditional ganaches as well as modern
flavors.

Aux Péchés Normands
9, rue du Faubourg du Temple
01 42 08 47 73
Chocolate chip
chouquettes
and other
French bakery fare.

Ph. Langlet
Place d’Aligre
(Covered marché Beauvau)
01 43 45 35 09
Well-stocked
fromagerie.
The mountain
cheeses are particularly excellent.

Au Pied de Cochon
www.pieddecochon.com
6, rue Coquillière
01 40 13 77 00
Well-preserved Les Halles restaurant,
still open 24/7. Famous for their
breaded pig’s feet and French onion
soup.

Pierre Hermé
www.pierreherme.com
72, rue Bonaparte
01 43 54 47 77
Flavored macarons and other world-
famous pastries in a jewel-box setting,
with matching prices. His second location,
on the rue Vaugirard, is much
less hectic and more conducive to
browsing.

Pierre Marcolini
www.pierremarcolini-na.com
89, rue de Seine
01 44 07 39 07
Fine Belgian chocolates and delectable
chocolate-covered marshmallows.

Poilâne
www.poilane.fr
8, rue du Cherche-Midi
01 45 48 48 56
Home of perhaps the most famous
bread in the world, pain Poilâne, as
well as other outstanding breads. I’m
partial to the rye with currants and the
deceptively simple, but scrumptious,
apple tartlets.

Sabah
140, rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine
and at the nearby marché d’Aligre
01 40 01 01 04
Spices, dried fruits and nuts, preserved
lemons, olives, and many Arabic specialties.

Sadaharu Aoki
www.sadaharuaoki.fr
35, rue de Vaugirard
01 45 44 48 90
Exquisite Japanese-inspired French
pastries and macarons. Some consider
his the best puff pastry in Paris.

Sur les Quais
Place d’Aligre
(Covered Marché Beauvau)
01 43 43 21 90
Argan and olive oils, green olive tapenade,
and very special foodstuffs from
France, Spain, and Italy.

Vandermeersch
278, avenue Daumesnil
01 43 47 21 66
Delectable kugelhopf and other
Alsatian-inspired pastries. Worth the
trip, although the kugelhopf is available
only on weekends.

I continually list favorite places in Paris on my Web site as I discover them. Follow along at
www.davidlebovitz.com
.