A la Mere de Famille

For today's post, we went to the quaint little bon-bon shop called A la Mere de Famille. Aside from chocolate, boxes of marzipan, candy, lolly pops and nougat line the shelves, making the whole shop colorful. In the freezer, the only non-oldfashioned thing in the shop, are ice cream and ice cream cakes. While pricey, they look delicious.

Started on Montmartre in Paris, this candy/chocolate shop has been going since 1760. It was started by four children and their parents in their big, green house, and was passed down, family to family, though not all of the same decent. The founder, Pierre Jean Bernard, a spice man, started the shop in this neighborhood. At the time, the neighborhood was still developing, and he was unsure whether this was the right place to live. But as the years went by, more and more of Paris went to live there, and in the end, he was confident that he had situated himself in the right place.


The shop we visited is on Rue Bonapart. Nestled in the throng of modern shops, it looks even more old fashioned than ever. In the big windows are displays of lollypops, candy, and chocolate. Inside are all the candies, perfectly boxed up in little plastic boxes with bows. Able to endure a long train or plane ride, these are the perfect presents to bring back to friends. Many people who enter the shop and don't like marzipan will wish they do. Little sculptures of perfect red apples and little oranges line some of the boxes of candy, and are on sale by the piece. Another unique French candy are little plastic shells that, while being cute, are a challenge to eat. The inside, thought to be a gummy, turns out to be a lollypop plastered inside the shell. Besides these, there are little fruit candies, and many chocolates. The chocolates are on the chocolate counter, and near the cash register is a crystal bowl full of chocolates for degustation (tasting). These are also available to buy. On the shelves that line the shop are boxes of chocolates, and there are even cute, tiny boxes of chocolates with two chocolates in them. Le confisserie has a cheery ring to it, between all the colors of candy, the bows, and the overall quaintness.

 
I chose a caramel ganache with praline in the middle (as you can see, I am a praline lover). It was rich, mostly the doing of the praline, which had it's usual peanut-buttery texture. The outside coating was milk chocolate, which made the chocoalte creamy, and the caramel added more sweetness and a slightly gooey texture to the chocolate. Although it was small, it was scrumptious, complete in it's own with blasts of flavor. A la Mere de Famille is a great store. Not only are the chocolates great, but the atmosphere is nice and cozy, and the people are happy to help. Definitely worth it.

Patrick Roger

   The first thing that you notice about this sleek chocolate shop on Boulevard Saint-Germain is the sculpture in the window. Currently a jaguar gnawing on a bone, it is huge. Inside is dim lighted, and the signature color aqua is all over. There is a smell of dark chocolate when you walk in the door, a mark of the trade.


   This chocolate shop was started thirty years ago in south-western Paris. Patrick Roger started his business in his own house, and then opened a small boutique in his home town. He started out as a baker, and then switched to chocolate. He makes his famous sculptures himself. Green is the trademark color of his store, not only because it's his favorite color, but because he loves nature. That is why, in some of his stores, there is a setting of a forest, and on some of the chocolate-bar boxes are branches.

   The jaguar is naturally the main attraction. Every summer since the summer we found this store, which was a couple of years ago, we have posed with the former hippopotamuses, ape, monkey, and other animals. After the time of the old sculpture is done, they cast it in bronze or some other kind of metal. This big figure is what gives off most of the dark chocolate smell that is in the store.

  There are quite a few of these stores around, but they all have the same modern, aqua colored setting. The store that we always go to is on Boulevard Saint-Germain. Inside, the counters are polished wood, the railings gleaming metal. The floor, made of black tiles, is spotless, as is everything else in the shop. Air-conditioning is on full blast, and your body has a hard time maintaining homeostasis. (Tip: Bring a sweater.) Not all Patrick Roger (pronounced Paatrik Roegae) have chocolate sculptures, but one of them has a beautiful glass window in the front framed by green glass meant to look like a forest.

   The chocolate itself is amazing. There are pralines, which are chocolates with chocolate-hazelnut spread inside and hazelnuts on top, chocolate bars ranging from 100% to milk chocolate, and the smaller chocolates of every shape, size, and flavor. Aqua bags of chocolate line the trade-mark shiny shelves, and marzipan frogs, elephants, ducks and ladybugs sit on the counter opposite the jaguar. On the shelves in the back of the semi-circle of products lie the chocolate bars, and in the middle is a round counter. On the part of the counter facing the front doors are the greenish-blue boxes of assorted chocolates. Behind, as well as on the other side of the counter, (the counter is divided in half by a walkway), protected by glass, are the smaller, one piece chocolates.

   Out of all the delicious chocolates, I chose an orangette. Shaped like a lumpy, oversized stick, it is orange gelatin covered in chocolate. The orange gelatin made a squelchy noise when bitten into, and was hard but soft makes squelchy noise when bitten into firm tangy citrony sweet dark yummy soft easy to bite things like that really good shaped like oversized stick MMMMMMMM! Soo good!! flaky breaks apart when bitten into chwy hard to chew grainy

Jean-Paul Hevin

This relatively large store is up the street from Luxembourg Gardens. The first thing you see is the window display, which immediately gives away what the trade of this store is, aside from making pastries.
Inside is sleek and modern; shiny surfaces made of metal and glass. On the shelves around the store are chocolate sculptures including a white chocolate shoe and a milk chocolate Eiffel Tower. These shoes were in other colors such as red and green when we had just got here in early June, but soon disappeared. When I asked the lady who worked at the store what happened, she replied that the shoes were just in the window for Mother's day, but she was able to show us the left over white one. The smaller chocolates lie protected in a glass case on the counter. Milk chocolates, dark chocolate, and every shape and size of chocolate sit in neat little black boxes. Just looking at them takes your taste buds on a journey.

