Je suis ici pour manger (Paris, part 2)

The last time I left France, I seriously considered smuggling a box of half a dozen éclairs on the plane back to New York. You see, in France a chocolate éclair has chocolate on the inside and on the top (once again, we're doing it wrong). I spent months dreaming of those éclairs that I left behind, along with the ridiculously cheap, crusty baguettes, the crepes, the pain au chocolate, the breaded goat cheese patties and all the other delicacies that had contributed to the extra twelve pounds that I did bring home with me. I contemplated flying over on a weekend simply to stuff my suitcase with foods. I attempted to make croissants with phyllo dough (don't). When I finally did step back on French soil, I did not waste my time.

Banane nutella, of course.

Nothing pulls me off a crowded sidewalk faster than a well-dressed patisserie window.

The yogurt selection's not too bad, either.

Monoprix, midnight. I bought pudding.

Having my own kitchen, I didn't feel pressured to eat out a lot, but I did make sure to bring home a minimum of two pastries a day to ward off any late-night cravings. Sitting down for a full meal was reserved for special visits that I'd scouted out in advance. I figured out that showing up at a popular restaurant two minutes before they officially opened earned me a table without the hassle of reservations (yay!) and a leisurely lunch of Breton crêpes and cidre at Breizh Café.

Best of all, I found that my favorite vegetarian restaurant was still alive and kicking.

 

Definitely out-of-the-way, but the menu is still one of the best deals in town. And their desserts still balance out all that healthy stuff.

In addition to looking up old favorites, I took advantage of the internet (how did I ever find stuff outside of my Let's Go two decades ago?) to seek out the most recommended source of chocolate in town and A l'Etoile d'Or didn't disappoint. You really can spend an hour in there just pointing and nodding and willingly handing over your credit card to settle your many-Euro debt. Definitely worth it, even if I no longer knew what I had bought by the time I got home. It was all good.

Back home, I'm no longer obsessed with finding the right éclair. I've excepted that part of what makes them special, aside from the chocolate in the correct places, is enjoying them in their natural habitat. Plus, it just feels more natural to ask for them in French (and it doesn't hurt that Cured makes a damned fine baguette and I think I saw pain au chocolate at Lucky's Bakehouse on the way home tonight). Enjoy what you find where you find it.