Part Three - Éclairs, Tarts and Ice Cream…Oh My!

      Our final quest for the “best…in Paris” is the holy grail of desserts—ice cream.  At its best ice cream is a silky smooth, joyful marriage of milk, cream, sugar and eggs with other natural flavorings such as vanilla beans, chocolate, fresh fruit or nuts; then lovingly stirred and reduced in temperature to varying degrees of consistency.  In a city renowned for opulent desserts ice cream is the pinnacle of its culinary decadence— the higher the fat content the richer and smoother the taste sensation.
     Pascal Le Glacier’s ice cream is described by Paris Notes as “nothing short of spectacular”. Located in the charming upscale section of Passy, the western most section of Paris within the city limits, we again started our journey on foot.  Walking past the Eifel Tower, the Champs-Elysèe and the Palais de Chaillot we finally came to Pascal Le Glacier on 17 Rue Bois-le-Vent, nearly 7 kilometers (4 miles) from our flat on rue Petit Pont.  Much to our surprise and dismay Pascal Combette’s highly touted ice cream parlor was closed for vacation!  Not to be thwarted for a taste of the best ice cream in Paris we trudged back to our flat, consoled ourselves with a glass of wine and forged a new plan.  After sorting through the myriad of reviews on the internet we created list of ice cream makers highly touted by others. 

    

For three days we walked to points north, south, east and west tasting a variety of creamy mélanges that others deemed the “the best ice cream in Paris” on the internet.  Thankfully, we finally discovered La Maison Berthillon on the Isle Saint Louis.  No sooner did we taste a mouthful of their luscious mango ice cream we knew we found what we were looking for— the best ice cream in Paris!  Each mouthful delighted our taste buds with the richness of milk, cream, sugar and eggs.  As we savored the creamy smooth texture of their glacer la crème, flavored with tender morsels of ripe mango, the disappointment of Pascal Le Glacier being closed after such a long walk evanesced into the sunset.  Our quest for the best ice cream in Paris was now fulfilled on the picturesque Isle Saint Louis with one scoop of Berthillon’s scrumptious ice cream.  

Éclairs, Tarts and Ice Cream… Oh My!

For someone like me embarking on a food quest in Paris, France is as thrilling as Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion going to the Emerald City in the land of OZ.  As a lover fine food Paris is my magical, mystical Emerald City of culinary delights.  Hence the title “Éclairs, Tarts and Ice Cream…Oh My”.

It has become commonplace for my wife Linda and I to go off on a food quest in whatever city we are visiting. In the past we have scoured Barcelona for the best gelato and the best arroz con negro; Paris for the best baguettes, croissants, cassoulet and couscous, New Orleans for Sazerac, Rome for Spaghetti alla Carbonara and other food in other cities.  Half the fun is getting there. These food quests take us through new neighborhoods in cities we already know and sections of a city that we may not have otherwise visited. Naturally, when a reason for us to embark on one of these food odysseys presented itself for Paris France we relished the opportunity.

Before departing for Paris last year, my wife Linda scoured through our old collection of Paris Notes for little known sites and historic places to visit.  Amongst the wonderfully obscure factoids and trivia about Paris she uncovered a gold mine for her sweet tooth—Stohrer’s Patisserie Traiteur for éclairs, Les Petite Mitrons- Patisseries for tarts and Pascal, Le Glacier for ice cream.  She was hooked and I was a willing conscript to her expedition to find these patisseries and the praised glacier.  I must confess that I do not possess a sweet tooth that would compel me to make such quests.  Instead I reserve my calorie intake for food and wine.  Linda on the other hand would prefer to start her meals with desert, leaving whatever room there is left in her stomach for other food.  My reward for taking part in this expedition is reading the menus of the cafes and bistros along the way, not to mention savoring pastries and ice cream in the Emerald City of desserts. 

Day One: STOHRER - PÂTISSIER TRAITEUR

Magasin au 51 rue Montorgueil 75002 Paris

 From our studio apartment situated on Petit Ponte, on the left bank of the Seine we crossed  the Ile de la Cite, presided over by the towering edifice of Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris  to the right bank. Passing the Thearte du Chatelet we walked up along Boulevard de Sebastopol teeming with shops and strollers to rue Etienne Marcel where we turned west to rue Montorgueil.  For my part finding rue Montorgueil was in itself sufficient reward for our long walk.  The street is packed with cafes, bistros, boulangeries, fromageries, boucheriers and charcuteries on both sides for about four city blocks long.  I was in food heaven and would have happily ended our journey with this discovery.  Linda was determined to taste the éclairs from Stohrer’s and so we continued our search for number 51 rue Montorgueil.   A little further up we came upon Stohrer’s landmark yellow canopy shading the shop’s blue façade. Above the canopy between two windows adorned with planter boxes, blooming with flowers a commemorative plaque proudly declared:

Patisserie Stohrer

Maison Fondèe en 1730

 Inside the shop a cornucopia of vividly colored cakes, tarts, éclairs bombes and chocolates, all perfectly aligned on glass shelves greeted us. Wonderful aromas of chocolate, fruit and dough wafted in the air titillating our taste buds.  Our mouths watered waiting to taste the long sought after éclair.  We were not disappointed when we finally ate our éclairs strolling along rue Montorgueil.  As an aside, I had my own éclair since Linda does not share pastries, especially delicious pastries.

The Stohrer’s éclair is a decadent mélange of delicious, rich dark chocolate topping a delicate French pasty filled with a creamy light chocolate mousse stuffing.  I cannot imagine a better éclair being made anywhere in France or anywhere else for that matter. 

After savoring the éclairs we lunched al fresco in one of bistros on rue Montorgueil Linda’s way, having had dessert first.  

Check back for day two’s food quest........