Paris Breakfasts Les Deux Magots

You can't go to the Café de Flore and not go to the Les Deux Magots on 68 Boulevard St. Germain. They're side by side and both tempting to the Paris lover. There's an ongoing controversy over which is the preferred café of Parisians, but I'll go into that later. Both offer the best of "petite" déjeuners (breakfasts) and touristy or not, should be visited just as you'd go to the Louvre.

It's a good idea to go on a rainy day, when cafés are less crowded. Rain puts off everyone everywhere. At the Shake Shack last Saturday it was drizzling and the line, normally a 30 minutes wait, was non-existent. In Paris, you'll be treated more attentively by the waiters, and they'll put up with your faux pas if it's raining outside. BTW never call a French waiter, garçon. Only Bonjour Monsieur will do. You're on THEIR premises and better behave accordingly with proper respect or don't bother. It's worth it.

The chocolat chaud at Deux Magots is just as good as Angelina's. Taste is what counts and here it's rich and chocolaty, achieved by grating plenty of dark chocolate bars. That's the secret of any hot chocolate, so forget the powders and throw a bar in your cup, pour hot milk on top - et voilà.

There's a terrific urge to swipe everything off the table so you can recreate your own café. The possiblility of le petit déjeuner at home too tempting. That's why some cafés have onsite stores to indulge your impulses. There are plenty of shops stateside for those who hesitated. I have a café table and chairs from Pottery Barn and I dream of covering it with real café logo crockery.

In May, I was very smitten with Deux Magots' porcelain ashtrays, though I don't smoke. These impulses are unpredictable. I was pleased to find the same porcelain ashtray at Sennelier holding a pan of BLOCKX watercolor. I bought the Naples Yellow, one of Deux Magots' signature colors.

I chose off le carte (menu) not-so petit déjeuner complet includes:Café, chocolat à l'ancienne ou thé Damman

Jus de fruit frais, orange ou pamplemousse
Viennoiseries variées et petit pain du boulanger
Beurre d'Échiré, confitures artisanales ou miel

Artisanales as in the jams are made in a factory with less than 50 workers, so they're more or less homemade. For a closer study of Les Deux Magot carte look here. Any preparatory work you do before going to a Paris café can only help overcome the ever present intimidation and will let you enjoy cafés to the fullest.

How one person could possibly complete this so-called small breakfast is beyond me. This is the "after" picture. I felt compelled to try everything if unable to finish it. Even the Normandy pat of butter (Beurre d'Échiré), got tasted and it's autocollant (label) makes a nice sticker for a Moleskine cover.Excusé moi Monsieur, je suis terminé.

L'addition s'il vous plait?You may get your bill with the tray, but just in case. For the record, we're having continuous Monsoon rainy weather here in New York and there's nothing I'd like better than go sit in a Paris café. Malheureusement, I have to go in to work today, but in 53 days... Bonne journée