Eating in Paris: Ladurée & Angelina

I've heard of people gorging themselves on chocolates, éclairs, napoléons, macarons, and every other conceivable sweet or pastry during trips to Paris.  While I do love sweets, my tastes tend to gravitate towards the savory side, which translates into me not really having too many sweets while in Paris.  In fact, it didn't even cross my mind to visit some of the renowned chocolatiers until I returned to South Florida and was asked by a good friend, "what about the chocolates there?"  Oops!  I'll get there the next time around, I promise.

Despite my preference for fromage over dessert after dinner, I do have a strong affinity for macarons ever since I tried my first one at the first Paul bakery in Aventura (now closed) with an.  That being said, part of my Paris itinerary involved visiting Ladurée, which is credited for having invented the macaron, and is reputed to have some very creative flavors.  Macarons, for the uninitiated, are about as far away from a macaroon (note the two o's) as prosciutto is from spam.  Two light-as-air cookies made from whipped egg whites, sugar, and almond flour are sandwiched between a rich filling of a cream, purée, or jelly.  Ladurée has several locations, but one of the most iconic ones is located on the famed Champs Elysées boulevard.  The Momster and I stopped by for a break in their ornate tea room, but it was closed for restoration, so we got in line behind the 20 or more people waiting to buy boxes of Ladurée's famous macarons in beautifully gilded packaging.  Apart from macarons, Ladurée also specializes in many other types of pastries and chocolates, which all look appealing until you get a glimpse of the main attraction...and then all other confections cease to exist in your mind.

Behind a glass partition, in neat rows that were constantly being replenished, were a variety of at least a dozen macarons no bigger in size than a silver dollar...perhaps even smaller.  Descriptions like violet and cassis, caramel and fleur de sel, and chestnut and pear beckon seasoned gourmands and macaron initiates, alike.  We purchased a box of 8 for 12 Euros to eat while strolling down Le Boulevard des Champs Elysées and were rewarded with perhaps the most exquisite confections I've ever had...except for maybe one.  Naturally, I sampled the three macarons I mentioned above in addition to rose petal, orange blossom, raspberry, pistachio, and grapefruit/vanilla.  The grapefruit and vanilla combination reminded me of why "greatfruit" was my least favorite fruit as a child, and unless you're a particular fan of the bitter flavor of this fruit that I never thought to be "great" (or anything like a grape, for that matter), I'd pass on it...that is, if they offer it again.  The rest of the flavors were nothing short of heavenly, and each flavor evoked new waves of emotions and imagery.  If poetry could be made into pastry it would look like a macaron from Ladurée.

A return visit on a Saturday afternoon to purchase boxes to bring back to Les Etats Unis proved to be too frustrating to attempt with a line out the door and locals shoving past polite groups of Japanese tourists to get inside; it was also three days before Valentine's Day, so that could explain the frenzy.  Nevertheless, Ladurée, at least on the Champs Elysées, should be attempted on a weekday, preferably far from any holiday.

The other sweets place that I visited came highly recommended by Time Out Paris (with which I reconciled), a good friend in South Florida, and another French friend who had lived in Paris for several years.  Additionally, it was just a short walk from Le Musée du Louvre and right across Rue de Rivoli from Le Jardin des Tuileries, making it a convenient place to break between the classical art gallery and the modern art gallery (The Pompidou Center) where we were going to next.  Angelina is the name of the place, and while they do serve déjeuner (lunch), they are most known for their chocolat chaud à l'ancienne (hot chocolate).  French hot chocolate is very much like Spanish hot chocolate, with which I had been more familiar with in Miami.  It's thick - almost like a soup - and can congeal as it cools down. It's also very rich - so much so, in fact, that it's served with a dollop of unsweetened (or lightly sweetened) whipped cream to cut the richness.  Angelina's version is notoriously rich, thick, and dark and is known as chocolat chaud l'africain.  I needed to try this!

Along with the African hot chocolate, I ordered two of Angelina's signature pastries, the Mont Blanc.  The waiter kind of smirked as he took the order and, hearing The Momster speak in English, mentioned "after Mont Blanc, no more hunger!"  He was right.  I wasn't hungry until about 9:00 PM that evening.  I also had no desire to have anything sweet during the rest of my stay in Paris.  The Mont Blanc was delicious!  The chocolat chaud was superb!  Both of them together?  Bad idea.  A Mont Blanc for each of us?  An even worse idea.  

