Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Berthillon Glacier

Berthillon Caramel, original watercolor, 5.5" x 7.5"
Je regrette beaucoup...at Berthillon

I finally made it back to Berthillon for their famous Caramel ice cream on a day when they were open (never go on Monday or Tuesday) on 29 rue saint Louis en l'île.
I thought I'd do it up right and sit in their salon de the. Hmmm...this lavender menu is all but unreadable.
I certainly didn't notice there was caramel ice cream and then caramel ice cream with beurre sel :( Naturally I ordered the wrong one. I saw the words "caramel" and pounced. When I mentioned my disappointment to the waitperson...well this is France after all.
"You should have read the menu more carefully, bla bla bla.." What I should have done was gone for the straight up ice cream cone (the size of a small golf ball by the way) and read this menu before jumping in. Live and learn from my lessons.Every place in Paris has macarons bien sur...probably hair salons and taxis by now. Now this is what I should have ordered even if they would have had to call an ambulance when I went into a sugar coma...
BONNE JOURNEE!

27 comments:

  1. The chocolat chaud, ice cream and tuille all look very enticing. How I would love to be in Paris this morning!!

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  2. LOL--it would have probably been worth it, even if you did wind up a l'hopital. Love that watercolor, Carol! The cool colors are irresistible and the dabs of caramel color are sublime.

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  3. Anonymous10:33 AM

    I love Berthillon! Thank you for sharing your very Parisian experience there with us. It would be so much fun to be there together today - I'll have the Vanille, s'il vous plait!

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  4. The last three days I spent in Paris I had a fierce soar throat--all I ate was Berthillion Ice cream and sorbet. It was not so bad to have strep throat in Paris.

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  5. Anonymous11:06 AM

    YUM YUM YUM!!!
    Reminds me of dessert at Tiffany's!!!!
    LOVE IT!

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  6. Anonymous11:09 AM

    That tart tatin looks really decadent. It's just glistening with sinfulness that must be had. ;))

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  7. Anonymous11:29 AM

    When l saw the last picture today Carol l died and went to heaven.
    YUM!

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  8. Anonymous11:31 AM

    For those of us who are not quite sure what you mean, what exactly is the flavor of caramel ice cream with beurre sel (salted butter)?

    Lisa

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  9. Anonymous11:48 AM

    Hi Carol,

    I'm enjoying Paris Breakfasts so much -- one of the best on the 'Net, I think.
    I'll think of you as I stroll the quais and enjoy the flower markets andcafes. We'll be staying right off the rue de Buci, the food street of my
    dreams!

    Thanks for all the happy glimpses you give me into ma chere Paris.
    Cheers,

    Alice

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  10. For the full scoop on Le caramel au Beurre Salé check out David Lebovitz.
    http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/04/salted_butter_c.html

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  11. Anonymous12:30 PM

    My favorite Berthillon flavor is cassis!!!!!!!

    (Although I would love to try the caramel.)

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  12. whem my friend and i were in Paris in March/April, i was dying to go to Berthillon... so on the day we were on isle st. louis of course the parlor de the was closed! however, it turns out there was a sort of window/stand at another cafe. i had a cone with deep, deep dark chocolate, and amaretto. it was to die for! i've never had better ice cream and so now paris has ruined ice cream for me as well as strawberries and croissant and bagette! but what a way to be ruined.

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  13. Anonymous4:08 PM

    Yours is a hard job Paris Breakfast.....but somebody's gotta do it! Your painting turned out great considering the mishap!
    Anyway life is always sweet here in your world!

    Hope all is well!
    xo
    Constance

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  14. Bummer about the ice cream. Guess they arent that caring (customer service and all) if you come back or not. It all looks lovely to me tho.

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  15. Anonymous9:13 PM

    I WILL BE IN PARIS THIS WEEKEND... AND HAVE TO SAY THAT i ALWAYS ENJOY YOUR MISSIVES/BLOG.

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  16. Anonymous9:15 PM

    Aha! I thought I detected a distinct LACK of sel in that exquisite painting of Bertillion Caramel! A big merci fro saving me from the same mistake!
    As for the Tarte Tatin, did your mother never tell you it's impossible to go into a sugar coma when a dessert is equally loaded with saturated fat? You see, all that restraint for naught! Please promise you will learn from that mistake and never pass up a Tarte Tatin again. No need to thank me. Just mention me in your will.

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  17. Ah so delicious looking...
    You've inspired me to start my own blog, you look like you have a lot of fun with it (and its an excuse to make art)
    Thank you!

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  18. Macs in taxis...you drive I bake :)
    Salted caramle ice cream and a tuile...what is it with us and those tuiles?!!

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  19. Carol!! Thank you so much for your link to Tartelette's excellent macaron recipe. If you like, check my Flickr pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pieplate/2827326238/in/set-692774/ and see how they came out.

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  20. woow 42 euros for an apple pie o_O

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  21. Jeanette-interesting bit of info, but if you took out the scales and weighed up the proportion of fat to sugar in your basic tarte tatin, the sugar wins the race.
    3 oz. Butter - 90 g.
    vs.
    2/3 cup Granulated Sugar - 130 g.
    Plus the apple sugar..
    http://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml
    http://www.famousfrenchdesserts.com/tarte-tatin-recipes.html

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  22. lol. Recently I went into a cafe with the most amazing pastry and cakes. I stood there staring at their goods trying desperately to make a decision. I wanted an eclair...but then the cheesecake looked so good...but the brownie was calling my name...but would you look at the scrumptious looking tarts! >.<

    I ended up ordering a capuccino smoothie...and of course wished I had ordered something else! :-(

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  23. I live a 5 minute walk from Bertillon and in the summer evenings, its a losing battle to resist popping over for a little treat. HOWEVER, the staff at Bertillon are so consistently vile (your story only serves to confirm my prejudice), that I never go to the actual store. Thank goodness, almost every single cafe on the island has an ice cream window!

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  24. I am fainting here,
    for want of ....
    some caramel,
    even with salted butter!

    Gorgeous painting and images,
    the lavender everything menue included (yes, take the ice cream cone next time, for the sake of the beautiful lettering alone!).

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  25. I had the double chocolate but at a restaurant down the road from their shop. It was Tuesday and they were open :)

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  26. Anonymous6:15 PM

    I love your blog!

    I posted on your dream dessert just last week - Apple Tart Tatin w/ Salted Caramel Ice Cream in the Salon de The at Berthillon. It was the best dessert I had in all of Paris, too. Wicked, in fact.

    According to David Lebovitz, the caramel ice cream is even BETTER that the salted caramel, although I did not know that and had the salted caramel, which I found delicious. If the regular caramel is even better, than you did well, indeed. I look forward to trying it myself, next time.

    Cheers,

    ~ Paula
    (from Ambrosia Quest)

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