SnackTime With Jen— Choux Shopping, November 22nd

Welcome to my newest feature, SnackTime With Jen. This midweek morsel is a small taste of something fun. Topics range from food (of course) to fashion, amusing little discoveries both locally and abroad, and a variety of interesting intel too tempting not to share. So let’s get snacking…

There is a tiny sign out front of Mamiche that says Pains and another one that refers to it as the local bakery. But if you know, you know. But if you don’t, maybe you’d stop to inquire as to why a group of excited folks are lined up outside? On the day we visited, only six were ahead of us. Not bad for an overcast Tuesday morning. We waited patiently and went a little crazy once inside! But can you blame us? The offerings were just too good to not try a few tasty treats.

We got two of the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies that were soft and tender with huge chips throughout and a smattering of salt sprinkled on top. Amazing. We tried the Flûte Salée which were just their version of oversized baked cheese sticks. They were chewy, salty, and divine. We got a small loaf of the Rye & Grains Loaf which was dense and seeded and with a slather of the good French butter we added, we decided that we might want to move right next door to this bakery permanently.

But the absolute best thing we tried by far was the Choux. Known throughout Paris for their big Cream Puffs, Mamiche adds super light vanilla crème into these fluffy dreams and tops the outsides with gigantic crunchy sugar crystals. The filling was just perfect and the dough on the Choux was light and delicious. One was almost enough for two of us to share. But we got two just in case they were extraordinary and sharing was deemed out of the question… which clearly they were and it was.

Mamiche has just a small outpost in the 10th Arrondissment and is not super close to any touristy places or landmarks. But it’s a nice walk on a nice day and the line moves pretty fast. I know Cream Puffs are not a one size fits all sort of universal snack, but in this case, I think their Choux do fit most. Jen’s Little Black Book just loves Choux Shopping and there’s no better place for great pair of Choux than Mamiche.