Angelina's Mont Blanc was definitely one mountain that I could not conquer, and I was forced to leave half of it on the plate (The Momster devoured hers, but then she only had a light dinner that evening).  It consists of a disk of crispy meringue (something familiar to almost every Latin American) topped with sweetened whipped cream and topped with "chestnut vermicelli" which are what American would just call chestnut paste squiggles.  Having eating many Japanese wagashi (sweets) made with sweetened chestnut paste, I can safely say that no chestnut paste is sweeter or as rich as Angelina's.  Apparently, it's quite famous, too, because you can buy it on its own in their boutique.  The Mont Blanc is really an exemplary feat of patisserie and is something to be experienced when visiting Paris.  However, it should be had with a coffee and not with hot chocolate.  This can create a rather stressful predicament for a foodie with only a few days in Paris:  chocolat chaud or Mont Blanc?  Although the Mont Blanc is delicious, Angelina's hot chocolate is truly something not to be missed if you had to choose one thing to have at this iconic salon de thé.  Arriving in a porcelain pitcher with a demitasse of freshly whipped cream, Angelina's chocolat chaud l'africain is a chocoholic's drinkable fantasy - strong chocolate with a velvety mouthfeel that gives you something close to a high as well as an understanding of why this is one of the world's most prized commodities.  If you have to munch on something with your chocolat, I'd have a croissant.  At the sweetest, I'd have a small financier or even a couple of macarons....anything but the Mont Blanc.  In Paris, I've discovered, it's best to pace yourself when it comes to sweets.  Don't do it all at the same time, and definitely not at the same place, for there is just too much to discover for someone with a sweet tooth in the City of Lights.

Ladurée

75 Avenue des Champs Elysées, Paris

http://www.laduree.fr/

Angelina

226 Rue de Rivoli, Paris

http://www.angelina-paris.fr/#/home/

Haitian Indepedence Day & Soup Joumou

I can't believe that I had forgotten about Haitian Independence Day today, and most importantly, I had forgotten all about soup joumou!  True, I have never had soup joumou, but this is one Haitian tradition that is mandatory to partake in at least once for anyone who has a serious love of Haitian culture, and as some of you might know, I really love Haitian culture and its delicious cuisine.  So, what is soup joumou and why is it important today?

Soup joumou translates, basically, as pumpkin soup and is something traditionally eaten on New Year's Day, like black eyed peas in the American South.  However, it is more linked to Haitian Independence than to the new year.  Reportedly (although I've read different stories) joumou is a fragrant kind of winter squash - kind of like butternut squash or calabaza - that was off-limits to slaves under the French.  Additionally, the consumption of soup was said to be something only available to Whites, and African slaves (and freed Mulattos, as well) were prohibited from drinking soups.  After Haiti finally gained its independence on January 1st, 1804, this was the soup chosen to mark the Haitian people's newfound freedom, for it symbolized something that was unjustly off-limits to them but that they finally earned through their own hard work...and there was a lot of hard work involved.  Not only did Haitians have to overthrow their slave owners, but attacks from other European colonial powers who saw Haiti as free for the taking, as well as Napoleon's troops who wanted to annihilate the Haitians and take over France's lost colony.  It's not generally talked about, but Haiti's independence sparked the independence of other Latin American countries, and it was Haiti who helped liberate The Dominican Republic, aided Simon Bolívar in the liberation of South America and forced Latin America to enforce freedom for all its people and abolish slavery.

Soup Joumou contains joumou (pumpkin), beef, potatoes, any number of vegetables, and pasta.  Like most Haitian cuisine, it's filling and aromatic with scotch bonnet chiles, cloves, and thyme....but especially with this dish, I think a good measure of pride is added into the pot.  Sadly, I missed this delicacy in 2012 for lack of a Haitian manman (mother) and lack of planning.  If you want to try it next year and don't have a Haitian manman, yourself, I heard from a reputable source that Chez Le Bebe, known as the best Haitian restaurant in Miami (and renowned for its Legim) makes an exemplary rendition.

Happy New Year & Happy Independence Day, Ayiti cheri!

Chez Le Bebe

114 Northeast 54th Street

Miami, FL 33137-2416

(305) 751-7639 ‎

Betty's Soul Food (Breakfast)

Having been in Broward County for only a few months, I've found there to be a lot of differences from Dade County in the gastronomic landscape.  One thing I've noticed that is perhaps lacking in Dade, but in full abundance in Broward, is the presence of places serving good - if not phenomenal - American breakfasts.  John and I wanted to go out for a good last breakfast of 2011.  Our first choice was Old Fort Lauderdale Breakfast House, which serves a fantastic American breakfast with top-notch products and is almost as good as the breakfast served at Roxbury Tavern in Sauk City, Wisconsin.  Of course, it being South Florida, quality usually goes hand-in-hand with a heftier price tag and heftier hype, which is why the only time we've successfully had breakfast at the O-B House was on a Monday at around 7:30 AM.  The combination of this restaurant having a small seating capacity, making everything to order, and having a substantial local following makes it difficult to to get a table on most weekends without waiting a minimum of 20 minutes outside in the South Florida sun.  This particular Saturday morning, we had the added obstacle of the street being blocked off for the Downtown Fort Lauderdale New Year's Eve celebrations, which was the deciding factor for us to change our breakfast plans.

