It's been snowing in Paris a lot lately. It hasn't snowed this much in Paris since the 80's and airports are canceling flights left and right. Luckily for me, I'm already tucked away in California reaping temperatures that are at least 10-15 degrees Celsius higher than I'm used to. However, a couple weeks ago one of my former classmates and I decided to trek around in the Parisian blizzard to do a mini pastry crawl. The shop that impressed me the most was Philippe Conticini's Patisserie des Reves.
Walking into this shop, you feel like you've stepped into a colorful hybrid of a science lab and jewelry shop. A lot of modern patisseries are leaning towards the 'jewelery shop' look; pastries are encased in glass enclosures with spotlights, and when you order, the salesperson scurries to the back to package your goods. PDR is no different. The pastries are protected under lighted glass domes inviting you to peer in and inspect them.
I decided to order Conticini's famous Paris-Brest and a chocolate eclair. The small Paris-Brest is composed of six small choux pastries in a ring, that are filled with praline cream. I really enjoyed how you can tear each ball off, making the dessert bite-sized and easily shared.
The eclair, like most of the desserts in the shop, also had a modern twist. Unlike the eclairs we're used to that are dipped in chocolate fondant, this one was covered with a sheet of chocolate. Though a bit difficult to eat, it was very pretty.
The most impressive part about PDR is their packaging. Living in Paris, sometimes it's difficult to transport pastries home on the metro. It becomes all out war trying to dodge other people's bags or not get crushed in a jam-packed metro car. Usually my pastries take a beating. At PDR, the salespeople carefully place your pastries in a box lined with foam. They then use picks to secure each pastry in place, assuring that they won't budge. Though thoroughly soaked and chilled by the snow, I was pleasantly surprised to find my pastries intact when I got home.
La Patisserie des Reves
93 Rue du Bac
75007 Paris
Tel: 01 42 84 00 82
1 comment:
I loved Conticini's place too.
Also, the napkin they give you with the pastries is real cloth.
A small detail, but a nice touch ;)
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