Il Pleut sur la Seine: Mille-Feuille and Bouchon

Made another visit to Il Pleut sur la Seine on Sunday and ate in. We got the Bouchon, which may be an eat-in only option, but was not marked so this time, and Mille-Feuille, which is eat in only. The Mille-Feuille was great, I think. The clever bit was they pre-sliced the two and middle layers, so it was easy to eat while still retaining the "leaves". The Bouchon is the standard rum-soaked sponge cake (with some sort of glaze or something on the outside which didn't affect the taste or texture directly), which I don't really get, though it was good enough I suppose. So this shop is at least excellent. However, the service was not perfect, in terms of manners in terms of the café side, though that isn't really part of the calculations.

Actually, I haven't included eat-in only cake in the terms of Verron, but their take-out and eat-in are just completely separate, so it makes more sense to separate my evaluation there, whereas I'll include eat-in cakes for this shop and JPH, for example.

There was running, but not until Monday, which I took off. I've been having knee problems, so I'm working on new exercises (need to loosen up my thigh muscles, perhaps) and I didn't try to go fast, but did about 16 km at an average of 10 km/h. I was doing some non-cake shopping, but also visited Lettre d'Amour, investigating for future great cake cake-offs, but I might have simply looked online and seen that they finally closed last month (I always wondered how they stayed open with as little business as they seemed to do onsite), so that's two great cakes that I've lost, though they might reappear in some form at a future date. Instead of a pastry at Lettre d'Amour I got an overly dry cinnamon bum from the Dean and Deluce on Aoyama Avenue. I guess I should have microwaved or steamed it a little bit or something.

Sunday: Lettre d'Amour [Closed]

It was convenient to stop at Lettre d'Amour and go to the cafe space, which had only one other person around noon on a Sunday, which shouldn't surprise me, given the general lack of customers there. I ordered the Caprice set, which was 1550 yen + 8% tax with a pot of tea, although I see that the receipt was rung up as if it were 870 yen and called Set Putiful (?), so I'm confused. I would say that this is a sampler, but the tiny cakes don't necessary correspond to current small cakes and it supposedly is not a stable lineup. Left to right, the first is cheese on the top layer, a delicious maracon, a little hard tart, perhaps rare cheese cake, solid chocolate with a candy coating, and probably pistachio mousse with raspberry inside and strawberry on top. I'll say this is great, but I don't really try to compare cafe sets with regular patisserie cake. Still, I'd be happy to go back, although there is also a Dalloyau cafe just down the street by Meguro Station, so that also would be tempting.

Sunday run to Lettre d'Amour [Closed]

Ran just over 14 km, which was a couple kilometers too far (I walked the last kilometer), although the stiffness went away before I had a chance to ice it, so no harm done, I think. You can't find out how far you can go without going to far. I think an approximately 30 km run for next Sunday to get back doing new History and Culture course should wait another weekend. Also, I'll rest from running and cake shops tomorrow. I'm busy the end of next week, so it might be hard to keep the training.

Of the 14 km I did, first there were a very slow 0.63 km in 4'19'' (6.85 min/km) as a loop back home for another layer, a credit card, and a point card. Then I did a moderate-speed 8.26 km in 50'46'' (6.15 min/km) with one early stop to go to Tokyu Hands to check out cake rum and a replacement silicone mat for one that I burned, neither of which I bought; then the basement, where they have a new baking section that will be my new place for buying pecans (smaller cheaper bags, although the nut pieces aren't quite as pretty) but does not do baking alcohol (and the basement alcohol section only had a 700 ml bottle, which I'm not ready for; and also in the basement、Fauchon, where I bought a canelé again (no photo) for 259 yen. The taste was good, but it was too soft for me (says the person who charred the batch yesterday). Speaking of which, I should correct what I wrote about canelé forms, since what I actually have is brioche forms, which I'm not interested unless I'm going to try bostock, which I'm ready for. Lastly, was a very slow 5.19 km in 36'16'' (6.99 km/min) before just walking the last kilometer.

Weekly (Mon to Sun) stats then stand as 26 km very slow and 8 km moderately paced. There's a holiday the coming Thursday, but I'm busy from then to Saturday, so I'm not sure how much running I can get in besides Tuesday, Sunday, and probably Wednesday, although Saturday night I could do a little. I should be able to make 40 km, with at least 20 km slow or faster.

