The Giant Eclair vs The Dreamy Patisserie

I love Paris.  I love the french language, the cuisine, the history, and the architecture. I love that you can bring dogs into stores.  I love that those stores sell some of the most amazing clothes for men, women and children in the world. I even love the Parisian "attitude" (bring it!),  the Metro, and that nearly every day of the year, there is some type of protest or strike going on somewhere in the city. I love french wine, french cheese, and french chocolate (I might like Belgian chocolate more).  I love all of those fancy pastries, and OMG... le pain.

At home, back in The States, I'm pretty healthy.  I exercise regularly, and I eat fairly well.  When I go to Paris, it all goes to hell in a hand-basket.  Or should I say heaven?


Par example, I once ordered an "Giant Eclair" at L'Avenue on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. Seeing as it was Paris, and that the restaurant mainly catered to french supermodels and other gorgeous people in the fashion industry (duh, that's why WE were there, RIGHT?), I figured "giant" wouldn't be any bigger than my middle finger.  Imagine my complete and utter shock when this bad boy arrived at our table:

It looked good in so many bad ways...

After our laughter quieted down and eyes went back into their sockets, I took a mental note that even in Paris, when they say "giant" they mean it...  The men sitting next to us were obviously impressed and ordered one as well, and we all had a good laugh.


And now for something completely different (thank you Mr. Cleese)...

A couple of years ago on business trip (retail espionage) to Paris, my Design Director, Susan (who has a good nose for quality chocolate), pointed out a new patisserie on Rue du Bac, nestled near the Bon Marche in the St. Germain Quarter, appropriately named "La Patisserie des Reves".   It did look amazing, and although I had just had a croissant an hour earlier, I knew I wouldn't walk out of there empty handed...

La Patisserie des Reves, 93 Rue du Bac,  Paris.

Serve yourself section...

temperature controlled domes to preserve quality

Susan went straight for what she called the "Golden Hoho"... a chocolate eclair wrapped in a band of gold dusted chocolate... Not being one to copy, I went for the chausson aux pommes (seemed healthier to me...ha, ha).  It was delish, but needless to say, on our subsequent visit, I too was toting a lovely pink box containing a delicately packaged "Golden Hoho".

Chocolate or Coffee Eclair...aka "The Golden Hoho"

Something for everybody...

La Patisserie des Reves is a beautiful, modern example of taking a traditional Parisian dessert shop to the next level...The items are kept under temperature controlled domes so they'll look perfect all day long, however when you order, it's not a "serve yourself" situation...You pay first (these aren't cheap - about 5 euros/7 dollars each), and then they bring out your treat, placed in a pink box and stabilized by FOUR toothpicks, so it doesn't move around... It is truly an experience!  

And the taste does not disappoint either.  In fact, I actually felt twinkles in my toes when I finally indulged in it later that evening...alone in my hotel room.  There may have been some audible noises...

It goes without saying, that I'd recommend you stop in if you get the chance...

www.lapatisseriedesreves.com