It’s what the French call “joie de vivre,” and what we call “a joy of living“: the sense of absolute pleasure that we feel when all is right with the world, and our souls are resting contentedly in our bodies. No café for you this morning, ma chérie? Ce n’est pas un problème. Didn’t finish all of your work last night? Ne t’en fais pas – don’t worry about it. Late to work again? I’m sure your boss won’t notice.

Luckily for me, I gleaned an opportunity  to experience this feeling full-force this past Sunday – and surprisingly, at a rather unexpected place:

Welcome to the Devil’s Teeth Baking Company: a cozy, homey bakery located between 45th and 46th Ave. on 3876 Noriega St. Like many other eateries and bakeries in the Sunset district, this lovely pâtisserie stood quiet and unassuming: noticeable only to the casual passerby due to its quaint teal walls and rather unusual name. However, what had caught my eye was a not-so-unassuming sign – a sign that promised, what seemed to me, something truly scrumptious…

Beignets! Deliciously fried pastries from New Orleans. Mmmm…how long has it been since I’ve last had beignets? Quickly, my mind answered: Too long – much too long. While I often had them in Texas, I haven’t really had any since moving to the Golden State…and, well, you know what that means: I was far beyond the point of no return. In I went.

But first: the drink. Normally, I would just go with water (I prefer my drinks as natural as possible), but Alex, the wonderful person I was with, was super sweet and treated me to a Thai ice tea instead. C’est génial! Who’s complaining? Not I.

(For added emphasis, feel free to pronounce “Not I” in a British accent).

And then, there they were – beignets so hot, fresh, and crisp that I was immediately transported into my own tiny version of heaven after taking one gratifying, gooey bite. Mmmm…words cannot even begin to describe this classical French pastry (or “fritter” in English) from down south. It was so mouth-wateringly delicious that Alex and I had to spend a few moments in silence, just savoring the delightful dessert’s slightly crunchy shell and light airy inside.

To our pleasant surprise, however, that wasn’t all that was in store for us: while we were licking our fingers clean, the bakery owners made sure to set out an entire plate of moist chocolate brownie samples on the counter for all hungry (and not-so-hungry) customers. Not too bad a bait, huh?

Encore un, s’il vous plait. One more, please!

Or make that three.

And then, there were the golden blondie brownie samples. Mmmm…I’m not sure exactly what they were, but they tasted like some kind of crumbly cake with several kinds of nuts. Looking back now, I probably should have taken a few moments to savor these little morsels properly, and to figure out what I actually was eating. But nope – down they went with no regrets and not a second to lose. Next time (and there will definitely be a next time).

What can I say? These delectable delights were just too tempting to resist…and well, I’m not really one to in the first place. Plus, with such heavenly nom-noms on full display, what kind of person would I be to say no?

Only five words: Order up, and bon appetit! Oh, and be sure to come on Sunday’s.