Libertable: Tarte Apricot

Went down to Libertable for pastry or cake. As it happened, they had the fourth of the four pastries that I've seen there, so I didn't even look at cake. Baked tarts have been the last thing I've gone for in sampling pastries, presumable because I have a low expectation of them, but this apricot tart (and I'm not sure that I've gotten the name right, so when I go back for cake, which is also a priority, I should check) was definitely worth good, and slowly I came to the decision that it was excellent, and then that it was definitely excellent. I'm not even sure what a great baked tart tastes like, so I might have to revisit this, but this was pretty good. I'm not sure how to describe it in detail, but it is a pretty strong flavor but not too tart (in the sense of apricots), that is, the fruit has been well baked into mellowness. The tart bottom isn't quite caramelized, but it's in that direction, compared to just pastry, and in between is, all I know to say is, butter tart. Now I'm more interesting in trying this kind of tart at other places.

The running started with 1-min intervals of something more resembling actual running than jogging. I had a better idea about where the interruptions were, so that only took 12 min of running time to fit in 5. Then I ran to Libertable, got my cake, reused a bag at least (still used a box), and ate it on a bench in Akasaka where I was not expecting to get assaulted by mosquitoes. From there, I decided to at least get one piece of the neighborhood course out of the way, and jogged to the Hatonomori Hachiman Shrine to do the Sendagaya Southeast Loop and then run home sticking to the neighborhood route (so taking a shortcut to get there is fine, but I have follow the neighborhood route to or or from the same start point on the neighborhood route map every time for it to count as running a neighborhood course; Libertable is on the neighborhood route, but it's a ways from home along it, much more of a detour, so I'm not ready for that). I also decided to just the route to a more Google-friendly one rather than keep the old route running up the steps of Senjuin temple, though I saw someone going up that way as I passed, so it's not totally unreasonable, just a little unnecessarily and potentially obnoxious (you're sort of running right up to someone's house and then swerving into the back drive when the security lights come on in your face). It was only about 70 minutes of running, but tough due to the early hard running, plus the stairs and slopes of following the neighborhood route faithfully.

Pierre Marcolini, Éclair Chocolat

Did a run to Ginza, the long way down to Aoyama-douri, to avoid congested areas and have some open stretches to do some faster running. I set my timer to 1-min intervals and managed to get in 5 60-second stretches of relative fast running, which was the first time for a while, so I wasn't too ambitious. That kind of interval training is supposed to increase stamina (specifically, mitochondria), though it obviously is good for building muscle as well.

Today, unlike last Friday, Pierre Marcolini was not sold out of éclairs, in fact they were sending people out into the street to make sure that you didn't walk by them without noticing the shop (they are not helped by the big construction on the main road, which sort of discourages people from going down their side road). They had four éclairs available, including the passion fruit that I had last time (or maybe it was a different passion fruit one; it's not worth checking now). Having had a fruit one, I decided to have the Éclair Chocolat, since they are a chocolatier. I was much more willing to run back until I got the bag and then reverted to not wanting to running carrying things in my hand (now that my left arm at least seems to be in good shape) and walked back. Of course, then I stopped to groceries and then had several kilograms to carry in one hand (because the right arm doesn't seem up to it), so I'm not sure I shouldn't have gone home first and come back with a big backpack and a bicycle.

Éclair Chocolat was definitely good, so I can say tentatively that this is a definitely good shop but it didn't convince me that I needed to be a hurry to try the caramel and pineapple ones, which were the other flavors available---maybe next time they are at Isetan.

Cake-off: Au Bon Vieux Temps's Marjolaine over Paris S'éveille's Giverny,

Just for the record, I went out Saturday night, before the rain got bad, for 40 minutes of running on the local neighborhood course. That was enough to revisit my southwest Shinjuku loop and the northern part of Sendagaya, so I can focus on central Sendagaya when I go out again. I think I'm going to try to revisit just at least the already mapped neighborhood course inside the Yamanote Line before I revisit though further out or work on new routes further out, though I've some new spots inside Yamanote Line that I overlooked previously or were cut off due to construction before that I'd like to do sooner rather than later.  It's going to take awhile, though, since I'm usually more interesting in running for cake.

