My New neighgorhood rocks !!
I ve been living in the Montmartre/ Pigalle area for 20 years and April 2016 i moved in the République / Nation Area .
I discovered that my sweet tooth will be well educated there too .
Here is the result of my first discoveries.
Jojo & Co
the Marché D'Aligre ( also called Marché Beauveau ) is one of the most Famous food market .
It also used to be the cheapest but the gentrified 12th arrondissement changed it a little bit on that matter but it is still worth the visit .
I discovered Jojo & Co on my first visit after moving out. Johanna ROQUES owns the place . she's located in the Halle of the Market. What i like the most is that you can actually look at her team do the cake through the opened kitchen on the back of the shop .
The First thing i tried was a "brioche feuilletée" ( which is in between the brioche and the croissant ) and i was hooked .
I got back the day after and start trying all her cakes . She has this flair in putting a extra twist to classics : she add basil to a lemon tart and it's a whole new story . She adds Chestnust cream to myrtle tart and it's another hit .
So now everytime i go to the market , i try something new and i ll be done : well i guess i ll do it again...
Cyril Lignac
In France , Cyril Lignac became famous through a TV show .
Years later , He owns the rue de Chanzy wich is 3 mn from home. he's got a restaurant , A pastry and bakery shop and a chocolate spot .
As far as the Pastry Bakery is concerned , Cyril Lignac is in between creative signature cakes like the Equinoxe or the orange nuts tart and the Classic Baba au Rhum .
Success is there and he now have 4 differents Pastry shop in the city .
Popellini
Monomaniac Shop is hit or miss bet . this one is a HIT
Popelini is specialized in small cream puffs and bring untried flavors to the cream puff game .
They are prepared daily ( and usually 2 batch a day to be correct ) so you can be sure that it won't be soaked up in a fridge . The result is really nice and flavorfull and i like the crunch of the puff whic make it explodes in your mouth releasing the cream .
The flavors goes from classic Chocolate or Vanilla to Lemon , Raspberry ( with a twist of rose ) , pistaccio ( with a twist of cherry fruit ) , Butter salted Caramel . They also have a flavor of the day .
Need a reason to come the area , try the very colorfull Marché des Enfants Rouges five minutes away
Diamande
The two guys that owns Diamande are very smart . One is Libanese and the other one is Marrocan.
Their proposition is to put a twist to the already delightfull oriental pastries by trying ( and succeeding ) to put less sugar in it and introduced new flavors that ordinary are not used in oriental pastry ( like fresh fruits and chocolate)
The result is actually mindblowing and i really rediscovered this type of sweets . Not only they bring the classics in a fresh and delicious way but their creations ( especially the ones with chocolate or citrus fruits ) are more than very convincing and will soon become classics.
The addition of a not too sweet fresh Figues Mash in the classic Makroud is outstanding .
Run to it !