Never one to gatekeep a good idea, travel tip, beauty ritual, swoon worthy item or delectable dessert, I had a wonderfully nourishing experience witnessing people close to me have a momentary taste of heaven (at my suggestion of course) that I hope they remember forever because I know I certainly will.
I was so fortunate to spend an entire day with my dear friend and mentor Nick who popped in on the train from the UK to visit me in Paris. With his permission I planned a hearty food tour at various spots I love and we kicked off our day with breakfast at the neighborhoody Café Singuliers in the 11th.
This cozy coffee nook has a fun egg forward menu and we dove in with their signature Oeufs en Cocotte. The warm bowls arrived with jammy eggs atop warm goat cheese and spices with pickled onions and parsley. We were thrilled to swirl our toasty focaccia sticks around the mixture. Yum. After great conversation and a lengthy catch up, we bagged buttery scones and crispy chocolate chip cookies to go and headed to our next stop.
A little stroll later we arrived at Blé Sucré, known for their delicate quiche and insanely good Kouign amann. KAs as they are nicknamed are palm sized layered pastries from Brittany that are super buttery and covered completely in a caramelized sugar glaze. They really don’t look all that special, but they are truly memorable with a super loud crunch. So I treated Nick to a KA and we sat outside at a little table where I begged him to take just one bite. Still full from our savory breakfast he gave in and tasted this circular sugarbomb.
His reaction was hilarious. His eyes widened and his stared at me with total disbelief. “MMMMM!” was the only sound he could manage. Followed by, “Jen! Mmmmmm!” Another bite later and the magic had not worn off. He was completely astonished. And I couldn’t stop laughing! He looked at the pasty and then back at me. More mmmms followed. Yep, another loyal follower was born. In his defense, they are simply delicious. And I couldn’t get over his over the top reaction either. How fortunate I was to be there to watch him enjoy that!
We hit up a great new cookie store actually imported from London named Crème and the well known candy shop À La Mère de Famille where we both stocked up on our faves.
We swung by Pain de Mie Carré to admire the Japanese Milk Bread but didn’t partake this time. We grabbed a quick coffee for him and a literal bowl of hot chocolate for me as we visited with some friends of mine who were in town for a few days.
We walked around the Eataly market and leisurely strolled around Paris admiring the shops, The Marais, crowds, architecture, and took in the vibe of the city.
We finished hours later with a quick visit to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France – Richelieu for some awe inspiring pictures followed by a light lunch at Daroco Trattoria where we indulged in a small pizza and pasta combo while the conversation flowed freely. We also ordered a to die for chocolate mousse with chopped nuts and drizzled a bit of olive oil over the top and a pinch of sea salt. It was so amazing that I’ll never eat chocolate mousse any other way!!
Spending the day with Nick was amazing. I so enjoy his company, point of view, stories, ideas, and energy. Even after hours and hours of talking non-stop, I could have done the whole thing again with Nick the next day incorporating new restaurants and shops and a hundred more topics to pour over, analyze and debate! But the highlight of the day for me was the utter thrill he experienced biting into that decadent treat and rejoicing with reckless abandon over the Kouign amann.
Life can be so delicious for an observer like me who finds real joy in the excitement and delight of others. I’m forever grateful for that special time with Nick and being able to witness his life changing moment of yum!
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