Sunday morning, I ran to Todoroki in Setagawa to visit Au Bon Vieux Temps and get their Marjolaine for a cake-off. The run was 89 minutes, though I didn't use the most efficient route. That was about the limit for how far I felt ready to run this weekend, especially since then I had a two-station walk back to Paris S'éveille in Jiyuugaoka to get Giverny and then take the train back home. I've built up enough distance now to get to most shops that I want to reach for weekdays, so I should start doing some interval work to build up my strength so I can go at least a little faster.

As a cake-off, the Marjolaine was much stronger than I remembered and the caramelized to the point of almost a burnt taste really made it hard to appreciate the Ginvery. Perhaps I should have switched from comparing bites to clearing my palate more and figuring out what was great about the Ginvery, because its taste combination wasn't really working for me this time. I think any fruity cake would have trouble against the Marjolaine, so I should probably be careful with both cakes next time. As it is, I have to give the Marjolaine the win and mark the Ginvery as potentially not great. This was a second round of first-round winners, so the Ginvery isn't going to get booted from the great list for one poor performance. In a sense, this is revenge by Au Bon Vieux Temps for Ginvery's first-round win over its Chocolate Framboise. However, if the third round comes around next year, PS already has three double winners and two more possibles to ABVT's only one, so no reason to feel sorry for them. Now I need to use a weekend/holiday to visit ABVT again and try a new cake.

Ryoura, Reverie

Got out by bicycle between the morning and afternoon rains kicked up by the freak (for its west movement across Japan) typhoon and went to Ryoura, which is my number two priority right now, after Bien-être, which I just visited and is accessible on weekdays (though I might have to go a weekend, as getting to the new cakes at the end of a workday is becoming more difficult).

Went with the Reverie this time, which I've had my eye on. Obviously, this is a delicate type, but the outer shell held up well from the road vibration, even if the whipped cream on top suffered a little bit. This is rose-flavored red fruit cake, very light and creamy inside as well. This is much lighter than the types of cakes I prefer, so my initial thought was that although this was definitely good, it doesn't rate higher. But I don't need heavy cakes every time, or strong flavors in my light cakes every time, so I decided that it was fair to call this excellent, but certainly I would recommend it more to someone who likes light cakes (like the ubiquitous shortcakes).

So Ryoura remains at the top of the quite excellent shops, partially by virtue of my not having sampled as many of their cakes yet, and there is a strong sampling bias. For the same reason, Ryoco is in some sense also at the top of this list (I have two metrics that put different weights on different cake ratings), with only 7 cakes, but since Ryoco almost never have anything available, and even then I think you have to go online and order at exactly the right time, they're a just a remnant that I keep until Ryoco actually closes their shop completely.

Frédéric Cassel, Tarte Framboise

Run to Ginza as planned. Today was nice weather, so people were out buying cake. I had to go with my second choice, which was Frédéric Cassel, where I got their Tarte Framboise (available through August, I think). This is the raspberry version of their spring/summer tart and is excellent, like the wild strawberry and strawberry mint versions.

I was lazy coming back, not having a strong motivation to run, so I walked most of the way (except to make a few traffic lights). I expect to run tomorrow from late morning, weather permitting, so no reason to wear myself out tonight.

Bien-être, Caprice

As planned, I did a shorter run today, under 10 km round trip and a little over 1 hour, carrying cake on the way back and with a kilo of nuts from Nikunohanamasa, to Bien-être, where my only choice of a new cake was Caprice (by my guess of the phonetic Japansese) . As usually these days there, the tables were full with people eating parfaits, though there were few cakes left for anyone who wanted cake anyway, maybe just 4 pieces that I can remember.

I didn't read the card in detail (I'm tired when I go), but there is definitely fig and I believe cassis (currant). The blueberry is just decoration (though eatable). I might be giving the shop the benefit of the doubt, but I think this was excellent. I've complained about some fig cakes recently, but this gets both the balance of fruit flavors and the texture/moisture right, so excellent isn't out of line. I was lucky to get cake. I know they've had other cakes I haven't tried yet recently, so I hope that I can get something next week as well. Bien-être is on verge of taking over as my #3 favorite shop. They don't has as many great cakes as my current #3, but they also have fewer duds.

