76, rue de Seine 75006

I had planned to post on something else entirely

but I came across these lush Gerard Mulot pastries

and didn't want to deprive you this morning...

Or myself for that matter :)
I keep coming back to Mulot...
Here's repeat performance by these Chantilly lovelies...
For one thing Gerard Mulot opens at 6:30 AM !
AND open on Mondays.
AND his patisserie is on a corner (rue de Seine and rue Lobineau)
So there are two banks of windows to browse before entering!
(An important factor if you want to leche le vitrine)
Unlike secretive Pierre Herme, who keeps his treasures inside.
His doorway is a sort of curtain you push through

No sneak peeks there.
Here Mulot's marron glace...
I couldn't not show Mulot's macarons again could I?
He's got a book out too..
I always have my eye out for anything lemony...
Here the Tarte au Citron Meringuee.
If you go earlyish, they wheel out these carts of petit fours for you to gaze at longingly...
Well, some people are gazing at them longingly :)
I'll WILL taste this next trip...

Les Temps de Cerises2

I'm painting a lot of cherries with the black cups -to add some playfulness. Besides cherries are fun to paint.

I was in Paris last May for the short cherry season..

The Burlat cherries from Provence are the first to arrive..

Cherry season in the states seems to last all summer.

Who knew the US was the world's biggest producer, consumer, and exporter of cherries?

Paris street cherries - note the green leaves!

Astoria street cherries minus the green leaves (from CA and WA)

We have CHERRY WARS between this corner stand

and the one further down on 30th Ave. And cherries are FREE for the taking enroute to work. Well, not really, but people just help themselves. An act probably worth a lengthy prison term in France.

Chocolate and cherries make a happy mariage.

That's a cacao bean in case you were wondering.

 

Mademoiselle de Margaux from the Medoc makes a divine chocolate-covered cherries - a blend of dark chocolate, preserved cherry / griotte and Armagnac called La Guinette. But they are only available in France - too perishable! Cherries in general have a short shelf life. They should be refrigerated quickly and unwashed. If you don't use your ripe cherries within 6 days it's best to freeze them. But then you'd need to pit them.

 

You really can't do a cherry post without including Pierre Herme's "Cherry on top" gateau. I've often wondered if the marks on the vertical side are a cutting guide? This is so tall, it could be used like the height marks your mom put on the wall.

If you eat the above chocolate + cherries your chances of fitting into Marseille's Le Temps de Cerises $200 buck jeans are practically nil.

On the other hand, take away the chocolate and you might make it.
Just 90 calories for 21 cherries makes a nice snack. Plus 2 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber! Did you know cherries are sized by rows? This dates from when the cherry industry packed the top layer of cherries in neat rows.  If 10 cherries fit in a row snugly, that size becomes a #10. A 9-row cherry (considered the largest and probably too large for the best flavor.)  A 12-row is the smallest.
Back to painting cherries.

Snack Time Paris

I thought I'd shake you up this morning.
It's not all Petit dej' and hot chocolate at Hotel Meurice. Unless independently wealthy, there are times when a quick snack between posh joints is essential.
Columbus Cafe is the French version of Starbucks. A muffin is considered "dessert" A Coke is boisson fraiche
Owner Philippe Bloch says,
"We completely gave up china cups in 1995 and now only offer paper cups"
On the other hand they do have quite nice salades.I've had the Nicoises.And they do have free WI FI
You don't expect an ardoise/black board menu for a take-away chain.SNACK TIME is by ODEON Metro station 97, Bd St Germain 75006Their fare looks fresh and pas cher/not expensive
COJEAN is the newest Paris fast food chain and the most chic.

Wraps, toastes, baguettes, quiches, boissons, desserts etc. All very chicly designed and displayed. I've yet to try.
 

Carottes rapees one of my fav Paris snacks - Shredded carrots with a teaspoon of lemon juice.YUM! so simple..why does it never taste the same at home? Waiting at LAFAYETTE GOURMET ground level.

