Le Bistrot Paul Bert

You'll have to bear with me the next month or so, as I'm a bit disorganized and my blog posts will generally be all over the place spanning from the Bay Area to Paris. Needless to say, I've got some catching up to do and pictures to sort through.

Valentine's Day Treats!

I won't go as far to say that Valentine's day is one of those overrated "not-really-a-holiday" holidays that takes advantage of our consumerist tendencies by appealing to some romanticized notion that hearts, the color red and chocolate represent some half-naked cherub with a bow and arrow. Some people hate it, some people like it, and some just take it as an opportunity to nosh on chocolates and candies. I take it as an opportunity to bake and to feed people.

Larnicol's Kouign Amann

After reading a post by David Lebovitz about a new bakery/confisierie/chocolatier in my neighborhood that specialized in kouign amann, or rather kouignettes, tiny ones, I knew I had to stop by and check it out. Kouign amann is a buttery cake that comes from the Brittany region of France. As we know Brittany and Normandy are known for their awesome salted butter. In fact, in Breton, the word kougin means cake and amann means butter. Yep it's one intense buttery, sugary cake.

Paris Je T'aime

The time has come, I guess. In 24 hours, yours truly will be on a plane back to California. Words can hardly express how I feel. Anxious, depressed, and wistfulness for a chapter of my life that feels like it's ending. I really enjoyed the year and a half I had in Paris. It was a life changing experience. It helped me lick my wounds, discover a new language and culture (and cusine!), as well as build life-long friendships that I hope to keep even though now I'll be thousands of miles away.