Très Calme: Pistache Apricot

To get myself caught up on cake-off win follow-ups, I ran to Très Calme after work. Most of the their selection was verrines, but they had a few cakes more acceptable to me. I choose the Pistache Apricot (yes, a mixed-language name) and ate in the shop (there were 5 tables for two but no customers, whereas the café across the street seemed to be doing better business).

This was good choice, though I have a number of pistachio cakes, but none I thick with apricot. Similar to the more recent previous great pistachio cake, the base is a tart, or rather a tartlettte rather than a slice from a large tart. The top is a very solid pistachio cream/butter or whatever they use, which is the opposite of the recent chiboust. It's not a subtle cake, but it suits my needs and I'm calling it great. That isn't enough to promote this shop yet, but it might eventually, if I get the rest of the quite good shops better sorted out to see which are on top and needing promotion.

The run was 12+ kilometers, which is the longest for quite a while. I had timing problems, but I ran about 80 minutes. I'm sure I'll need to stretch a lot tomorrow, but my next plan is 10 km, which is a little closer to what I planned for this stage. Friday maybe will be a run to Ginza, which is also about 10 km.

En Vedette: Range

Finally got to En Vedette, which I wanted to do both because they might be underrated at quite good and because they won a cake-off. This was my first time to go there on a weekday. Still having trouble with the route between Yamanote Line and the river to the east---the roads jig and jag---but because I was going by bicycle, I could make the 19:30 closing time after work.

I got Range (no comment on whether I would choose a cake based on my ability to remember the name), which is layers of dark chocolate, hazelnut, and apricot, I think (and I found some confirmations in Japanese in other people's posts). It was definitely good in flavor and texture, so I'm satisfied for now with my evaluation of them as a quite good shop.

It was shorter ride today, and I hadn't run since at least Friday, so I did a quick run (14+ min) to revisit more of my neighborhood courses. I've already done the ones covering Samonchou, Sugchou, Minami-Motomachi, Wakaba, Sugachou Shinanomachi, Kasumigaokamachi, and Daikyouchou, so I wanted to go up and cover Naitoumachi. It was slightly cooler today, only slightly above 30 degC when I finished running around 8 p.m.

Éclat des Jours: Safari

Éclat des Jours won the last cake-off, so I wanted to try a new cake from there, but I'm not ready to run that far or fast enough to arrive by closing time, so I went by bicycle. Today got up to 38 deg, so it was still plenty hot after work, but by bicycle was fine and was much better than under the sun Saturday morning. I got Safari this time, which I've seen before but hadn't tried. This is passion fruit and a little banana. It was good and I enjoyed it, but banana makes it sort of everyday (though I have cake most days), even though I approve of this sort of cake with a kind of outer shell.

More importantly, I noticed that their great rum raisin cake is back, just it's gone square from rectangular, so I'll probably have it in a second-round cake-off before too long.

Ryoura: Fondant Chocolat

Finally got back to Ryoura again, on the grounds that I promoted it to quite excellent, so it needs to have 10 cakes sampled (for one reason, to see whether it stands up to further scrutiny to deserve that designation, which basically means in bottom half of the top 15 Tokyo cake shops).

They don't open until 11 a.m., I didn't get up that late, and I'm not that patient, so I went out around 9:30 a.m. to fill in some holes in the neighborhood course running map, even though health issues and the current heat has limited my ability to make use of the map, but I'm starting to get back to it.


I had missed a shrine, a café with sufficient cake cred to deserve inclusion, and a Lindt (which maybe doesn't, but that ship has sailed).









I hit a churches that got left off on the other side of Shibuya Station, so I need to revisit my running course over there too, but I'll just post the pictures here from the shrine.

Fondant Chocolat, after several seconds of heat

I got to Ryoura soon after they opened. There were other customers, but no line. I came by bicycle, so I didn't want to try to take the cake all the way home that way, especially in the extreme heat. However, because of the heat, I had to be careful what I choose at least somewhat, though I'm not sure that that effected my choice. I went with the Fondant Chocolat, which seemed safe in various ways. Notice that they used real chocolate, so in the extreme heat, it wilted in seconds. Fortunately, the base is robust, almost fudge-like, so no further melting. This was excellent. Though standard in some ways, I don't really get this type of cake often and my favorite fondant (from Paris S'éveille) is of a different type, at least after you microwave it as recommended, which this type isn't set up for.

