Macarons

The first issue of Paris-based Desserts Magazine is devoted to the wondrous macaron. Not to be confused with the leaden coconut macaroon, this delectable filled cookie is found all over Paris in a variety of flavors.

People travel all over the world to sample Laduree's macarons (various locations), which are offered in a rainbow of 13 permanent and 6 seasonal flavors. The salted butter caramel is an intense taste sensation, and the chocolate amer melts in one's mouth. A box of six or eight makes a delightful gift (I know, because my recipients were absolutely delighted)!

Chocophiles will be enamored of the macarons of chocolatier Jean Paul-Hevin (various locations). He features unique chocolate combinations like chocolate-passionfruit, chocolate-pistachio and chocolate-tarragon. Chocolate-cardamom macarons are included in the gift boxes near the entrance of La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marche (38, Rue Sèvres, Paris - +33 (01) 42-22-10-12).

Those who crave something more exotic will appreciate the the brightly colored macarons of Sadaharu Aoki (various locations). In addition to offering traditional French flavors, Aoki also serves up matcha, ume plum, hojicha, and black sesame macarons.

(Note: Dessert Magazine includes recipes for Aoki's matcha macaron and Hevin's chocolate macaron. If you can't find a copy, just E-mail me!)

Japanese Chefs in Paris

Although it's very difficult to find good Japanese food in Paris, Japanese chefs are turning out stellar French food in the city. Tateru Yoshino is the chef at the vaunted Stella Maris (4 rue Arsène-Houssaye, +33 (01) 42-89-16-22), and I just had a delightful lunch at Chef Hide Kobayashi's eponymous Le Hide (10 rue du General Lanzerac, +33 (01) 45-74-15-81). The "menu a midi," which includes appetizer, main course and dessert, was only 26 euros, and featured such dishes as a tartine of escargots appetizer, steak prepared with sel de Guerande for a main, and desserts like chocolate millefeuille and orange creme brulee. I chose a layered shrimp salad with shredded endives and a kicky avocado vinaigrette for an appetizer; the shrimps were plentiful, plump and sweet. Next were a couple of sturdy monkfish medallions on a bed of penne in a light, parsleyed cream sauce; a crisp potato gaufrette lay atop the hearty fish, adding some nice texture. My dessert, the Mont-Blanc (often found at Japanese pastry shops) was another study in layers of flavor. Buttery pound cake was the base for a dense chestnut mousse, which was balanced by a sweet, light homemade vanilla ice cream scoop on top.

After all of this, another dessert may have been a strange objective, but I set about finding Sadaharu Aoki's patisseries. I ended up at the northwestern outskirts of Paris before giving up on that particular location, then took the metro all the way to the Les Gobelins stop. Finally, success! Jars of green-tea milk jam, a paintbox of beautiful macarons in traditional and Japanese flavors (matcha, black sesame, even ume), and scrumptious eclairs greeted me. The neon-green matcha eclair was amazing - the cream oozing out of the rich pastry was mild and sweet, but with an unforgettable herbal aftertaste. The next day, still thinking about that unique taste, I trekked over to the gourmet cave at Galeries Lafayette - but that location was all out of eclairs.

Fromage!

In a recent France Guide interview, renowned chocolatier Jacques Torres pined for French raw milk cheeses: "They are really exceptional. It’s something that we don’t have in the United States, because we don’t have the right to import them, and it’s really too bad, because it’s another world — it’s something to discover in France."

But according to the New York Times, the rich heritage of raw milk cheese production is also in danger in France. Large companies are pressuring small producers into pasteurization, which changes the character of cheese. Fortunately, some farmers and cheese shops like Fromagerie Quatrehomme (62, rue de Sèvres, 75007, +33 01 4734-3345) are fighting back against the corporate juggernaut.