The first thing that came to John's brilliant mind was Betty's, a soul food restaurant located on Sistrunk, which is the main thoroughfare of Fort Lauderdale's historically African-American (or Black, if you prefer) neighborhood.  John had seen it from the Tri Rail for over a year now, I've read about it in the Sun Sentinel, a coworker always raves about it, and a new friend at a party couldn't speak more highly of it.  Besides having a reputation for incredible soul food standards, the place is a culinary landmark for a community that arguably knows a lot about great food.  A drive along the newly-renovated Sistrunk (which is quaint and full of character) just past I-95 will lead you to Betty's Soul Food just on your right.  The facade looks like something straight out of the Deep South, which before the throngs of Latin American immigrants and Anglo snowbirds, was what a lot of South Florida looked like.  I loved it at first sight!

The inside of the restaurant is not big, but definitely not claustrophobic.  There is a counter, like any good diner should have, as well as an array of booths and tables.  The owners are very much Afrocentric and take Black pride very seriously, as witnessed in posters of Martin Luther King Jr, President Barack Obama, and a portrait of The Last Supper with important Black ideological figures (Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie, Elijah Mohammed, Bob Marley, Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, and others), which is where we chose to sit under.  The dining room was alive with patrons enjoying breakfast and a good mix of funk classics, Motown hits, and R&B singles.  I started with a cup of regular black coffee, and John had a glass of sweet tea, which had the requisite intense sweetness and almost syrup-like consistency.  If you've never had experience with soul food, this is definitely not a calorie-conscious cuisine, but definitely a flavor-conscious cuisine, and intense sweetness in drinks and desserts is very characteristic.  That being said, the uninitiated might feel as if they might go into diabetic shock while sipping on Betty's sweet tea, but the soul food connoisseur will have a satisfied smile knowing that he/she has got the good stuff.

As for our breakfasts, John ordered the chicken and waffle, and I had the salmon croquettes.  John's breakfast, which came out to just under $8, consisted of a freshly-made, thick and very fluffy round waffle served with two medium-sized pieces of dark meat fried chicken.  I don't get too crazy about waffles, unless they're  Liege waffles, but these were good and offered everything that you'd want from a waffle.  The fried chicken was moist and had an addictive well-seasoned and crunchy crust, although one piece was no more than a glorified chicken wing and didn't offer too much meat.  Regardless, the seasoning and crust more than made up for it in my view.  I'm guessing that if you would like a meatier piece, you can ask for a breast or a drumstick or whatever piece you prefer.  

My salmon croquettes (just under $9), which came highly recommended by my coworker, were fantastically crispy on the outside, just moist enough on the inside, and had an irresistible savoriness to them that was only improved by a few dashes from the huge bottle of Crystal hot sauce present at every table.  My over easy eggs were perfectly fried with golden brown crispiness around the edges and runny yolks that melted onto the plate with the lightest touch of my fork.  While many people find grits to be too plain (and perhaps gloppy) to decipher the good from the bad, Betty's grits are noticeably superior to most that I've tried.  The star of the breakfast spread, however, were the homemade biscuits, which were so buttery and flavorful that they required nothing at all.  The copious amount of butter in them, while keeping them moist on the inside, can turn them quickly soggy on the bottoms if not eaten quickly enough, but the flavor is so good that it would be foolish to nitpick at such a small detail.  

A full (and filling) breakfast for two came out to $20 and came complete with the heady feeling that well-made soul food can give you.  Upon perusing the menu, we found several lunch and dinner options that would definitely draw us back to Betty's, such as fried chicken, ribs (they have their own rib truck parked out front), oxtails, pig's feet, ham hocks, fried fish, souse, and many other classics.  Of course, all the dishes come served with typical sides such as collard greens, macaroni and cheese, okra, and others. Daily specials include neck bones, hog maws, and chitterlings.  And this doesn't include all the different specials tacked onto the walls.  Betty's Soul Food DEFINITELY warrants another visit...and maybe another after that....and then another, and another, and another.  If the quality and service stay the same, this might make my list of regular spots and give one more reason to be happy to live in Broward County.

Betty's Soul Food

601 Northwest 22nd Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311-7756

(954) 583-9121 ‎