On the way back, I also stopped a couple places to confirm the availability of great cakes for near-future cake-offs. First I stopped at Il Pleut sur la Seine, where they did have their saint-marc, and got a Pain au Chocolat, which was excellent, I think; certainly I have no complaint about it. At Bubó Barcelona, I confirmed the Bubó Xoco Deluxe, though that's now I recorded it previously; I need to confirm and update. I also confirmed that they have pastries on the weekend that they don't have during the week, so I got a Croissant Marsipan, which was excellent, but a lot more Danish like than I expected (very fluffy with a sugar coating; not so much marzipan inside, but maybe the correct amount). I know I was greedy today, but I missed a week of cake and pastry from being sick. Also, this extreme heat is more physically draining than expected. I thought I would have put on weight from lack of exercise for a week (of course, no cake, but a lot more cheap discount grocery chocolate) and then limited exercise the following week, but the opposite was true.

Cake-off: Éclat des Jours' Baked Cheesecake over Sadaharu Aoki's Cheese Cake Citronné

Went out in the morning, about 9:30 a.m., to Éclat des Jours to get their Baked Cheesecake for a cake-off. Even by bicycle, it was plenty hot and today is a cool day compared to what's forecast for next week. This was chosen as a good challenge for Sadaharu Aoki's Cheese Cake Citronné, which was the next available cake in my great list of second-round cake-offs. Éclat des Jours' cheesecake, which has stronger citrus and sweetness, dominated this contest to the extend that it is not clear that I need Cheese Cake Citronné among the list of greats. Unfortunately, this type of comparison doesn't really allow for subtlety.

Jean-Paul Hévin, Mousse au Chocolat Annam

Went to Jean-Paul Hévin at Isetan after work for their first day with a new cake item and there was a pretty full selection and no line, which was convenient, but scary: I don't want them to go out of business. It's so hot, getting cake requires a commitment to get home soon. Mousse au Chocolat Annam had excellent chocolate, but as advertised, basically just mousse, which is limiting. Specifically this is mousse from chocolate from Vietnam (i.e., Annam).

I ran afterward and visited Tokyo Midtown just to see whether they had different Ryoura cakes than previously but only saw one and it was one that I've had and seen there before, so probably I'll go to Ryoura Sunday (I know, I'm still two shops behind on rewarding past cake-off winners, but I'll get around to them eventually). I continued around the far side of Akasaka Palace to reach Lawson 100 for groceries. Messed up my timing around the 25 min mark in Akasaka, but I estimate 40 to 50 minutes total running. I might get out tomorrow running, but I plan to go by bicycle for the distant cakes, due to heat and the need to rehabilitate my right arm (not doing is not getting better).

Bien-être: Mille-Feuille au Cheries

Ran out to Bien-être, which took about 33 minutes, long enough at this stage of my recovery (and summer). As usual, the eating space was full, so I got the Mille-Feuille au Cheries, which is the American cherry version of their mille-feuille, and walked it home. Not sure that I have to take it that slow, but I'd hate to wrong the other way and I wanted my cake to be in good shape when I ate it. I'm willing run longer tomorrow, though the weekend will probably be cycling again (which is much easier in this heat, or would be if my arm were fully recovered).

The cake was much like their "au Raisin" version, except for the substitution of cherries: it's heavy on the mille-feuille and fruit and very light on the custard. It's not dramatic, but it's nice to just enjoy mille-feuille. The mille-feuille is moderately loose/dense as mille-feuille goes, which works well; a lot of dense mille-feuille would seem overly dry, I think, and I'd actually want more custard, and too loose..., well, not my idea of cake. Anyway, it satisfies my criterion for being excellent.

Le Grenier à Pain: Saint Honoré Pistache

Another day of proper running and another first cake, this time an actual first cake. Le Grenier à Pain is at Isetan, and though they are a bakery, they have cake, apparently. They have a shop out in Kojimachi, so they are practically local, just a little bit on the wrong side of the north boundary. I got Saint Honoré Pistache, which is just what it sounds like. 

