Paris and the never ending Pastry Quest

Another sunny day in Paris.

We started our search for pastry at a leisurely pace this morning -- and in fact headed off to the 6th arr. to have lunch at "Cuisine de Bar," which is apparently operated by the folks who also run the nearby Poilane bakery. The reason for the hike for lunch? They are known for their tartines, an open-faced sandwich that is usually finished off under a broiler with cheese. It was worth the hike believe me -- and Susie had a scumptious fueillete-abricot for dessert.


After lunch we strolled a bit in the 6th before heading to the metro and out to the 10th arr. for another pastry shop suggested by Clotilde, "Du Pain des Idees." Located at 34 rue Yves Toudic, Clotdile describes this as a "beautiful 1889 bakery," and indeed the interior is worth the drive, as we say. The meticulous care taken in preserving this fantastic interior warrants taking a little time out of your schedule and stopping by. Plus, you can pick up some incredibly delicious sweets for your trouble. We certainly did.

From the bakery it's just a short walk to the Canal Mt. Martin and then a stroll down toward Richard-Lenoir and our apartment.



After a short break at home, we went out late in the afternoon and walked up to Pere Lachaise. Susie sat on one of the benches in front of the chapel with a nice view of the city, and read and made notes -- she's come up with some wonderful ideas for the restaurant's dessert menu to be sure.

I, of course, strolled around the cemetery taking photos.





At closing we headed for the entrance, or rather exit I suppose and strolled home. Just short of our apartment we stopped at the Square Maurice Gardette and watched the families, the people , the entire neighborhood it seemed, outside in this pleasant little bit of green, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine and the company of their neighbors.

We ate at home that evening, finishing up the remainder of the food in the house. A big mistake as it turned out since I thought I would be very French and fix a concoction of potatoes and cheese, roughly mashed together. What sounded like a good idea became something rather less than that.

Many of you might be familiar with the bags of powdered concrete, you know the kind where you just add water and voila! you have a rock-hard substance fit to build a house on? Well you have some idea of what I created in the kitchen. Apparently the cheese I used (Camembert) and the potatoes together in just the right proportions form a concrete-like material that can easily shut your system down. Anyway, it tasted pretty good.