12 Hours in Paris – A Pastry, Bread, Chocolate, Food and Art Layover Visit
We were to arrive late night in Paris and fly out 36 hours later. What are 2 French food-starved food lovers to do? Maximize!
We spent the whole day shopping in clothing and food stores, interspersed with eating.
In fact,
Plan A was to visit Du Pain et des Idées, which came highly recommended. So blinded were we by the beautiful streets of Paris that we never even referred to our plan. Luckily copius eating fell into place on its own.
View this post on InstagramLe Grande Epicerie Paris might be the most insanely jam-packed, global food shop you’ve ever been to. It was simply overwhelming…and the perfect place to shop for all your favorite European foods and food from around the world in one place.
Poilane Bakery is a must stop. They have several locations in Paris. True fact: We actually popped into a bakery we happened to walk by upon exiting the subway and immediately inhaled several kouign amman – the utterly butterly, utterly sugary, utterly caramelly layed pastry originated in Brittany, France (or Bretagne to you Francophiles). Here’s a kouign amman recipe from David Lebovitz in case you don’t manage to score some ready-made in Paris.
The shop we went to, Maison Georges Larnicol, has a wide variety of flavors. We kept it simple with the pistachio and the chocolate. For purposes of your gorging, you’ll be happy to know there are several locations of Maison Georges Larnicol. the only flaw was the pastry wasn’t heated. On the bright side, the butter will melt in your mouth.
At Monoprix we not only loaded up on more aged, firmer cheeses that we could confidently bring home without refrigeration (that is, take the risk of making ourselves sick) but also loaded up on favorites like St. Agur blue cheese and terrines which we later ate in our room for dinner along with a bottle of French apple cider.
Protip: If you’ve just got one day in Paris: Enjoy a big prix fixe lunch. Picnic for dinner on your favorite French delicacies. Fois gras, mais oui!
I bought about 5 boxes of Orangettes, a chocolate covered orange peel made by Chevaliers D’Argouges Chocolatier.
Because I had only a carry on and because I am incredibly resourceful when it comes to maximizing the amount of chocolate I can bring back from Europe I jettisoned the boxes and tucked the sealed pouches throughout my luggage and handbag.
For one lunch in Paris, La Petite Chaise — which is said to be Paris’ oldest restaurant — was the perfect choice.
While you might accuse me of being the quintessential tourist, I prefer classicist. Our meal was the perfect Parisian prix fixe. A little venison. A few escargot (amply swimming in garlic butter). And a creme brulee. Right out of the French cuisine playbook. They have little handouts on the history of the restaurant, which could have been the speakeasy so delightfully depicted in the movie Midnight in Paris, with all the storied characters who are said to have hung out there. The staff were incredibly kind, the ambiance cozy. What more could we ask for? We took the metro back to our airport hotel, turned on a flick, popped open a bottle and laid out a spread of cheese, bread, apples, and other delights. Just as we had done on our college trip to Paris, oh, a few years or decades or so ago. It turns out you can go to chez nous again.
Susie Wyshak
Susie Wyshak helps people live the Epicuring life by writing about culinary travels and telling stories of the people behind the food, farms, coffee, and libations that we love. As a real estate agent in California, Susie loves helping people and food businesses make their real estate goals happen, locally and worldwide. She wrote Good Food, Great Business, an insider guide to starting a specialty food business. Get in touch at hi@agentsusie.com DRE #02144226