For the running, I worked on revisiting the neighborhood course from yesterday, only approaching Lawson 100 from the reverse direction. I wanted at least 30 minutes of running, but ran almost 48 minutes, which is the longest I've done in months, though it was pretty slow in the 30+ degC evening weather.

The cake was good, but the pastry part (versus the custard and cream, which was normal) was fairly hard (not a bad idea, to avoid sogginess) and frosted like Christmas cookies, which was just weird. It's not a taste I've run into with cake before, and its not one that I need, so I'm not sure whether I'll take advantage of them again for a second cake during their week at Isetan. I assume that they are there for a wekk, but the Isetan webpage with that info has been blank or missing all day.

It is possible that I'll go Friday and get a pastry, if they are not sold out (on a Friday, I may end up walking around the entire Shinjuku 3-chome area and finding everything I might want is sold out), though my first choice is the new chocolate tart coming to JPH, for which the odds of my getting on its first day after work on Friday are close to zero.

Wittamer: Chocolat Noisette

Had some business around Shinjuku Stn. (besides confirming the cake names for Bigarreaux from Sunday night), so I got cake from another "neighborhood" cake shop that I haven't posted from before, Wittamer at Shinjuku Takashimaya. Of course, Wittamer is a pretty standard department store brand, but they have a reasonable line up. I went with the Chocolat Noisette (chocolate and hazelnut), which seemed safe. The cake is good and definitely as avertized as far as flavor. The cross-section is pretty ugly, though, and I'm not that thrilled by the texture, as it was softer cake than I like (I like mousse or a drier biscuit, whereas this was mostly sponge cake, maybe). Still, not a bad choice if you're at Takashimaya.

I ran with the goal of Lawson 100, following neighborhood routes around south Yotsuya. Total, it was 27 minutes, though I wannted 30 minutes. Still, it was fine and I can increase the length tomorrow and run in the opposite direction, at least on the southwest Yotsuya part, and meet up where I finished today. As my running increases, I can get back to more distant neighborhood courses. Also, I still need to update the one today by Akasaka Palace, where they finished the construction around the park (now, there's construction around the north just north of Akasaka Palace, but that doesn't block my route).

Bigarreaux, Citron Vert and Sampa

No running or cycling and only normal walking involved, but on Sunday night I shared cake for two from Bigarreaux, which was the visiting patisserie at Isetan until today. I didn't really need more cake from them, but they are an excellent shop, so I was happy to share.

We got Citron Vert, which is obviously lime. Citron is one of their signature cakes, so it seemed a reasonable choice. Also, Sampa (I checked on two days, but it's still possible that I was misreading the diacritic on the last character and it was actually Samba), which is milk chocolate with layers of mango and passion fruit. They were both definitely good, but only the Sampa really interested me enough to call it excellent, though I have to wonder whether I was just seduced by the sugar rush, since it was certainly not its sophistication, not that sophistication is much of a substitute for great cake.

Monday, I went down to Paris S'éveille, which is my #3 shop but doesn't have new cakes, so I got Chausson Pomme (maybe, though Chausson aux Pommes sounds better) and Pain aux Raisins. These were both definitely good, but didn't excite me as much as their top pastries. They still have a few more pastries for me to try, mostly baked tarts, before I have to try something else or revisit an excellent cake. I went by bicycle, which was quite painful to begin with, due to my sprained arm. But at this point, nothing is going to get better without rehabilitation, so I put up with the pain and my arm improved over time, though it was a little tricky nonetheless.

Cake-off: Bien-être's Pistachio and American Cherry Chiboust over Libertable's Charm

Got a virus and went a week without cake.

Felt well enough to go out and get cake. I prepared to go by bicycle and got as far as the exit and decided leaning on the bars was too painful and instead half ran and half walk (because it's maximum-warning hot right now) to Libertable at Shibuya ShinQ to get their mont-blanc, Charm, for a cake-off. I had gotten to four untested great cakes, so I decided to do a first round. Also, I didn't trust Bien-être to keep their Pistachio and American Cherry Chiboust around, though they've had it for a few weeks. These cakes are similar in that they are perfect realizations of in some ways simple types of cakes. Since I have limited access to dependable chiboust, the chiboust is the more important on my great list, so I'll give the nod to it. At some point, I'll want to compare mont-blanc to each other to see which ones are redundant.

