Les Ballotins

Debauve et Gallais chocolate boxes. What with Vallentines Day just around the corner we're being bombarded with candy boxes right and left, have your noticed?

Debauve et Gallais ballotins.Granted most of them are heart-shaped... But I was reminded of how the French stack up their candy boxes/les ballotins all year round...

Pretty much based on quantity and price.

Usually the smallest size on offer is cent grams = 100 grams or 3.3 ounces if you don't happen to be metric

amI love the patterns and geometry of these stacks.

And almost every candy shop offers them.

Le Roux, which is quite high-end has them.

Even the most posh of all French chocolatiers, DEBAUVE et GALLAIS has a range of sizes and boxes.

With their vast array of divine boxes does not offer a size range to choose from.

There is this tiny stack at the toy store if you want to shell out TWENTY EUROS. Ouch
La Maison du Chocolat  takes a more equalitarian attitude and offers a 2-chocolate box for 3.3 euros, so you can feel like a queen for 5 minutes.

Pierre Herme? Non, pas possible. Though his 10 euro box of chocolates is a fabulous value.

Three years ago, a French friend lent me her little Paris studio cost-free, so I could buy chocolate boxes with abandon. Naturally it was just for research and still life models bien sur! I did end up giving most of the chocolate away to the concierge and my friend. After all how much chocolate can you eat in three weeks?

  Do YOU have a favorite Parisien chocolate shop I should know about? Do tell!
BON JEUDI!

Olivier Pitou, Paris 7e

Potted Paris,  9" x 11"

Time to focus on flowers while we're inundated with snow.

Parisiens are mad for their small potted plants to line their balcons. How could I not cross the street (23 Rue des Saint-Pères) for a peek inside Olivier Pitou. A treasure chest of fabulous fleurs inside this closet-sized boutique. Can you smell the flowers? And why not a giant dramatic polar bear to jazz things up? They were very sweet and let me shoot, though I didn't buy a blossom. Heavens!Miam! as good as macarons framboises. Glorious bouquets and arrangements. But their specialty must be these perfect potted plants. For your terrasse bien sur. Dear USA Customs please let me bring some of these home?Olivier Pitou is in the 6th arrondissement too.

Other Parisien Fleuristes:

Yoshika Yamamoto Fleuristes 6eme

Patrick Allain Fleuriste

Aquarelle

AQUARELLE.com

Au Nom de la Rose Again

SIA Again

ROSES!!!

HydrangeaFaiR

Fleurimont 75006

Paris Gratifications...

Do you have a favorite fleuriste in Paris? Tell.

BONNE JOURNEE!

75007 Paris

Remember I mentioned PB reader, Susanne, who lives in the 7th arron.

Well yesterday I did it. I booked my March trip to Paris. And I'll be staying in Susanne's pied-a-terre. This gorgeous hunk of quiche we ate comes from the boulangerie right downstairs by the way.

Susanne has moved on to a tiny village in Vermont. Yes it's true. I wonder if she's taken her blue and white treasures with her. Or will I get a chance to paint them. Susanne's place is a flea market shoppers dream, in case you didn't already notice.

Shhhhhh!

I took my camera into the loo, so I could show you all her treasures lurking everywhere.

Did I mention that Susanne's place is on the 6th floor?
I'm working out as I write this, prepping for climbing up those stairs.

I expect to collapse regularly into this cafe nearby.

Or this classic bistro - La Fontaine de Mars
129, rue St-Dominique

If I get homesick (never happens) there's the cafe Tribeca on rue Cler.

The fleamarket was closing by the time I got there but it looked terrific! I have to admit I've never been to rue Cler before. Dommage

(ext.3)For some reason I can't explain, I always procrastiinate like crazy booking my Air France ticket. And I always lose the AirFrance telephone number so I'm putting it here in bold type for next time

.

I did some research and discovered there are like are gazillion chocolatiers in the immediate vicinity of the appartment.WOW! A. Michel Chaudun‎ -149, Rue Université, 75007
B. Le Fleuriste du Chocolat‎ -49, Avenue La Bourdonnais, 75007 C. SAS Chocolaterie De Puyricard‎ - 27, Avenue Rapp, 75007
D. Les Petites Chocolatières‎ - 20, Rue Cler, 75007

E. Hévin Jean-Paul‎ - 23 Bis, Avenue La Motte Picquet, 75007

G. Renard Grégory‎ - 120, Rue St Dominique, 75007

H. A la Mère de Famille‎ - 47, rue Cler, 75007

I. La Maison du Chocolat‎ - 52, Rue François 1er, 75008

J. De Neuville SA‎ - 24, Rue Marbeuf, 75008
I know it's unseemly to say this but I cannot resist,
HOLY CHOCOLAT!!!!

It's a very good thing I will have those millions of stairs to walk daily. If YOU have any suggestions of stuff I should do in the 7th do tell S.V.P.!BONNE REVE!

Hot Chocolate Festival.com

Marshmallow Heaven, original art, 5" x 7"

In the interest of serious, intensive research and for your benefit, kind PB readers, I felt I must avail myself of the opening night of the month-long HOT CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL held annually since 1990.

At CITY BAKERY NYC!I first heard the festival was about to begin over at Paris inhabitant, master pastry chef and chocolate expert, David Lebovitz's. And the drooling began...Did I mention that City Bakery is at 3 West 18th Street, just footsteps from 5th Avenue FYI?Owner/creator Maury Rubin was on hand giving out free tastes of the various flavors of the night.
For the month of February you can taste:
Banana Peel, Earl Grey Hot, Beer, Vanila bean, Ginger, Lemon, Bourbon, Cinnamon, Caramel, Tropical, Love potion, Sunken Treasure, ChocoVivo, Malted Milk, Milk chocolate hot chocolate...Grand Finale to be decided Feb 28th. And did I mention there are hand-made marshmallows to accompany your hot chocolate rather than the usual whipped cream?
YAHOO!
( I don't happen to like whipped cream and as Merisi of Vienna, an expert in all things mitt shlag says, it dilutes the hot chocolate! Who knew?) For starters, I had a FREE! "flight" of hot chocolate flavors-
Ginger, Chilli, Beer,...oh heck who can remember? Traditionalist that I am, I went with the "original" hot chocolate... Here Rusty does the honors...OH YUM! By the way, before he does THE POUR, he airates the hot chocolate with a mini whip. I can easily pass up the mitt shlag but never the marshmallow! TA DA!How did it taste you want to know?
It's just the best damn hot chocolate you can find in New York (baring La Maison du Chocolat, which is once a month experience)
This I could have everyday...sigh
There are fabulous accompanyments to your hot chocolate like these home made chocolate chip cookies.
But I showed some discipline...

And these heavenly looking lemony apple tarts.

But I showed some restraint...

Maury Rubin by the way has a gorgeous book out on tarts...

LOOK!

To-die-for French toast carmelized up the whazoo!

But I showed a sense of responsibilty...ahem

As far as the hot chocolate went, I threw caution to the wind and gobbled it ALL UP vite vite vite!

~

PS

If you go, tell em PB sent you!