Angelina's Chocolat Africain - Number 13

Some of the most blissful moments of my life have been spent in a tearoom. Not just any tearoom, mind you, but a tearoom in Paris where Marcel Proust used to eat madeleines. I didn't know the place during the time when I lived in Paris - ahem, almost ten years ago, sadly - but it was discovered by my sister as we flipped through a guide book during the summer of 2001. It was then that Angelina's came into my personal Paris lexicon. It's a shame really, that all the time I spent living there as a student could have been even more enjoyable! Alas - things come into our lives at certain times for certain reasons, and since that first trip to Angelina's I have been many times since. In fact, it's a must whenever I'm in Paris.

Perhaps it's because the bitter winter wind is blowing outside my door, or just because I need something sweet and chocolatey, but Angelina's has been on my mind. My favorite mornings in Paris have been spent tucked into one of their cushy chairs, savoring the petit dejeuner complet that is before me. (Croissant, baguette, and hot chocolate - could life get much better?)  Even on a business trip, the experience is mandatory and thoroughly enjoyable - especially on a cold or rainy day...let me explain...

Say it with me: Chocolat Africain... Of course you can order a coffee or something, but this is the whole reason why Angelina's is Angelina's. I don't know what they do to make it, but my assumption would be that solid dark chocolate is melted down and whipped into a drinkable thickness. When you place your order it's all very simple: "je voudrais le chocolat africain, s'il vous plait" however food service is never very simple in Paris, therefore when your order arrives, it comes on a cluttered tray full of assorted accoutrements: cups, saucers, a delightfully fluffy dish of Chantilly creme (I always take a dip with my finger first,)  a large carafe of water, pastries on little doilies, and finally a tiny little pitcher of the drippy, gorgeous, chocolate liquid. Pour a little cup-full for yourself, add a dollop of whipped cream and stir it in just a bit - not too much, put the spoon down and lift the cup. Inhale the deep chocolate scent and then take a sip. Yes - it's heavenly, rich, sweet, complex, dizzying, and unmistakably chocolate. It will take a few minutes to make it through the first cup, but once you do, put the cup down and consider - another cup? This decision is up to you, but I warn you, for as delicious that second cup will be, it will surely provide the sensation that all of the enamel on your teeth is dissolving away with all of the sugar. Yes, I usually find that cup number two crosses the threshold of pleasure into pain - so very Parisian.

The Starbuck's in my office building is so incompetent that the staff cannot make a cup of hot chocolate without screwing it up. What's with the vanilla syrup in the first place? How about just using better chocolate? Anyways - it's usually undrinkable, especially when I really want to be nestled into a chair at Angelina's, about 6,000 miles away, quietly reading a new book from Galignani, sipping away at my cup o'delight.  

Chez Angelina
226 Rue de Rivoli
75001, Paris
M: Tuileries 

Comments

[Sandra]

Ahhh yes. This gem was recommended to me by an actor I was working with a few months before I was due to take my first trip to Paris with my daughter who had moved to London. We went on a blustery drizzling Sunday morning. It was bliss and I will go again should I be so fortunate as to return to Paris.