My trip to France was my first international experience ever. As much as I tried to prepare, there really is just no preparing for the unknown. From walking a mile underground in between each subway line to the reality of the hotel rooms, everything seemed to be more difficult than I had anticipated. What do you mean small? Thankfully, as all reigns true, food is the international unifier regardless of barriers.

When it came to culture shock, the biggest wake-up calls I received were a Kentucky Fried Chicken amassed with obnoxious teens and Chinese-borne sandwich cart vendors. So you mean to tell me you speak Mandarin, French, AND English? I’m glad I learned all those 15 words before I traveled all the way over here.

On a cloudy, rainy day in Paris, we happened upon this easy-on-the-eyes, comfort-zone respite of a Japanese noodle house in what appeared to be an actual Japantown in Paris!

Now, I have it on good authority from TWO Japanese people that “lamen” is a phonetic corruption of “ramen”, and is not actually the French translation.

After enduring a week of ghastly humidity throughout France, the rain was welcome weather for eating lamen.

The chef prepared for us a decent plate of yakisoba with calamari rings, followed by a simple but solid bowl of pork lamen.

After Paris, we ventured down south to Nice. Similar to my post on Liguria, the French Riviera is so much different than the rest of the country. From the architecture to the cuisine, it just screams quaint, romantic, seaside living. Like with this bouillabaise for starters:

It was no Joe’s Crab Shack of course, and it did not compel me to scream, “TAKE YOUR TOP OFF!” but it did the trick.

Another regional specialty, like the bouillabaise but far less recognized, is socca. Socca is a chick-pea pancake with lots of olive oil and black pepper. Other cultures have similar dishes–like farinata in Italy and besan poora in India–but socca truly is my favorite. Not just because of the flavor and consistency, but because of this particular experience.

You know how in San Francisco there’s the Tamale Lady? Well Nice has the Socca Lady and her name is Theresa. Caricatural in all her glory, she owns the crowd at the Tuesday Farmer’s Market in Old Nice.

Taciturn in voice and demeanor, she glares at you while you stammer, “Socca por deux… uh… sils vous plait…” Gulp. With a nod of her head and a shoo of her hand, you stand there completely unsure of what to do next so you go sit down and sort of just wait, feeling totally insecure. Then you wait and you wait some more, and then finally, around the corner like Batman’s Robin on a runaway sidecar, comes this man with his glorified pizza warmer. Behold, the socca contraption:

Not only does the entire bottom of the contraption hold a single socca that Theresa makes in her kitchen, but it also holds smaller socca-esque pies.

Theresa takes the whole tray of socca and you see her start cutting it up and throwing it on paper plates, calling customers and familiar faces to come get theirs. I tried to play it cool like I’m not on the edge of my seat, feeling a little like a penniless child near an ice-cream truck, and then just as fast as she shooed me away, she brought me my very first, official plate of socca.

Unfortunately, the wait continued because this thing was like 500˚F of steaming, creamy chickpea.

Back in Paris in the 5th Arrondisement, is this amazing Japanese patisserie, steps away from our little hotel called Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki.

Stuffed to the gills with French macaroons and cafe cremes, this shop was a sweet intermission.

There is nothing like learning things for the first time and, while I preferred the South of France to Paris, the diversity and unexpected finds of the city were worth learning the hard way. And when you don’t know what else to order or just have a hankering, get the soup a l’oignon.

I must stress that this is the best onion soup I have ever eaten to date.

HIGUMA
32 bis Rue Sainte-Anne
75001 Paris, France
01.47.03.38.59

THERESA’S SOCCA
Tuesdays @ the Cours Saleya Market
Old Nice, France

PATISSERIE SADAHARU AOKI
35 Rue de Vaugirard
Paris, France 75006
+33.1.45.44.48.90

I was recently in Holland for a week, and my good friend and travel buddy, Josh, became OBSESSED with stroopwafels, a Dutch delicacy. A stroopwafel is like a big wafer cookie sandwich that’s a bit chewy and filled with a sweet syrupy honey filling, and every bakery makes them differently. We hunted all over Holland for these and I think the ones at the adorable cafe Lanskroon in Amsterdam were among our favorites.