I chose a medium-sized chocolate called a Bouchee Caramel Croustillante. In the shape of a square, it is milk chocolate with caramel in the middle and crumbled wafer on top, covered in more milk chocolate. It's shell was soft and hard at the same time, and the caramel was nice and gooey, while retaining a slight taste of coffee and fruit. The wafer was crunchy with the kind of texture of chopped up nuts, and it was layered nicely. It was a sublime chocolate.

The chocolate itself is made right outside of Paris in Colombe. Jean-Paul Hevin has been making chocolate for 24 years, getting the cao-cao beans from exotic places such as Haiti and Java. A small, dark chocolate rectangle, the Caraibe, which is a ganache nature, is, according to the vendeuse, the chocolate of choice for most people. It looked good, with it's little ripples on top and dark chocolate coating. So if you find yourself around Luxembourg Gardens...Bon appetit!

Jean-Charles Rochoux

     This petit chocolate shop with it's grey block lettering on it's very French creme-colored awning is nestled on Rue D'Assas, almost on the corner. Sitting in the window are the amazing chocolate sculptures. Dogs, cats, cupids, and frogs are made along with all the other chocolate in the very shop. Because of this, when you walk in the door, your nose is immediately filled with wonderful aromas of chocolate; dark chocolate, nutty chocolate, milk chocolate, and praline. Mmmm. On the counter, in rows and rows of boxes, are all of the small chocolates, including caramel chocolates, fruit chocolates, and even little chocolates with a fake red wax seal on them! Behind this are shelves of different chocolates, including busts of people, and on the shelves on the opposite wall are more chocolates, cupids on hearts, letters, numbers, and some small animals, including a life size fawn.

     With so many delicious looking chocolates, it was hard to choose which one to sample for today's post, but I finally chose a chocolate with praline in the middle, a dark chocolate coating, and almonds on the top covered with more chocolate. The coating and the almonds were nicely crunchy to balance out the peanut butter texture of the praline. Little flakes of chocolate were in the praline, and although the lady who worked at the store mentioned neither of these when I asked about this chocolate, it had a slightly fruity taste when I first bit into it, and the smell that floated into my nose while eating was one of coffee. It goes without saying that it was delicious. 

    Not only does Jean-Charles Rochoux make chocolates, but piled up on the cashier counter are glass pots. These pots are filled with different things; one kind is chocolate hazelnut spread, in another caramel sauce with melted butter, and in another just plain chocolate sauce. Gleaming on precarious stacks with their silver caps, these different sauces are delicious. From experience, I know that it tastes really good to put the chocolate hazelnut spread in the refrigerator, and then when you want to spread it on something (tip: spread it on warm bread, it's the best thing ever), heat it up. Definitely a must get, just as Jean-Charles Rochoux is a must-go.      

Angelina's Tea House

       

        With it's 20'th century atmosphere, Angelina's Tea House is the perfect place for a rainy day. Waitresses bustle around in black dresses and white aprons with lace frills, the style of the 1900's. Mirrored walls reflect the petit marble tables and grey plush leather chairs with white frames and gold beading. Another part of the atmosphere, the gilded cream walls, are art in themselves. Soft music, silverware clinking, and most of all, the French chatter, make a cozy setting in this century-old tea room.

         Started in 1903, Angelina's Tea House was founded by Austrian Antoine Rumplemayer. Named after his daughter-in-law, Angelina's Tea House quickly became the Aristocratic meeting place of Paris. Many well known and fancy tailors visited this tea house, including Coco Chanel, and the famous writer Proust was a regular. The setting played a role too; looking out on the Tulleries Gardens, Angelina's is in the middle of a well visited area of Paris. New additions have been made, though; now Luxembourg Gardens has the honor of having an Angelina, as well as the amusement park in Bois du Bologne, the one in Luxembourg carrying on the tradition of a beautiful scene a l'exterior, as the French like to say. Having been to all three, I feel obliged to say that the original is the best, but only a little bit above the one in Luxembourg. I say that it is better because, only at the original, not only do they have chocolate hot chocolate, but they have white hot chocolate.

           The name Angelina's Tea House gives off the impression that this gourmet Parisian tea room is, indeed, known for it's tea. Which it is, but when people go to Angelina's, they go for their world-famous hot chocolate. You would guess, like most other people, that this drink is just a melted bar of chocolate. And indeed, it does taste like that, with it's richness and consistency that makes you want to chew on it. But I learned after a discussion with one of the waitresses that there is more. It is really melted chocolate (that part is right), milk (not cream), and honey. According to the waitress, the rest is a secret, so I guess you'll have to fool around until you get it right!


            Served with whipped cream, this wonderful beverage is a meal in itself. Thick, sweet, and rich, the sugarless whipped cream helps if you want to make a little more milky, but it won't come close to diluting the flavor. It comes in a white porcelain pitcher engraved with the name of the tea house, same as the cups. Monogrammed napkins make sure that you know where you are, and you get surprised that 'Angelina Maison Fondee a 1903' isn't sewn onto the waitresses' aprons. But the hot chocolate is worth anything, and that's the whole point, right?