Paris Journal 2012 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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There’s no shortage of places to find a dessert in Paris. We were invited to dinner across the hall, at Ron and Elisabeth’s place, and we were to bring the dessert. I had made plans to have coffee/tea/happy hour with Barbara, a friend from the 15th, at Les Editeurs on the Carrefour de l’Odéon. So while I was there, Tom went in search of the dessert. He’s the perfect person for that assignment; he’s a dessert connoisseur. He went first toward Gerard Mulot’s fancy patisserie/bakery, but it is not open on Wednesdays. So he walked up to Paul, the fancy bakery on the Carrefour de Buci, and got in line. He studied the beautiful confections in the cases, and when it was his turn, he said “Bonjour. Charlotte aux fraises, s’il vous plait.” The young woman behind the counter carefully placed the beautiful cake into a cube-shaped box, which was then carefully placed in a bag. It was beautiful, much more beautiful than the Charlotte aux fraises shown on the paul.fr web site. It was thin layers of a delicate, light cake interspersed with layers of strawberry whipped cream. Very light, delicious, and elegant. There was no outer crust. Instead, a clear piece of plastic was wrapped around the outside of the cake, so you could see its layers. We peeled the plastic away. Elisabeth expertly cut and served the Charlotte. This was devoured at the end of a delicious meal that Elisabeth prepared. She made a soup that she was afraid was too spicy; it was just right for us. We loved its seasoning. With it was a bit of paté that was a mixture of meat and vegetables. Really good! The bread, a sliced baguette, came from a bakery at the corner of the rue Mezières and the rue de Rennes – a place I’ve been meaning to try. It was perfect. Then came a salad of mixed greens, onto which Elisabeth placed some yummy warm goat cheese. The salad was accompanied by her excellent devilled eggs and a bit of smoked salmon. A great dinner with great friends. Who could ask for more? In the late afternoon, as Barbara and I sat in Les Editeurs engrossed in conversation, it started to pour rain outside. I was a little concerned that Tom would be caught in the downpour, as he was out shopping for dessert. As it turned out, he’d just returned to the apartment as the rain was barely beginning. The rain caused Barbara and me to linger longer at Les Editeurs. I was surprised to see how busy that brasserie was at 4 to 5 in the afternoon. All the terrasse tables were taken, but who wants to be out there when it is only 60 degrees F? I don’t care if they have propane heaters out there. 60 is just too chilly. I went inside to look for Barbara. The place was packed. A server greeted me and I explained that I was looking for a friend whom I was meeting. He said I would probably have to look upstairs. I was surprised that there was an upstairs, and that even more people were up there. I was about to ascend the steps, when I heard Barbara say “Barbara!” behind me. She’d cleverly spotted a corner table where a woman had already paid up and was preparing to leave. Barbara was hovering, ready to snag the table for us. I guess that was the place to be for happy hour in the 6th arrondissement. Its name, of course, alludes to the literary and publishing legacy of that part of Paris. Bookcases are built into the walls, and a huge clock overlooks the main lounge. The chairs, at least on the ground floor, are a heavy vinyl-covered barrel-shaped cocktail lounge variety. Very comfortable. The books are there to be read. Les Editeurs considers itself to be a library, as well as bar/brasserie/café/restaurant. I did see a few people sitting alone, reading. However, I’m not sure how easy it would be to browse the collection when so many people are crowded into the place. The publishers in the area have provided the 5,000 volumes in this library, which supposedly they consider to be like their “cantine,” and where they regularly arrange events to award literary prizes (Le Prix des Editeurs, Le Prix de Europe 1, for example), book signings, exhibitions, etc. “Brunch” has become popular in Paris. Les Editeurs has heartily adopted the concept, and offers brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11AM to 5PM. Brunch is a fixed-price menu at 26 euros per person (tax and tip always included). This includes a hot beverage, an assortment of breads/pastries, freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice, scrambled eggs, salad with marinated salmon, fromage blanc with honey and sesame seeds, and fresh fruit salad. Because we have a kitchen, we don’t need to go out for brunch. I make it myself, and it is much smaller – sometimes just an egg and a bit of ham for each, coming after coffee and juice – and never includes a dessert. Salad or raw veggies we may or may not consume as an afternoon snack. Tom is into toast, which is something I have occasionally. But where I’ll use bakery bread for my toast, Tom often uses that Harry’s American sandwich bread (pain industriel). I stopped buying it since we’ve been shopping at the Marché Saint Germain for most things. So yesterday, well before his dessert-buying errand, he went out to the supermarket by himself to buy some Harry’s bread. Poor guy. He was in withdrawal. As I said before, however, his behavior is not strange. Evidently, lots of French people buy and consume Harry’s American sandwich bread (which you will never find in America, I think). Only in France. |
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Chocolate
shop and factory on the rue de Bac.
Painting
in the Saint Thomas d’Aquin church.
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