My neighbourhood is changing rapidly these days– for the better. The whole block used to be really sad, shopping-wise. A nasty old bakery with day-old bread, Christian-sects’ offices, and three different Thai “massage” parlours (last year a war broke out between them, and the hookers smashed each other’s glass windows with bricks every night, what a party). One time, an entire police task force stormed the Arabian “club” right beneath my apartment. They found weapons, drugs, and ten hand grenades hidden in the bushes right next to the children’s playground in our backyard. Charming…

But all that’s history now. A new estate agent has taken over the store spaces, lowered the insane rent and sought out some better alternatives to prostitution and drugs. Just before Christmas the old bakery on the corner of the building reopened as a trendy conditori (bakery/patisserie), called Nikolaos Strangas Cakeaway.

So…”cakeaway” huh? Is this a new trendy buzzword of 2011? Takeaway cake? In that case, I’ve been unawaringly trendy every Sunday morning when I buy cakes at the local bakery and DON’T immediately eat them in the store in front of the other customers. But that’s how it is, and it’s neither a new or bad idea.

The owner, Athens-born Nikolaos Strangas, explains that this is quite popular in countries such as Italy, Greece and France. In those countries, it is customary to bring dessert to a dinner instead of flowers or wine. Before you go to the party, you visit a conditori and pick out an assorted selection of delicious cakes, pastries and small beautiful bites which are then served on a cake tray after dinner. Then, everyone tastes each others’. Cakes are selected and shared according to the guests’ personal tastes and preferences. How fun and relaxed!

The small but cozy conditori space which only has ten seats for guests. I love the shop’s balance between rough and delicate, dark and light, smooth glass and textured stone.

Nikolaos has worked in Copenhagen as a pastry chef at the famous and fancy restaurant Era Ora as a since 2005, and now he’s running his own business on the side together with his Danish wife Lotte. It took five months to clean out and break down the former bakery and rebuild it into a white, spacious kitchen area. But it was worth the wait.

Cute lil’ meringue drops with natural colouring.

Everything in the store (except the Fairtrade coffee) is crafted in the kitchen– no imported powder baked crap. Prices are medium to high, but it’s fair considering that it’s all homemade with natural and seasonal ingredients.

I really like the rustic, bare brick wall– very New York. And a very nice contrast to the fine colours and textures of the pastries and cakes.

Homemade wholegrain müsli, biscuits, macarons…

Freshly baked scones– plain or with cocoa bits and raisins. These are the original Scottish kind from Glasgow with more air and fluffiness in the dough– much better than the heavy, sticky Danish version.

Different kinds of white, milk or dark chocolate “tablets”.

Homemade marshmallows– soft and spongy.

Today’s selection of cakeaway cakes. Notice the super cute little panna cotta glass spheres. Small cakes are 35-45 DKK ($6-8), the big ones 4-500 DKK ($73-91).

Nikolaos is a super friendly host. He greets the guests with a handshake, talks passionately about his many pastries, generously hands out taste samples and bites– he even finds time to sit down with his customers and hang out. No stressed-out store clerks in this conditori, a rare sight these days. Imagine all store owners in your city being this proud of their business.

What his shop is most known for at the moment though, is his macarons.

American readers will probably say “pfft” and raise their eyebrows in belittlement, but hold your horses; this is a very new thing in Denmark, and almost no bakeries or conditories have yet managed the rare skill of making these small wonders. Umamimart’s own macaron expert, Yamahomo is actually the one who introduced me to the phenomena by writing about his endless efforts in his NYC kitchen to attain the highest skill and quality possible.