At Lettre d'Amour, I got a croissant for 220 yen and Praliné Opéra for 520 yen. The croissant (no photo) was nothing special, I decided. The cake, which was marked "NEW", was excellent, but very sugary. As one would expect, it is hazelnut biscuit, praline butter cream with chocolate ganache layered and accented with caramelize nuts. When talking about yesterday's cake from Aigre-Douce and labeling it "great" only because I couldn't think of any way to improve it without making it into a different cake, this might be the cake I was imagining. And yet, it was not great to me, so I'm going to stop treating Lettre d'Amour as a "Great" shop, but I don't doubt that when the "Worthy" group gets thoroughly reviewed, this shop will end up in whatever category is below what now I'm calling great, along with Ryoco and others that I started in the great category but later demoted.
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40+ km, Ginza-Tsukada and Shiba-Takanawa H&C, visiting Hidemi and Lettre d'Amore [Closed]

Did two History and Culture courses today which start at the same intersection, but returning home in between for a 20 to 30 minute pit stop. The Ginza-Tsukada one is short, is pretty crowded with lots of stoplights at the beginning, and requires a slight detour since the north side of the pedestrian walk for the main bridge is out. Just the course, which is about 4 km, took 24'13''75, which includes the detour and one double back of 0.1 km where I missed a turn.

I visited Hidemi Sugino again, this time getting the Améthyste for 680 yen, which is mint (?) green apple flavored butter cream and cassis butter cream. Fruit is not always my favorite, but I'm going to give this the benefit of the doubt and say it was great. They went light enough on the cassis to not tilt the flavor that way. Note that, due to being busy with Christmas cake, not only are they closed Sundays (and Mondays), but the salon is closed. There was a line just after opening, but it was diminishing when I arrived, so you can probably get there a little before noon and still be okay.

Total for this run was 17.28 km and took 2 03'53'', although that might have included the beginning of the next run, as I had multiple problems with my timing today. I should say that it was very windy, so I gave up on the hat part way home.



Hidemi: Améthyste

The second run was down the Shiba-Takanawa course. This is a forked course, so actually I ran the due-south leg both directions, which made the total for that course 11.04 km. Somehow, I restarted the run on my watch, so I'm completely confused about how long it was, although given that I had more than .5 km of doublebacking, it would not have been very characteristic. Too much of this is along main roads that were not too exciting, but since both south ends meet the beginnings of other courses, I'll be going at least partially be going along them again, maybe. Also, lots of stoplights at the beginning. At least there is room for running all the way and a lot of slopes, for good and bad.

Coming back from Meguro Station, I went to Lettre d'Amour and got Pomme Caramel for 480 yen. Actually, this is essentially pie, but it was a good choice for the gale-force (?) winds that I encountered at one point (almost couldn't move forward) and it hit the spot. After all, I had already had a fluffy creamy piece of cake today. Excellent cake/pie.

Well, if my body and the weather allow it, I'll see whether I can get down to Jiyugaoka and back tomorrow.

Shinjuku History and Culture course

Got up early and ran the Shinjuku History and Culture course. I ran it in the official direction, although maybe I should have run it east to west, to avoid the sun, but I was more worried about avoiding crowds around Shinjuku Station, which was still busy, being the busiest station in the world, and I stand by that decision. There are markers along such routes, but you cannot count on them being easy to find, being correct (I've found ones that were mis-oriented, although not on this route), or even to exist. In my map, the routes are based on 2010 routes, which do not necessarily exactly match the routes shown on the markers, and neither of which necessarily matches where it's legal to cross the road. Today, I couldn't find the start or end marker or any markers west of Shinjuku Station (route 1, from Shinjuku Central Park to Shinjuku Station) except one north of the west entrance. I was under pressure from needing to get back and showered for a 10 am appointment, but no problem. Much of this is my old hill route, which I haven't been doing, so I'm somewhat out of practice on the steep hills, but it was not a big deal (I think: strange lump around my Achilles tendon). Total time from my original start was about 1 35' 17'', but I failed to mark my lap correctly (apparently, my watch lets you stop the chronometer even when displaying time of day, but you can't also advance the lap number). I'll estimate the Shinjuku History and Culture course time today as 53' based on at another 600+ meters my watch showing about 56'30''. I like this route, other going going by the station, but you have to cross somewhere and it shows you a lot of highlights: the center of Tokyo government, Shinjuku Station, Isetan, Meiji Gingu Gaien, Yotsuya Station, Akasaka Mitsuke Station, and various shrines and temples.

