For someone who lives in Paris, I eat surprisingly few pastries. After all, I’m not a huge fan of sweets. I want to continue to wear the jeans I already own. I really like cheese, and sometimes, one has to choose.
But I’ll never turn up my nose at a really good-quality pastry, and if I had to choose my favorite, the one I can never say no to, it would undoubtedly be the croissant.
(Yes, I’m basic. No, I don’t care.)
Technically speaking, the croissant isn’t actually a pastry, but a viennoiserie, a member of that class of not-too-sweet breakfast pastries that also houses the swirled pain aux raisins or the chocolate-filled pain au chocolat.
I have eaten many croissants in my day, but I can count the ones I’ll never say no to on one hand. This one always comes out on top.
This croissant comes from Cyril Lignac’s La Pâtisserie, a pastry shop in the trendy 11th.
One of France’s best known celebrity chefs, Lignac is kind of a Gallic Jamie Oliver – a smiley chef with a lilting accent hellbent on democratizing good food with little fuss. Best known for his television shows where he would travel the country, getting to know some of the best regional specialties, Lignac is also the proprietor of several restaurants and pastry shops in Paris.
The croissant is not the most impressive-looking of the pastries on offer at this shop, but it’s nevertheless always where I gravitate. It’s flaky and buttery and rich, and since it’s so popular, there’s nearly always a fresh batch coming out of the oven, which means I can almost always get my hands on a warm one. This, of course, is the secret to turning even a mediocre croissant into an experience.
While I’m no chocolate lover, I’ve been told that Lignac’s chocolatines (the Southern French word for a chocolate croissant) are just as delicious. You can enjoy them and other chocolate pastries just across the street, at the Chocolaterie (one of the only pastry shops in Paris with tables and a bathroom).
Also, beautiful signs.
As for me? I’ll be keeping things simple… with loads of butter.
La Pâtisserie – Cyril Lignac - 24 Rue Paul Bert, 75011