Oct 25, 2015
13… A Baker’s Dozen
The trouble with Paris is there are way too many delicious spots for me to make the round. Each week I add yet another couple of places to try to my ever-growing list, so there’s never any moment where I thought “I have nowhere else new to check out anymore”. If anything, I wish I have a bigger eating out budget…
13 A Baker’s Dozen is a charming spot which has been hiding not-so-quietly in the Cour des Saints Pères. After being there with C recently, I can attest that while the high praises raised expectations, Laurel and her team surpassed them. Very easily at that too. A warm welcome greeted us to this packed dining room on a Saturday afternoon, and looking around, my stomach started to grumble and I couldn’t wait to dig into the “Fancy Brunch” I’ve been eyeing.
With C, a little eating strategy. Not-fried fried chicken or Princess Bride omelette? Red/orange juice or green juice? Not a worry. Give us one of each so we can happily share half of everything. We also get to try everything (from this one section of the menu). The difficult part was in surrendering the plate to one another after half-way through because we both really would like to finish off everything. Ordering two per person would be unreasonable though, so on reste sage, as the French would say.
To whet our appetite, mini, delectable muffin with caramel was brought to us while the mains were being cooked in the open kitchen right next to us. When served, the fluffy “I want everything in” omelette was flavoursome and beautifully complemented with fresh salad and buttermilk biscuits, which was scone-like but lighter. And my, the not-fried fried chicken with buttermilk bisuits french toast was simply divine. I’ve been tempted to try recreating this dish at home, but knew better that I should not ruin it; I’ll just pop by here each time I crave for it.
There were tall, layered cakes sitting by the kitchen counter, whispering “eat me, devour me, savour me”. Lures like these are hard to resist, and we cracked under the enticement. Just a wee bit. Really. We got a slim slice of chocolate and caramel cake to share. (See, told you, just a bit.) We asked for the bill and left before we succumbed to another slice, probably of the carrot cake, and I made a mental note to bake some myself one of these days.
Proper meals aside, 13 A Baker’s Dozen also does tea and cake rounds, so I’m not even sure anymore if I should introduce it to others as a restaurant or a café or a salon du thé? If you plan to have a meal, I do strongly recommend a reservation be made before hand. I’ve seen the disappointed faces of folks who got turned away and I have no wish to see it on yours… You can also book for lunch through La Fourchette, if that helps.
13… A Baker’s Dozen
16 rue des Saints-Pères, 75007 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 73 77 27 89
Métro: St Germain des Près, Rue du Bac
Daily except Sunday and Monday; 10.00am – 6.00pm
Hoohooo…good thing i am having my dinner now…delicious looking indeed…whats the average eat out costs per person in paris lil?