Thursday, November 05, 2009

Cake Break

Rue Montorgueil in Paris is a wonderful place; a market street awash with cafés, artisan patisseries, fruit shops, veggie shops, fishmongers, butchers, poulterers and awesome cheese emporia.

But the jewel in the crown is Stohrer.

Established in 1730 by the former pastry chef at Versailles, it has survived the Revolution, the Republic, Napoleon (twice), yet more revolution and two World Wars and is still going strong as the most venerable and revered bakery in France.

It was there when Valjean and Cossette wandered the streets of Paris; there when Sidney Carton went to the guillotine for love; there when the Russians entered the city, and when the Nazis came and went a century and a half later; and it was there a couple of weeks ago when Katie introduced me to its wonders.
It's there still.
Go visit.

In the window sits the Eiffel Tower accurately recreated with macarons.
What's not to love?

Let's go inside, shall we?
Beautiful mosaic floor, glorious painted ceiling and flamboyant chandelier.
Not your usual local bakery then.

As you enter, the left hand side is sweet stuff and the right is savoury.
Indeed spicy, if you count the pretty, semi-naked girl armed with an olive branch and ready to spank you if you don't spend all your money in there.

The things in the foreground were labelled as "prawns in negligées".
I want them!
Now.

Ah, the infamous "Hazelnut Thingie", aka Feuillete Noisettes.
Boy howdy, those are good!

That prune tart looked tempting, but then so did everything else.

Porn.
No other word for it.
Let your greedy eyes linger, people.

Yes, we ate these.

And this lovely little snackette of wild mushroom tart, quiche, bread and a terrine that was almost as good as the terrine of pig's trotter with pickled wild mushrooms and mustard jus that I had for a starter at l'Epigramme (awesome) on Friday evening with Katie and Eric.

You have my permission to squeal.

That cherry had so much kirsch in it Katie almost fell off her chair.

The English simply cannot make proper chocolate éclairs.

After all that lot I need a coffee to wash it down.
Yum.

Now I just need to get back to Paris …

36 comments:

Volmon said...

Funny, that's just what I was thinking.

PS: London is now at end of my itinerary (i.e. mid January).

Ms M said...

Oh, now I'm swooning over this place! And hungry...

Petrea Burchard said...

It's a wonder the place is still there after you and Katie stormed it.

Katie said...

Ah Stohrer. So much yummy goodness in such a small store!

Alifan said...

Yummy ........

dive said...

Lucio: I look forward to seeing you there.

Ms.M: It truly is a magical place filled with wonders.

Petrea: We were kind enough to leave a little for later.

Katie: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM …

Mum: Yup.

Cheltenhamdailyphoto said...

I don't eat pastries but those choccy things and fruit tartlets look amazing! Chocolate eclairs with a choccy filling sound gorgeous, since I hate fresh cream I never eat them usually. Try keeping me away from those!

Scout said...

OH MY GOD! Everything looks so amazing—not just tasty but artfully delicious. Even the coffee looks grand.

dive said...

Lynn: Now you know where to get real éclairs, get over there and enjoy them.
Eurostar to Paris is only £29.95 each way if you book in advance.

Robyn: Believe me; they tasted even better than they looked!
Oh, my!

Thib said...

Now I understand why Katie and a few others always mention Stohrer when they mention Paris ;-)

Thib said...

Russians in Paris???

dive said...

Hi, Thib! Great to see you.
Yes, Guille's bar is not the only great place to meet in Paris, there's Stohrer, too.

And yes, the Russians chased Napoleon back from Moscow and occupied Paris in 1813 (Yikes)!
I wonder if they stopped off at Stohrer for yummy cakes?

Katherine said...

Why on Earth did I read this post, especially with Halloween candy looming in the house?

dive said...

Because you know you're strong enough, Katherine.

I, on the other hand, am now suffering Stohrer withdrawal symptoms.

Kim said...

Fun, fun! Loved that assortment you brought over for dinner when you were here. Still haven't forgotten that lemon tart!