Made my appointment, but made the mistake of buying a snack at Doutor (a coffee shop chain store) without reading the ingredients. Margarine--what kind of monsters are they? Although, the butter shortage continues, based on the availability I see in the groceries. I do not know what the deal is. There is cheese, milk, and cream, no problem as far as I know, and yet the butter problems continue for more than a year. Some sort of market breakdown, I assume.

In the afternoon, I went to Lettre d'Amour [Closed], as planned. Rather than the usual course through Meiji Gingu Gaien, down Icho Avenue and through Aoyama Cemetery, I just took the Gaien West Road around just to check whether there was a marker I missed along there in the morning. Coming back, I had intended to taking my usual route, since I was running with cake, but I realized why my first route was smart: Icho Avenue was packed with people viewing the spectacle of leaves changing colors (which I don't really get), so I had to curve around the other way. The map shows the combined day's route, which was 29 km.

The cake is Myrtille for 600 yen, which is supposedly (and basically tastes like) a baked cheese-cake tart with blueberry mouse on top. The confusing part is "myrtille" is the French word for "bilberry", which is related to but different from blueberry. I guess since bilberries can be called "European blueberries", they decided not to make a distinction, so I'll assume the name is correct but the description is not precisely correct. Now I'm doubting whether other "blueberry" cakes are actually bilberry.

The cake is good. I didn't choose it because I thought it would be great, but because I intend to try everything and this was more or less next, working left to right and top to bottom (of course, they move things around) and perhaps skipping varieties I'm not that into and new things that might be temporary, although that's not a general policy of mine. I like cheese cake, but it is not a strong taste, so it is limited. The tart crust was good, the baked cheese cake inside was good, the macron on top was good, and even the slightly gelatinous "blueberry" mousse was good. I'm happy with still saying this is a great shop and was not disappointed by the cake.

Checking Joshi+ Sweet, looks like it got around to Mont-Blanc, so I added it to the map and should give it a try. Since I don't like the cake mont-blanc so much in general and there are many places in Jiyugaoka and I hadn't heard anything about this one, I hadn't visited or planned to visit before now, although I'll see it and looked inside (they are near the station and seem to do a good business).

No running: Lettre d'Amour [Closed] and Fraoula

At Lettre d'Amour, I got their Shirogane Fromage (Shirogane is neighborhood name), which is their cheese cake, for 600 yen. There were actually several customers, so I had to wait a few minutes, but most of those disappeared upstairs to the cafe by they time I had made my decision. The cake is three kinds of cream cheese blended into a mousse with a little citrus juice and gelatin with a sponge base. I went through a progression of thinking it was good cheese cake through about half, not something I need more than half of in the second half, and maybe not something I need at all afterward, although I'm not sure why. Rare cheese cake is not my favorite anyway. That's only my fourth from there, and there were plenty more cakes. More importantly, I found a good nearby park to eat in.

It was Sunday afternoon, so Ryoco had people lined up outside (early afternoon, that is; late afternoon when they run out, they just close), despite the light rain. From experience, I would say it would take about an hour (for 10 people: most people get several pieces and it takes time to box those up well), so I passed and circled back to Fraoula, who are never that busy (I hope they have some restaurant contracts; there were a couple people in the back busy, so they must have something).

I got this Senteur for 486 yen, which is Earl Grey flavored and has prunes. I was very happy with it. I'd be a good compliment with something sweeter, which I mean in a good way.

This is the Arre, I think (the register is having a little problem printing). It's a huge, flat, crunchy thing, perhaps with sesame but very sweet and chewy, for 324 yen. I prefer the Bostock, but I wanted to try this.

So, I'm thinking maybe I'll give up on cake shops outside Tokyo. I'm past the point of needing to go to new cake shops every time and I'd rather find nice paths for running than visit every shop within range. There's plenty that I've been to before that I haven't blogged about, and I can set other destinations and then visit, on the way or on the way back, whatever cake shop is convenient. Since I have a place 30 km out within Tokyo that I want to visit, I won't need to change my habits soon.

