Chocolate, cheese, macaroons, butter, bread. France does them about as well as anywhere. Using davidlebovitz.com as our guide, we sought out some of the best in each category. Below are two of the more famed chocolatiers – Patrick Roger and Pierre Marcolini.
If nothing else, Patrick Roger is worth the visit for the stunning air conditioning that is so rare in Paris. The shop was quiet, pristine, tended to by a single petite woman, hair tautly pulled back as so many French women do, wearing a black leather get-up, complete with black gloves when handling the chocolates. There is also a giant gorilla made of chocolate in the corner, watching your every move. This place mean business.
We tried some of the classics, but also sampled some of their speciality flavor like like lemongrass, orange peel, and verbena with yuzu. The lime caramel served below was stunning, complete with it’s own little box with a magnetic seal. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the chocolates weren’t priced in the stratosphere.
Patrick and I have similar taste in color.
Pierre Marcolini is within walking distance of Roger, perfect for burning those newly acquired calories. We got a few chocolates here as well, more classic in nature, and Katie got ice cream. I didn’t pull the trigger on their famous chocolate covered marshmallow, opting for a few macaroon instead.
Perfect little cookies; everything at these shops were almost too stunning to eat.
Almost.