Croissant Brioche

For breakfast this morning, my wife and I ventured into Rice Village to visit one of our favorite French bakeries, Croissant Brioche (2435 Rice Boulevard). This small, unpretentious bakery is always overflowing with the fragrance of fresh-baked goods full of butter and rainbows.


I got my favorite sandwich: smoked salmon on a fresh croissant. The lean smoked salmon, crisp lettuce, and fresh tomatoes helps me forget about the fact that I'm also consuming about 4 tablespoons of glorious butter.


My wife had her usual plain croissant and chocolate eclair all washed down with black coffee. We shared the eclair but only after a sneaky move on my part and some very dirty looks on hers.

My Favorite Meal in Paris

After some extensive planning by my amazing wife, we're finally making like the Griswolds and romping through Europe on a European vacation. We're coming to an end on our brief stop in Paris and will be leaving for Venice soon. Considering the fact that I'm currently on vacation and these internet cafes only take euros which isn't favorable due to the exchange rate, I've decided to only post about my favorite meal in each city. After all, I am on VACATION. =D

My favorite meal in Paris was lunch at Cave La Bourgogne at 144 Rue Mouffetard. In full disclosure, we stopped into this restaurant because it was mentioned in a guide book and we were desperately hungry. So this wasn't one of our usually preplanned, well-researched meals. It also didn't help that only tourists were in the dining area while the locals were in the outdoor cafe/smoking area. I entered this place not expecting much. Luckily, I was proven wrong...thank goodness.


My wife ordered the smoked-salmon salad. As you can see, this thing was overflowing with smoked salmon. The fresh greens and tomatoes along with the hard-boiled eggs made for a nice break from the butter-laden carb-filled meals we've had thus far. And the fact that smoked salmon is one of my favorites didn't hurt either.


My dish was the confit de canard, or duck confit. This is without a doubt one of my favorite dishes of all time. FYI, I'm also a huge fan of duck. This was a quarter of a duck. The thigh and leg were cured and then fried. The pan drippings, i.e., wonderful duck fat, were then used to fry the golden potato coins that accompanied the duck. It was love at first bite. The fatty, salty duck went great with the fatty bland potatoes. The greens were merely there to break up the fat. Now I better understand why drug addicts always chase that first high...I'm not sure if I'll ever taste something like this again.

Flipping Out

For Saturday lunch in Austin, we tried a place we saw on Food Network's Throw Down with Bobby Flay. According to the show, the two founders of Flip Happy Crepes could not seem to find a decent crepe after a trip to Paris. So after perfecting their recipe with lots of practice and discarded batches of batter, they obtained a cozy vintage trailer from which they serve warm smiles 5 days/week.




Though the line moved fast, it didn't let up the entire time we were there. It's outdoor seating, which was great this weekend since the weather was perfect. Interestingly enough, from a few conversations I overheard while standing in line, there were a handful of other Ike evacuees in our midst. So it truly was one big flip happy.


The first crepe we bit into was their smoked salmon with herb cream cheese, spinach, and tomato. Since we were so eager to dig in, I didn't showcase the filling as much as I would have liked. But from this foto, you can easily see the warm, buttery, crispy exterior that completely surrounds the filling. All the subtle ingredients complimented one another extremely well. In other words, each ingredient has a mild flavor that's easy to distinguish when eaten alone but could easily be overpowered with the wrong combination. But by their powers combined, they were crepe extraordinaire. The rich cream cheese was balanced out by the doughy crepe and crisp veggies. At the center of this tango on my palette was the salty smoked salmon. It's kind of like that group of 5 nerds in high school. Individually, each was meek and oft overlooked. But together, they formed an incredible team of matheletes. Yeah, it's exactly like that.


Our next crepe was their shredded pork with caramelized onions and Gruyere. Unlike the team of mathelets above, this one was more like two of jocks trying to one-up the other while their girlfriends roll their eyes. Shredded pork and caramelized onions are very pronounced ingredients. I felt the mild flavor the Gruyere was almost lost in the mix but it definitely added a great richness to the crepe. After taking a bite, someone commented, "I suddenly feel happy."


For dessert, we got their cinnamon sugar crepe with toasted coconut and cream cheese frosting. The cinnamon and sugar was mixed into the crepe batter. The filling consisted of sweet coconut flakes and cream cheese frosting. All this was topped off with powdered sugar and crushed almonds. The kind of response that comes from eating this warm triangle is silence. In this one moment, there are no words, no conversation, just smiles and glances of complete understanding that everyone at the table is in the same state of mind as the other.

We wanted to go again the next day on Sunday, but they were closed. We're supposed to go camping in the Austin area soon, maybe we'll just camp outside the Happy Flip Trailer.