Another frequent snack is salade composee from Monoprix. I was fascinated by these lemon meringue at LAFAYETTE GOURMET. I didn't get one though.

Do you have a favorite Paris snack?

Tell me about it!

Petit Dej'

Petit Dej',watercolor, 9" x 11 1/2"

It's going to be 88 today and yesterday it went up to 90...

But I still have quite a few more hot chocolates to show you.

My last morning I was very close to Champs Elysees, so I thought why not?
The same morning I had the Hotel Meurice hot chocolate, but that was later. You get a sense of urgency your last morning in Paris.
What I ordered.And how much it cost...
You'll be footing the bill next time :)

Et voila! For some reason the French think you should drink your O.J. with a straw..? If you know why, please tell me.
I wasn't all that keen on the sweet viennoisserie.
Everything was covered in sugar except the non-descript dinner roll.
The l'addition...pretty as ever.
I went upstairs for a quick loo stop...
And discovered a much nicer dining room upstairs...
Much more posh, if that's possible.
On your way out, you might want to pick up a petit four for the road.There's a long bank of pastries to choose from and a long line waiting.More hot chocolate to come,whatever the weather

Au Nom de la Rose

Au Nom de la Rose Bouquet, watercolor, 9" x 11"

A favorite Parisian florist is Au Nom de la Rose...I love their logo -
One rose leaf with a single drop of water (Paris tap perhaps?) Their shops are almost like a Parisian bistro.Their bouquets sit out on the pavement on vintage bistro chairs. Plus a bistro ardoise (black board) tells you the flower menu de jour / of the day...Inside the scent of roses could knock you over.A faux vintage photo of the owners of Au Nom de la Rose?
Qui sait..?And they don't just sell roses.
Gourmandises à la rose - rose petal jam, rose honey, candied petals, sirop de rose, white chocolate with rose petals, rosey nougat candy. And of course parfum, scented candles, soaps, potpourri
AND organic rose cosmetics.

Click and enhale the roses.
Are you amoureuse de la rose?

Come On-A My House...

First I want to THANK YOU ALL!

Merci

Danke

Arigato

Obrigado

Whether you bought a watercolor or not. You showed your support for Paris Breakfasts in spades! It means a lot. I'm really inspired to keep on painting. Yesterday we toured a Paris cafe.

Today is a studio tour...

First thing I see in the morning (*note the time 4:58 AM) is MSN's opening page...They tempt and intice me to read their silly stories. That's why your PB post is sometimes delayed :(

Next I check New York's weather...and Paris weather. Some of you think I've flown the coop and am already in Paris! Or that I perhaps live FULL TIME in Paris? Not YET! but I have dreams...While I'm painting watercolors for you, I listen to the BBC
Otherwise known as the BEEB. Yup, I'm an Anglophile as well as a Francophile. I'm very fond of mysteries... If you hear any good ones let me know
Here's some eye candy I have hanging around to keep me going.
I'm very proud of the paper placemat with the water bottles I "borrowed" from cafe Le Luco. One of my better acquisitions. The Paris Breakfasts Cafe be will open soon. My pets, models in some of my watercolors.The May 2006 calendar, is when I spent 3 glorious weeks in a Paris studio just painting and eating macarons.
Speaking of macarons, I did wolf down my still life subject matter from La Maison... It's been busy around here
THANKS to ALL OF YOU Here are the watercolors you requested
Waiting to go out TODAY! Nothing went out yesterday.That was not very unrealistic of me. The watercolor sale is over,
but MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
You "donated" enough to get me to Paris! By the way I am not leaving this weekend. I have more watercolors to pack up.
There were 1,743 visits(!) to Paris Breakfasts Flickr Gallery!
I've lost count of the number of watercolors sold. But this was really, really FUN! And I loved seeing your emails arriving saying,
I WANT IT!
We'll do this again sometime. And next time I'll hire some PBS volunteers to help with the emails and packing etc...
BIG MERCI! xxx