The conditori offers a daily selection of 10-12 different flavours. Apart from classics like chocolate and raspberry, Nikolaos offers local flavours like basil and sea buckthorn, a Danish berry recently re-introduced to the Nordic kitchen. The macarons are beautiful with perfect “feet” and small decorations if they are a special variation.

The space was packed with Sunday walkers when I visited, so I brought home a small batch of the sugary jewels for a closer look.

The whole identity of the store is well-designed and consistent– from bags and boxes to storefront and coffee cups. Elegant purple and pastels, always with a bow detail.

I wish more stores in Denmark would actually put an effort into their visual identity.

If I remember correctly, these are: basil, mint, passion fruit, liquorice, blueberry, lemon and strawberry.

Around the clock macaron excitement, with a little figure I designed.

I also got a gift box of mini babies. Love the gold bow.

… and the adorable brown dot.

This is pure “cakeaway”– because macarons are so delicate, this box is perfect for maintaining the look of their crunchy bodies and avoid crushing accidents. If someone sat on this box, eating them smashed to splats just wouldn’t be the same.

I also bought two cakes.

Raspberry mousse, white chocolate ganache, dark chocolate bits, white chocolate string and a raspberry.

Passionfruit mousse, dark chocolate layer, dark chocolate tiles with 24 carat gold, blackberry.

Everything was sweet, fresh and filling– as something made with love and good ingredients should be. Nice interior, good packaging and well-made products are a rare thing these days, I salute this shop.

Located right next to the Cakeway are the four great lakes of Copenhagen– a beautiful and popular place for the Sunday walk among Copenhageners. Inspired by this, Nikolaos came up with a great idea which will be launched this spring: a cake & coffee picnic basket to enjoy on the many benches along the lakes. I’m sure that will be quite a popular sell.

To conclude the post, I thought the cakes and macarons would go well with my friends’ and my own ceramic designs.

“Dots” plates by my talented friend Lars Rank.
Mugs and figurines by Louise Gaarmann and me.

My dear friend Leslie alerted me about this bakery when she found out I was going to Chicago. Her friend Sandra Holl had just opened Floriole Cafe & Bakery in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago, and she urged me to make a visit.

Sandra and her husband had a supportive following through the farmer’s market grapevine for years, selling their baked goods in Chicago. They finally pulled the trigger and opened Floriole in April– a HUGE two-story, airy, brick and mortar space full of light and Frenchie charm (think country farmhouse in Provence).

Le petit dejeuner.

Sandra and her staff make EVERYTHING from scratch, even their pot of yogurt with jam! So creamy and delicious.

Their croissant was off the scale– it’s SO HARD to find a good croissant in the States, that when I do, I tend to gorge on a few in one sitting. The croissant is my measure stick as to how I rate bakeries. Floriole’s was buttery, flakey, with crispy (but not burnt!) edges. Perfection. This jambon, fromage et moutarde-filled croissant was OUT OF CONTROL.

Macarons!

Sandra was kind enough to give us a tour of the kitchen. Again, it was SO HUGE. It must be a dream-come-true for her, to have such a grand  work space for her creations.

Le Torch!

Temperature controlled bread-making room.

Sandra’s baby.

Baby #2.

HA!

Upstairs. Great party space.

Window into the kitchen.

Intelligentsia in the espresso machine. Keepin it local.

Gorgeous!

Wishing Floriole and Sandra many years of success! Please start a mail order service for your croissants! Maybe you can eventually open a satellite location in the Bay Area?

Next time, I MUST try your ramp sandwich.

FLORIOLE CAFE & BAKERY
1220 W Webster Avenue
Chicago, IL
T: 773.883.1313

Top photo by Matt K.

Newest omiyage (gift) in the Akabori household from Japan: green tea Baumkuchen from a patisserie in Dojima, Osaka called Mon Chouchou. From the website, it looks like it is a relatively new shop (2003), that takes its inspiration from the old world of Osaka, calling Dojima the “New York of Japan.”