Leisurely cycling to Jiyuugaoka: m.koide

Not only did give up going to the cafe for cheesecake, but I gave up my primary target when I realized I've never posted about m.koide, which today was the perfect time to visit, since they don't open until noon, and I've found them closed on Sunday.

Rather than choose one of the two cakes that made me designate them a great shop (actually, I've only been there once before), I went for the Gateau Framboise, for 600 yen, which is just what the name implies: raspberry cake. There are three layers of cake, three of something between raspberry cream and raspberry frosting, and a couple thin layers that are just raspberry, all visible in the disappointing picture (stupid autofocus camera). It is well constructed, the raspberries are delicious, and I had no problem with any bite of it, but overall just raspberry did not work for me. I think I like raspberry, but I guess I need to mix it with something, even just custard. I'll tentatively keep them as a great shop, though. Certainly they are aiming high and have skill. Not a very focused picture, though.

Since I was in Jiyuugaoka, I went to the nearby Au Bon Vieux Temps, where I did get the good thing that I've had before, the Sunobu for 561 yen. This is mainly pistachio buttercream mousse. The description just said red fruit and some katakana French that I didn't recognized and don't recall. Elsewhere, I've read raspberry, which might be correct. It's mainly a coating with just a little mousse (?) inside. It melts pretty fast, which is a problem because there are just no parks in that area. I need to try going south, where the map says there is a university. Maybe they have some benches that are better and/or closer than the next alternatives. My other observation is that this was ice-cream rich, like their other cakes, but also "painfully" (if you know what I mean, where you sense that you are eating poison, not unlike alcohol) very sugary.

My search for a park and general vagueness meant that I came home a different way and I ended up going by Lettre d'Amour [Closed], so I gave in and bought a Carrefour (?, カレフール) for 560 yen. It had to ride home, so it slid and lost some decoration. The top half is hazelnut and caramel mousse and the bottom tart-like base has a mix of roasted hazelnuts, almonds, and pistachios with semi-dry figs. This was great, better than either of the other cakes, so I'm designated Lettre d'Amour as a great shop now. Still, no other customers there, so I'm not wanting to get too attached to them, since I'm not sure how they stay open.

Sunday cake shop tour: 2nd shop, Lettre D'Amour [Closed]

I made my second trip to Lettre D'Amour, and they are looking like a great shop, except no other customers soon after opening at 11 am. They are part of a consortium, or something, so they may be okay as far as finding other work if it doesn't work out there. Anyway, I got the Tarte Exotique, which was great. It is pineapple and almond cream baked in the tart shell with a layer of milk chocolate mousse sandwiched between salt caramel ganache. On top is a compote of pineapple, mango, banana, and passion fruit such that you can "enjoy the feeling of the fruit flesh". I can't say I'm fond of all these ingredients (I don't really go for pineapple or banana in my cake and I'm not sure why mango and passion fruit are so popular), but it completely works. This was 550 yen. I better get back there before they close shop. It's on my list of places to visit the cafe.

(Sunday 2) 17 km loop to Lettre d'Amour [Closed] and Ryoco

In the afternoon, visiting a different cafe/cake shop/baking school/baking supply store (I went for the last, but didn't find the tart forms I was looking for, so I need to search online), I swung down to Lettre d'Amour, which I've never been to before but is conveniently close to Ryoco and along my preferred route for going south, which is through Hirou Station. I choose the 600 yen chocolate mousse cake (Shirokane Chocolat) with two kinds of chocolate and caramel sauce mixed in, along with chocolate sauce on the outside and some nuts and chocolate pieces. It was good. They got the balance right between chocolate mousse and other things to suit me, so I'll go back. They're in a pretty rich area (as is Ryoco, although not so much in terms of shops) and there are other desert places around there, but they looked the best for cake.

At Ryoco, I got the Lumiere for 520 yen, which is mango and passion fruit in white chocolate. Actually, it tastes like peaches to me, which is fine. I had the standard problem with large chunks of fruit: they are difficult to cut on top of the soft cake, but I want to take small bits. It was very good and very seasonal. Again, I can't tell that it's great, but I would have it again, just it's not a priority. But it is consistent with a great shop.