Pastry Roundup

So the Fates must've been pretty ticked that I managed to write an entire blog post yesterday about death without ever really talking about death -- nothing meaningful or meditative here. I say this because when I visited the Musée Maillol today in the 7th, I was confronted by skulls in every room, of both the human and artistically manufactured variety. The exhibition was called "C'est La Vie!" Don't be fooled; it wasn't about life, but rather death and how death is a part of life -- you know, memento mori and all that jazz. Standing in front of a sculpted skull* by Damien Hirst, I was unexpectedly filled with a saddness/scaredness/relief in recognizing my own immortality. But of course that's not what I'm going to write about tonight; that would be too un-superficial of me.

Musée Maillol is situated in a pretty ritzy part of town, and walking through the streets of the 7ème most definitely had me lusting after all I saw in the windows -- Prada, Diane Von Fustenburg, Yves Saint Laurent, etc. And while I can't afford those designer do-dads, I can afford designer pastries (well, some of them). Here's a roundup of what's been tickling my tastebuds lately.

1)

While only from my local patisserie, this guy still looks (and tasted) pretty good. This tower of chocolate-filled heaven is called a Religeuse, aptly named becuase eating it is what convinced me there must be a God.

2)

This here is a Saint-Honoré Chantilly, purchased at one of the several "Dalloyau: House of Gastronomy" locations in Paris. What you're looking at is a big dollop of Chantilly cream resting on some pastry puff thingys. And the inside is filled with something that tastes as good as the outside looks. There also might be some caramelized sugar involved. Can you even caramelize sugar? (Clearly, my food-writing skills need to be further developed).

3)

Pictured above is a macaron. But not just any macaron -- it's a milk chocolate and passion fruit Mogador macaron made by zee one and only Pierre Hermé. I couldn't eat the thing without pursing my lips and raising my eyebrows, not so much because it's sour, it's just surprising. Like "I never knew this flavor existed" surprising. Mmmmm.

Now excuse me while I go into an confectionary coma, for I actually bought both of the last two sweets today and tried to eat them back-to-back. Which also means I spent a third of today's food allowance on dessert.

But don't worry, I'm still keeping it real by picking up greasy plats a emporter (take-out) like this for dinner:

Note the tiny fork provided for the fries; the French absolutely despise touching their food. I used the fork, but still ended up smearing ketchup all over the side of my hand.

*Sculpted of what, you ask? Why resin and thousands of dead flies, of course.