Of course the most immediately noteworthy trait to any Japanese omiyage is the packaging- this bright orange box actually had this brown ribbon tied around it. Take a look- the perfectly color-coordinated ribbon also has the company namesake printed on it. This is what I live for! PACKAGING WHORE!

Open up the box and the lovefest continues. The green from the cake’s matcha is just so strikingly gorgeous. The color combination here: the bright UMAMIMART orange, brown and green- GENIUS!

There is a Mon Chouchou message inscribed into the lid of the box in gold. Something about enjoying the sweets, blah blah. Nothing earth-shattering, but nice touch. Plus the gold sticker in the middle of the Baumkuchen hole!

FRIGGIN’ BEAUTIFUL! I wrote about Baumkuchen back in November when I was in Japan- there seems to be a revival going on over there right now for this European sweet, originally from Eastern Europe. It’s made on a spit!

I don’t really know how to serve this properly so have just been cutting them up into diagonals. The cake is dense and slightly sweet. The matcha overpowers everything, but in a good way. It breaks apart in your mouth in layers, just like the cake intends- it really is quite an textural experience above all else.

Hideko’s gonna kill me- she only got one piece! Sorry mama!!! I’ll move out soon, and leave your omiyage alone, I promise!!

MON CHOUCHOU
Tanaka Bldg. 1-4-17 Dojimahama
Kitaku, Osaka City
T: +81 6-6343-1616

Is that a piece of bacon on top of that cupcake? Yes! It was Buzz’s cupcake of the month… peanut butter bacon cupcake!! Of course, I had to try it, as I love the sweet and savory combo (have you put m&m’s in your movie popcorn?).

It was a chocolate cupcake, with a peanut butter frosting, with just a small sprinkle of bacon on top. Very intriguing – the peanut butter frosting was actually too sweet and overpowered the salty bacon… glad I tried it, but can’t say it was a winning combination for me.

The other good thing about Buzz Bakery is that it caters to those with celiac disease… gluten-free cupcakes and brownies that taste just as good as the regular ones!

BUZZ
901 Slaters Lane
Alexandria, VA

The Doughnut Plant is just a few doors down from Kossar’s, so how could we not make a stop? Shamefully, as with many of the stops we made throughout the day, this was my very first time there… EVER. Why do you think I suggested to do this crawl? So many gems down there that I had never been to- after six years in NYC, it was time to explore.

The Doughnut Plant has a delightful history worth sharing. The propieter, Mark Israel’s grandfather was stationed in Paris during WWI and worked in the army’s bakery. Upon returning to the US, he opened his own bakery, and made donuts with his own recipe. Here’s a pic of him, proudly framed in the shop.

Fast forward to 1994 when Israel opens The Doughnut Plant in the basement of the LES Tenement Building, using his grandfather’s donut recipe. How wonderful is that!!! He hustled hard, making donuts by night, delivering them by day.

Today, the Plant resides on Grand Street, and has become a LES mainstay. The love has spread globally, and the Plant now boasts more than a dozen locations in Tokyo, and a new one in Seoul. Ironically, there is only the one in NYC. There’s something comforting in that, though.

FYI, the Tokyo shop makes bagels using Israel’s grandmother’s recipe. He should start that in NYC as well- why not?

The place was super packed when we were there on Sunday around noon.

The menu is divided by yeast and cake doughnuts, the yeast ones being the fluffier version. Had no idea. NO TRANS FAT!!!

Peeking in through the slits, into the kitchen.

There are benches in the window with these wonderfully colorful round rings. I’m reading on their website that Israel’s father handmakes all of them!

Alright, on to the doughnuts. They make such imaginative, quirky-flavored doughnuts, which gets so much love and press.

Todd: Every doughnut I have ever had from the Doughnut Plant has been very good and they deserve their fine reputation. I really liked the Meyer Lemon (below) and Hazelnut ones I had this time. They do get stale very fast. I don’t like buying them from anywhere other than where they are made, they tend to be stale (they have a sizable wholesale business, Zabar’s and Katch coffee among other places).

