20 Little Cities » Sweets

Patisserie-Confiserie Louis Etoré in Paris

admin — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:28:10 +0000

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, however this pastry/confectioner’s shop has been in business since the begining of the past century and in the hands of the same owners for the past forty-five years. Aside from the classic pastries (mille-feuille, St Honoré, religieuse, éclair…) this shop specializes in traditionnal French candies such as the hand-crafted réglisse de Montpellier, or the pâtes de fruits and violet candies. As the owner would say: “it’s all the old candies from back in the days, here nothing has changed except our faces.”

Louis Etoré
92 rue de Charonne
75011 Paris
tel: 01.43.71.49.99
Metro: Charonne

Tu-Sun: 7.30am-8pm
Closed on Monday

Pozzetto in Paris: The ice-cream place you’ll go back to even in winter.

admin — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:29:53 +0000

Pozzetto has some of the best pistachio gelato I’ve tried in Paris, it’s made from Sicilian pistachios and absolutely no artificial flavoring. The gelatos and sorbets are made daily for freshness, with the best fresh milk and/or seasonal fruit. There are only 12 flavors at a time, so that each one can be given all the attention it deserves. At Pozzetto they won’t ask you how many scoops you’d like and then charge you by the scoop. Here they do it Italian style: they fill up your cone or cup with a spatula and you can ask for as many flavors as you want!
Pozzetto’s espresso drinks are delicious too. A pleasant surprise in Paris where most espressos will make the inside of your mouth cringe and make you walk around with a contorted facial expression afterward.
What I also like very much about this place is that, you know when you get that craving late in the evening and everything else is closed, well Pozzetto’s there for you!

Pozzetto
39 Rue du Roi de Sicile
75004 Paris
tel: 01.42.77.08.64
Metro: Saint-Paul

21 Rue de Levis
75017 Paris
tel: 01.42.77.08.64
Metro: Villiers

7/7
M: 12pm-11pm
Tues-Sun: 11am-11pm

Nougat and salty caramel in Paris at La Boutique du Labo

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:17:11 +0000

Nougat, chocolate nougat, huge slabs of it cut in whatever amounts and sold by the weight, praliné butters—little glass jars of hazelnut butter or mixed nut butter, marrons glacés (chestnuts candied in sugar syrup and glazed), chocolate, candied almonds, guimauve (marshmallow), salty caramels and macarons, all of it can be found in this minuscule store. La Boutique du Labo also sells ice-cream in the warmer seasons, and offers an array of different sides such as coulis (fresh fruit syrup), nuts or hot chocolate sauce to add to the scoops of ice-cream. The shop also has an Italian ice-cream maker, the kind that makes swirly ice-cream cones, but unlike all of those found in touristy areas, this one only serves homemade ice-cream made with all natural ingredients.

La Boutique du Labo
4 Place du marché Sainte-Catherine
75004 Paris
tel: 01.42.71.35.67
Metro: Saint-Paul

Tu-Sun: 11am-8pm
Closed on Monday

Käramell: a Swedish candy store in Paris.

admin — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:10:50 +0000

Sweet, sour, chewy, gummy, hard, soft, colorful, round, flat, short or long, all of your childhood candies are at Käramell, on the very lively rue des Martyrs. Sweet and salty licorice is Käramell’s specialty but there’s also all sorts of other colorful candies: gummy bears, bubble gums, jelly candies, smarties, m&m’s, lollipops, chocolates, Swedish jams…

Karamell
15 Rue des Martyrs
75009 Paris
tel: 01.53.21.91.77
Metro: Notre-Dame-de-Lorette

Tu-Sun: 11am-8pm
Closed on Monday

L’Etoile d’Or in Paris: high end chocolates and famous salty caramels.

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:06:08 +0000

What can I possibly add to what has already been said about the famous Denise Acabo and her shop l’Etoile d’Or in Paris? Probably nothing. If you are a chocolate fiend, a stop by l’Etoile d’Or is a must. If you are more into candy (i.e: bergamot candy from Nancy, Fouque’s Nougat from Signes, Calisson from Aix-en-Provence…) there will still be a lot for you to choose from. It is a bit pricey but that is what comes with quality and uniqueness. Denise Acabo is the only person, aside from the chocolate maker himself, to sell the famous Bernachon chocolates (outstanding chocolatier since 1958, the Bernachon family roasts its own cocoa beans imported from many different countries and creates over 50 different kinds of chocolates only available at their shop in Lyon!)
Chocolate lovers and connoisseurs come from all over the world to Paris’ l’Etoile d’Or (Denise told me that Meryl Streep came by), a precious early 1900’s style boutique nested in the 9th arrondissement, near the very lively rue des Martyrs.
Denise tries everything she sells and only sells what she likes. She’s uncompromizing when it comes to the quality of her sweets and won’t hesitate to discontinue selling one of her items if she finds that its quality has gone down a notch, such as the “quernon d’ardoises” of Angers— a blue chocolate-covered nougatine, a square-shaped sweet bearing the color of Angers’ famous stone: slate.
The classics of l’Etoile d’Or in Paris are Bernachon’s chocolates and Leroux’s salty caramels. As much of a delight those treats can be, I’m almost more enticed by the array of specialty sweets from the varied regions of France found in Denise Acabo’s kingdom. Be ready for a very special tour de France at l’Etoile d’Or!

L’Etoile d’Or
30 Rue Fontaine
75009 Paris
tel: 01.48.74.59.55
Metro: Blanche, Pigalle

M: 3pm-7.30pm
Tu-Sat: 11am-7.30pm
Closed on Sunday