Au Chai de l'Abbaye

AU CHAI DE L'ABBAYE, original watercolor, 9" x 11" BONJOUR! It's breakfast today or petit dejeuner (petit dej') Stop drooling and put away your bibs!

AU CHAI DE L'ABBAYE is like a lot of nice typical Parisian "local" cafs.

And it was around the corner from my hotel on 26, rue de Buci 75006

I like to show prices - makes it less intimidating don't you think?

No sticker shock - you know what you're in for.

I tend to go for the petit dejeuner complet in the name of research for you pajama-dressed readers.

My pal here (I DID NOT EAT ALL OF THIS!) went for the "Frenchier" breakfast of

hot drink + croissant.

Here is AU CHAI DE L'ABBAYE's chocolat chaud / hot chocolate.

It looks pretty, non?

But it's nothing to write home about and not going to make it into any TOP 10 list.

Just your average supermarket powdered hot chockie drink.
Still looks count for something...

Help me out here.

I think this may be a croissant that is not made with pur beurre...

I always get mixed up :(

If the arms are stretched out = it's got margerine?

If the croissant is crescent shaped = it's pur beurre?

Or is it the other way around?

There are government rules on croissants...

I get the feeling that most neighborhood locals sit at the bar for p.d.

They chat with the barman and share newspapers etc.

I always feel shy and sit at a table :(See the smartly dressed woman in the hat sitting at the bar?

She's holding a small white doggie.

Again too shy to get a better photo :(

Fini.

The END.

I love to show the "demise" of a petit dejeuner.

This is what I'd really like to paint!
I did go on to have 2 more petit dejeuners that morning.

All in the name of research :)

Do you have a favorite "local" Paris cafe?

Tell me about it and I'll visit next time!

The WINNER of the croissant mystery IS KRIS!

Kris found this indepth analysis of the Paris' croissant by expert Francois Simon at Le Figaro.fr

Click HERE and watch the experts taste Paris' best croissants

The Russian Tea Room NYC

The New York weather report today says 31°F (Feels like: 25°F) so I can still talk about tea...Russian tea..Kusmi Russian Tea in fact.

I first encountered Kusmi Teas at the Salon du Chocolat (they have a chocolate tea) and a day later at Le Festival de The.They had this fantastic "sniffing" display so you could easily find the tea you love. 

Kusmi Tea was founded in 1867 in St-Petersburg, by P.M Kousmichoff, supplier to the tsars. In 1917, at the time of the Revolution, they moved to London and Paris.

They're boutique is at 56, rue de Seine and they've just opened a tea room, so I'll be doing research next week...

Kusmi Russian Teas begin with big-leaf teas from Ceylon, India, Java and China. They uniquely blend these tea leaves with scented aromatics originating from Grasse, France's perfume center.
For example:
Anastasia Tea is a Russian blend of Ceylon and China teas scented with orange, bergamot, lemon and lime
Prince Vladimir is a blend of Ceylon and China teas with scents of orange, lemon, vanilla, grapefruit and spices
The Bouquet de Fleur blend is a blend of China, India and Ceylon teas with 8 different aromas, including lemon, bergamot orange, lime and mandarin orange
Petrushka Tea is a blend of Ceylon, cardamom, cloves, almonds and rose

For research purposes I tasted a Russian tea with blinis, sour cream and sour cherries...

Here's the demise of my research = YUM!

You put the sour cherries into the tea as well as in the blinis...

My research was to gather info on Russian Tea Service for another menu cover for The Russian Tea Room.

Podstakannik is Russian for tea glass holder and means "under the glass" or "for the glass"

Chai is the word for tea

Chainaya lozhka is teaspoon

Sahar is sugar
Zavarka is strong tea

They have a huge collection of rare Russian Samovars at RTR...

Vetka is the handle of a samovar's faucet. Literally "branch" (as of a tree)

So now you're ready to go for tea at The Russian Tea Room!

BTW I noticed Paris weather today is 39°F (Feels like: 32°F)
Do you think they heard I was coming and are trying to make the transition easy for me? :(

Paris Tea Salon...

More tea, original watercolor, 9" x 11"

I spent my last Sunday in Paris with C. flaneur-ing (strolling around). We hit the Salon du Chocolat, the Musee Arts Decoratifs, and wandered up rue St. Honore window shopping, coming to 16, rue Royale.

We ordered a plate of petit macarons.
C. had his knife poised and was dividing them up into halfs.
I nearly lost it STOP! Arrete! In France, my ettiquette expert tells me, you NEVER cut up desserts for sharing (partager). You instead offer your guest the plate to choose the macaron nearest them!
If they prefer another, you TURN the plate.
Et voila!
Just a bit of the extensive tea menu.

It includes interviews with many French elite: their 1st encounter, their favorite desserts, their favorite salon, their favorite macaron flavor and their favorite gift box bla bla bla.

I always love to photograph the demise