I practically went insain at the Sain Boulangerie the other day.
Vincent told me last week about a fantastic new Sain boulangerie/café in the upper Marais and said we must go back for lunch. He didn’t have to twist my arm, so we went for lunch with a friend a few days later. Soon as I entered, my eyes almost popped out of my head when I looked at the baskets and glass cases filled with the most delectable bread, pastries, desserts, and sandwiches. There wasn’t one item I wouldn’t want to devour, and even just looking at them, I could tell they would taste as good as they looked.
I brought myself down from pastry heaven for a few minutes to try and decide what I wanted for lunch, choosing a baguette filled with slices of roasted duck and shredded, roasted beets. Vincent had a humongous arancini, stuffed with rich, gooey mozzarella (which of course, I tried and loved) and my friend had a baguette with ham, cheese, and slivered cornichons.
Now for the crucial decision: what to have for dessert? After much consideration and hand wringing, I decided on a slice of the matcha and cherry loaf cake, with a cafe served in the classic, bottle green espresso cups. Although it was tasty enough, I was disappointed there weren’t more cherries in the cake part, but Vincent’s chocolate éclair is truly one of the best I ever tasted. Instead of having the usual, very sweet layer of shiny chocolate on top, the entire éclair was covered with a layer of dark chocolate and topped with shards of dark chocolate.
Baker/owner Anthony Courteille uses old-fashioned techniques before bread was mass-produced using processed flour. He works with a handful of organic flour producers, and the bread has a reduced gluten content, much lower than in commercial bread.
Sain Boulangerie
23 rue des Gravilliers, 75003
Open Monday to Saturday, 7:30am-7:30pm
Sunday 8am-1pm
https://www.sain-boulangerie.com/
Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the book giveaway for Cafe Society by Joan Osburn and congratulations to Donna B. who left the tenth comment. CLICK HERE to order Cafe Society on Amazon.
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