Breaking news: Stohrer's got a new treat - a tiramisu thingy in a chocolate eggshell with a little macaron on top. A little too fluffy-creamy for me. But you'll have to come back to Paris and tell me what you think.

Shan said...

I'm with Katherine. This is not doing great things for my recent shall we say..."carb" addiction. Get thee behind me Halloween and Stohrer's!! I need some sort of repellant.

dive said...

Hi, Kim! Wonderful to hear from you.
Yes, that lemon tart was totally awesome!
Oh, my! I simply MUST find an excuse to go back to Stohrer and try that new treat. I'm amazed I actually lost five pounds while I was there, but I put that down to all the walking (and your stairs … hee hee).

Shan: As you well know, chocolate eaten after midnight has no calories, plus of course if you eat the same amount of dark chocolate as white chocolate the calories cancel out.
Actually, using that as a rule is probably why I am the shape I am.
Hey ho.

MmeBenaut said...

Now I'm hungry. Lovely photos and a very good selection for your dinner!
I'm going to see your girl very soon my dear friend. I shall delight in hearing all about your Stohrer adventures from her. She and I are going to taste a few sweet treats in her home town very soon.

Joy said...

When did you start eating cakes???

Ah yes. Return to Paris...

neetzy said...

I would not, could not, resist these tarts. I would not, could not afford the carbs.

If I were there, I would not care.

Mouthy orgasms are so rare.

Volmon said...

The smallest of changes can make the biggest of differences. Take, for example, Neetzy's last comment. Had she typed "crabs" rather than "carbs" ... well, it might be a line from a pornographic escapade penned by John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester!

Sorry, Neetzy - I don't get out much.

dive said...

Mme: I so wish I were there with you both. I just know you'll have a marvellous time.

Joy: When I looked in Stohrer's window.

Neetzy: Yay for rhymes! We should have a day when we all comment in rhyme.

Lucio: Forsooth you need to get your head out of your studies and head for Europe.

Volmon said...

My plane leaves at midnight on the 25th. First stop: Vienna. Yippeeeeee!

dive said...

Woohoo! Look out, Vienna!
Do keep us all informed of your progress, Lucio. I can't wait to meet you in London.

Volmon said...

Will do. ... Yeah, should be a blast!

Thib said...

Shame on me! I had forgotten this part of French History ;-(
However, I would say it was in 1814, when Napoleon "resigned" (for the 1st time!) and was sent to Elbe, and the "1st Restauration" started...

Talking of calories (!), the verification word is "soddas" ;-)

dive said...

Lucio: I hope so! Yay!

Thib: No shame on you, whatsoever. Hee hee. I only remembered because I'd been re-reading War and Peace a few weeks back and Tolstoy kinda revels in it.

Katherine said...

...sniff....Dive I am weak.

I ate chocolate from the kids' Halloween bags.

My tummy hurts.

Can you do a vegetable post soon?

dive said...

Tut, tut, Katherine.
Never mind vegetables, that calls for a spanking post!
Hee hee.

Katherine said...

If you do a spanking post, MANY of us will get into BIG trouble!! HA!

dive said...

Luckily for many of us the 'Old" Dive is no more, and the "New" Dive behaves himself a lot better (well at least a little better).

Maria said...

They are so lovely that it must hurt to bite into them.

Well, maybe only a tad bit.

dive said...

Maria: It hurts much more than a tad to no longer be in Paris.
Sigh …

neetzy said...

Heehee to Lucio!

Every once in a while I get in a rhyming mood. It can be fun, but I will annoy everyone around me.

Lulubelle B said...

I dunno, Dive. To these unschooled Colonial eyes that Eiffel Tower looks an aweful lot like Hostess Sno Balls. LOL!

dive said...

Neetzy: rhyme all you like; it will never annoy me.

Lulu: Hostess Sno Balls? Eek!
I wonder if Noo York bakeries display the Empire State Building rendered in Twinkies?