Meyer lemon cake doughnut.

Cream-filled cake doughnut. Is this the Tres Leches??

PB&J doughnut!

Coconut doughnut.

Introducing the doughnut darling of the day: Creme Brulee.

Christy: I especially enjoyed my creme brulee doughnut, it was so adorably miniature and the crispy sugar on top was a treat.

Kayoko: According to the NYTimes, he handpipes the creme into the doughnut, tops it off with sugar, and then blowtorches it, making the sugar crunchy and a bit burnt. GENIUS!

Here’s my personal favorite: The CHURRO!

The website says that Israel started making the churro in 1999 after a trip to Mexico. Again, genius. They were crispy, not too doughy, perfectly fried. Mmmmm… If I lived near The Plant, I would gain 50 pounds cause I would get this combo above of churro and coffee every morning.

Daniel with his two babies.

But hold up, not everyone was a fan. Paystyle says, “Ehh. I don’t see myself making that a destination. So-so tasting donuts, points for inventive flavors. Truth be told I’d enjoy a fresh glazed Krispy Kreme more.”

As counterpoint, I leave you with wise words from Josh: “Creme Brulee doughnuts forever.”

Make sure to check out the Plant’s website, which is chock full of great information and history. Be back tomorrow for The Pickle Guys! Check out all previous Umamiventures here. Thanks to Christy, Michelle, Jill and Jessie for the pictures. Make sure to join the UM Facebook group to stay updated on all future Umamiventures.

You can order your own tasty platter for Superbowl…click on the image below for details…

Yum!

Lark beholds a wonderous galaxy of wacky cupcake flavors that are (almost) too cute to eat. Here are some that were available on Saturday.

Lone Red Velvet.

Famed Old-Fashioned Icebox cupcake.

Chocolate Coconut.

Carrot Cake.

They also have an array of cookies and brownies.

Gorgeous polkadotted cake!

Really simple, whimsical wall design which is just red push pins in cupcake wrappers.

They whip the cream cheese frosting to be so light and fluffy- it definitely beats any frosting I had from Magnolia or Buttercup. This post is dedicated to Lauren. Red velvet misses you!

LARK CAKE SHOP
3337 W. Sunset Blvd
LA, CA
T: 323.667.2968

A cute little pumpkin – haven’t eaten it yet, but guessing it is some sort of “manju” (Japanese dessert with sweet beans inside):

Also got this – a little mochi (sweet rice cake filled with sweet beans):

This one totally reminds me of my many trips to Little Tokyo in LA with my grandmother when I was kid. You could watch them make these from the storefront window and they would serve them right off the stove. It’s called dorayaki – basically two little pancakes with the sweet bean inside. Still brings back good memories when I bite into one.

Then I was in Chinatown and came across Mei Li Wah Bakery- I couldn’t pass up getting a coconut bun:

While in Flushing a few weekends ago for our Umamiventure, I purchased a sesame ball at the dumpling stop. (Sorry guys, I didn’t share this with anyone, stashed it in my purse for dessert on my way home!). I love ending with something sweet after a Chinese foodfest like the one we had or after a dimsum meal too.

For those of you who know me, you’re probably thinking I’m turning really Japanese/Asian on them. But don’t you worry, just yesterday, my co-worker Chris brought back a wonderful surprise from the new Magnolia Bakery on 49th and 6th- FOUR blocks away from our office… how dangerous is that?

Look at the cute packaging:

We called a meeting at 5pm yesterday to devour these- moist, red velvet cupcakes with sweet cream cheese frosting. DELICIOUS!

Katagiri
224 E. 59th Street
NYC

Mei Li Wah
64 Bayard Street
NYC

Sesame Balls
Somewhere in Flushing
(near a Starbucks)
Queens, NY

Magnolia Bakery
1240 Avenue of the Americas
NYC