Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Sunday tea and macarons

Carette is a beautiful art deco salon de thé that’s been at Place du Trocadero for over 80 years. But this I didn’t know until Carol told me when we were sitting at the new Marais location. Whereas the original establishment is riche et royale, where we were perched was quite casual; the perfect spot from which to watch the world sashay by. (And sashay they did, these incorrigible Frenchies.)

So, a Sunday tea date. What might accompany my pot of thé de menthe?

I stole a look inside to let the taste buds start percolating. Strawberry and rhubarb tart with these naughty-looking crunchy bits?

Raspberry gateau? A hedonistic slice of rich, dark chocolate cake?

I’ve found I like things that begin with C. And so I got the classic cherry clafoutis (I even made this lovely custardy dessert once).



Carol ordered un chocolat. Trop modest, I thought, until I saw what she’d been up to earlier in the day.

All around us, people were indulging in plates of vibrantly-colored macarons.

Pistachio, cassis, café, lemon, vanilla, raspberry, rose…

As soon as Carol saw the colors, there was no going back. We went inside so she could buy a box.

A beautiful hot pink box! Filled with macarons!

I was very jealous, and contented myself with admiring the macaron displays.


(And plotting my return to get a box myself.)

8 comments:

nycstylelittlecannoli said...

looks like a grand old fun time! wonderful !!

Frances said...

I have visited you here via the credit given you by Carol.

What a place to have tea! I can see why it has its tables filled.

Looking forward to returning for more Parisian treats.

Violette Crumble said...

I think the best part of this post is really your friend's macaron shirt! Genius.

And now, getting back to that chocolate raspberry bread that you showed me; if I were to try and recreate it myself, would I bake a brioche or a regular boule? I am fixated on having a novice version of it!

Dianne said...

Carette - what a beautiful name for a salon de the` and those lovely cane chairs they use in Paris - love that top pic - that's where I want to be - right now !!
with earl grey tea and Pistache macaron.
Dianne xx

cocoa and coconut said...

I'm so going to Carette next time in Paris! The cherry clafoutis looks divine..perfectly dense and proportioned with cherries. What can I say?..."Oh mon dieu"

Parisbreakfasts said...

I want to paint that glass jar of macs...I got pics too but yours is divine!

Parisbreakfasts said...

PS
The box of macs I bought were not packed very well...many broken when I looked at home in NYC.
Laduree has the packing down best for survival of the fittest macarons FYI.

Jenny said...

Well oh my this was divine. I popped over via PB and quite enjoyed the visit. The pictures are great.