Paul Paris Bakery In DC

Paul,a Parisian bakery that has several stores throughout Paris is opening up a location in DC May 2 at 801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. I am REALLY excited!

Why? Why am I so excited about this particular bakery opening its doors in my neighborhood? Well-as you should know I do love the pastries of the French-some of them are so different from what we have in the states and the attention to detail is what really makes French pastries from a French bakery a treat.

I am always telling people how there aren't enough really good quality bakeries in the states and it is really just a shame because the demand is certainly there. I see people lined up at the Royal Bagel Bakery in Georgetown every weekend (the place is packed) because they are practically the only decent bakery in the Gaithersburg/Georgetown area but even then the Royal Bagel Bakery's pastries are nothing special and I have definitely had better (you really need to go there for their onion rolls and egg everything bagels instead of the pastries).

The first time I went to Paris (about 5 years ago?) I was just shocked and thrilled by the number and quality of the bakeries there and went from store to store taking pictures of their display cases (even if the people behind the counter thought I was nuts). The second time the bakeries were just as good (~2 years ago) but a lot of them were closed because I was there during the summer when people go on vacation and close up shop. Anyways, both times I had some of the best baked goods from Paul in Paris-their version of apple turnovers were amazing-it was more like an soft donut stuffed with apple and sprinkled with sugar and it just melted in my mouth. The macarons had clear and distinct flavor (the green pistachio's actually tasted like pistachio, the hazelnut actually tasted like hazelnut, the snozberries tasted like snozberry-jk on that last one) and had just the right balance between crunchiness, chewiness and softness that is so hard to get right for macarons. Ah Paul. I also remember how kind the people in the bakery were to me-they were very patient and got me just what I wanted. So essentially this is why I am excited about Paul coming to DC-its like a dream come true. No longer must I go to Paris to get the pastries I desire-Paris is coming to me! <3