I wanted to help support their cause, so I decided to consume as much raw milk cheese as possible during my stay in Paris. First, I visited the beautiful Quatrehomme and immediately fell in love. Upon walking in, I caught sight of a book cataloguing 1200 kinds of cheese (I didn't know there were 1200 kinds of cheese!). I then proceeded to the display of round chevres, Bries and other goodies. Completely overwhelmed, I just started choosing cheeses at random. Raw milk Brie de Melun? Check. Tangy herbed chevre? Check. A tin of soft, creamy St. Felicitien? Check. Rounds of a young goat milk cheese called Rocamadour, which I would eventually devour whole like cookies? Check!

Then, I made sure to visit the Poilane bakery in order to have some world-famous sourdough to eat with my cheese (by the way, Poilane ships overseas!). I carried my loot back to the hotel, where I calmly and methodically devoured cheese, then slices of sourdough, then more cheese as my companion looked at me with amazement.

Towards the end of my stay, it dawned on me that I should bring a delicious taste of France back to New York. Although I wasn't worried about packing my suitcase with Poilane, I wondered about the logistics of traveling with cheese. And was it even legal?

Fortunately, the lovely woman at La Fromagerie (8, rue de Petits Carreaux, +33 01 4233-0407) had a solution: vacuum-packing. (For no additional charge, she makes your purchases absolutely travel-proof! And what's even better, you can try before you buy.) She helped me choose a breathtaking Comte (mmm!), a Tonnelet... together we chose an assortment of hard, soft, creamy, goat, cow, and sheep's milk cheese until I had a wonderful little package to put inside my suitcase. Now it's safe and sound in my refrigerator! Shhh...

A Chocolate Lover's Mini-Tour of Paris

If you've only got one day in Paris, and you want to make it as chocolatey as possible, here are my recommendations. (This is an approximation of what I did one day; other days were devoted to cheese, bread, and pastries, with a slight nod to sightseeing!)

• Start the day off with a thick, syrupy chocolat a l'africain at the famed Chez Angelina (226, rue de Rivoli, +33 01 4260-8200). (Apparently Coco Chanel frequented this place; is that where she got her name?) They'll give you a flask of unsweetened whipped cream to stir in - personally, I preferred the pure rich chocolate on its own.


• Make your way over to the marvelous Jean-Paul Hevin store (closest location: 231, rue Saint-Honore, +33 01 5535-3596). I don't think it's an accident that this chocolatier's last name is suspiciously close to the word "heaven." But how unjust is it that his amazing chocolate macarons are only available in France and Japan? (The Website warns: "Macaroons are fragile. It is not possible to send them.") There were so many flavors: chocolate praline, chocolate raspberry, chocolate bergamot... dear me, I just about lost my mind. I bought two boxes of macarons and some of the "palets du palais": fine rounds of dark, milk and caramel chocolate. Hevin help me!


• Now it's time to walk over the bridge to the other side of the Seine to explore the 7th arrondissement. (Unfortunately, this is not enough of a walk to really burn many calories, if you were worried about that. But if you're reading this, I imagine you're about as worried as I am, which is not at all!) At Jean-Charles Rochoux (16, rue d’Assas, +33 01 4284-2945) you'll find chocolates sculpted into all sorts of fanciful and imaginative shapes; I saw an extremely true-to-life milk chocolate male chest!


• Next, check out the chocolate marvels of Christian Constant (closest location: 37, rue d'Assas, +33 01 5363-1515), an eponymous chocolate and pastry shop owned by a chef who also has three restaurants including the noted Cafe Constant. His fruit confits are lovely as well, but why don't you purchase one of his chocolate collections with selected flowers, fruits, aromas and spices? Roses with Corinthian raisins, Yemen jasmine with green tea, pine nuts with honey, Malabar cardamom, Sicilian mandarin... can you bear it!!!


• Now, to end your tour, I'm going to give you a choice. You can try one of the 20 best chocolate eclairs in Paris (in March, Le Figaro put out their list, which you can find in the archives) at Stohrer (51, rue Montorgueil, +33 01 4233-3820), a bakery founded in 1730. (I swooned over the chocolate-iced, chocolate-filled eclairs, as well as the salted-butter caramels and marrons glaces.) Or you can enjoy the best chocolate crepe ever at La Crepe Dentelle (10, rue Leopold Bellan, +33 01 4041-0423). It's up to you!