An Afternoon in Paris (by way of Georgetown)

Patisserie Poupon pleases my (wanna be) Parisian palette. Try to say that five times fast.  Fortunately, you don’t have to!  But you can experience relatively authentic French café fare on the northerly outskirts of Georgetown.

We discovered Patisserie Poupon a few weeks ago owing to an Express article on where to locally purchase a king cake, which we promptly ordered for a Mardi Gras celebration.  Their non-traditional but absolutely delicious version was a buttery croissant ring  tinged with cinnamon and sugar, and contained a small king.

So thoroughly impressed with the cake, we obliged our taste buds once more and ventured last weekend to the small storefront cafe on Wisconsin Avenue.  The line may be long, but it is absolutely worth the wait.  Opt for one of the savory selections, like the pate and cornichons on homemade brioche.  Its intense flavors were simultaneously earthy, buttery, and tart.  Or select the more traditional baguette jambon fromage if your appetite is heartier.  The flavors were matched by the lovely heated outdoor courtyard seating; I actually forgot that we were in DC.

For dessert we shared a dark chocolate layered raspberry mousse cake, whose rich flavors and delicate preparation immediately brought me back to my favorite dessert house in Lyon (if only I could remember the name!).  I splurged with the delicately prepared hot chocolate, but the reasonable prices with lunch for two under $30, kept our travel budget in check.

Though we were satiated, we opted to pretend to be in Paris for a little while longer and did some window shopping, with Wisconsin Avenue our Champs-Elysees.  This was easy to do given the handful of French-inspired boutiques adjacent to the café.  Head up the hill to a series of unreasonably priced design stores, where you can browse through modern to mid-nineteenth century pieces, that will make you crave a luxurious French country estate in which to feast on such French fare.  Sigh… at least for now, I will just have to wistfully dream on Wisconsin.

And if you really want to French-it-up this spring -- April in Paris anyone? --French Twist DC details the upcoming Georgetown French Market.

Bon Appetit!