Jean-Paul Hévin: Verrine Chocolat Singe and Verrine Matcha

No cake Saturday, as my plan to go to Cova for lunch at Shinjuku Takashimaya was foiled by them having been replaced as the third-floor café (we did eat in Takashimaya, but not at a café). Of course, nor was there running, so there is a certain fairness to that.

Sunday's plan to go to Jean-Paul Hévin at Isetan, which does not have a café (in Tokyo, you have to go to Tokyo Midtown for that), but does have a chocolate bar with a drink and verrine set, did go through and even arriving at noon, we had the place to our selves, at least initually, so early Sunday is a good time to visit there. We got two verrine sets. I got the Verrine Chocolat Singe (I'm guessing for the last word, as there is no monkey in it, just basil and yuzu) and the other was Varrine Matcha, which certainly has matcha (powdered green tea) in it. Drinks were Nature Tradition, which is a cold chocolate drink, and Thé Glacé au Yuzu (no picture), or something like that.

Both verrines were excellent. The first had chocolate apparently infused with basil, though I couldn't tell, with yuzu gelatine in the base. The chocolate mousse was quite good, though just plain chocolate and it took some effort to dig down to the yuzu. I suppose I could mix it all up at the beginning (which I wouldn't have done this time even if I had thought of it, since we were having halves and I ate the first half of this one). The matcha, of course, had the chocolate and matcha up top, so you didn't have to wait. The gelatine in the bottom was griotte cherry, though I couldn't identify it at the time other than fruit, which is probably good, because matcha is subtle enough that you don't want to pair it with too strong a fruit. A child of a shop specializing in green tea assured me that it this was really nice green tea, which I beleive and would expect. Jean-Paul does a good job respecting Japanese flavors, in my experience.

The Nature Tradition (cold chocolate) was also excellent. It had been a while since I had had this. Unfortunately, the cold Yuzu tea was more like icewater flavored with yuzu juice, especially by the end, so I can't recommend it, but it was good to okay.

In the evening, I went for a run (about 24 minutes) and then walk (considerably longer), first to Libertable, at which I found a new pastry and bought it, justifying this by my not having had cake or pastry Saturday. This time, it was the Feuilletée au Almonde, which was definitely exactly like an almond croissant, specifically the type where there is almond paste both inside and outside as coating, on which there were also almond slices and a lot of powdered sugar. It was excellent, but not ideal for me, somehow. It was a little moist for me, I thought, and yet my other suggestion for how to improve it would be to add almond liquor, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about. Anyway, they remain  as a top tier place for pastries for me, so I'll get back there again to try to score something else this week. They also had an apricot tart today, as well as the two pastries that I have already posted on. I asked whether they had the same line-up everyday, and the counter person said that it varied and didn't offer any details, so I left it at that. If they don't have a new pastry for me next time I go, I also want a new cake from them, which so far has not looked like a problem, despite them still having at least most of the old ones.

In other information, Toshi Yoroizuka has both their great Cassis and Saint-Marc, but the Marunouchi JPH has switched to regular JPH cakes from having their own line, so I've lost access to Orly. I hope they put it the line-up again. I've had the (non-coffee) current new cakes from JPH now, but when I was in for the verrines, the menu included a tart that won't be available until later in the month, so now I'm looking forward to that.

Bien-être, Pistachio and American Cherry Chiboust

Friday, I went back to Bien-être, jogging a little over 2 km of the roundtrip. At the shop, I tried the current pistachio chiboust, Pistachio and American Cherry Chiboust, in their eating space (there were 4 other customers eating). Not sure that American cherry is as good as grapefruit, but it's fine and provides a different texture from other components that grapefruit can't. Anyway, this thick tart under a thick layer of chiboust is still unlike other cakes that I have regularly, so I can say that this is great, like the previous version that seems to have a very short line-up life. Now I really did to do a first-round cake-off, but I'm busy this weekend and some of next.

Thursday, I got back to Libertable, also running just 2 km of the roundtrip and walking the rest. That time I got the regular Feuilletée. It looks more like a croissant than the chocolate one does and was more bread-like inside than I expected. However, the texture is less like a typical croissant than the chocolate version was. It has a kind of chewiness that actually made it more interesting, which made it excellent to me. I hope they make some other pastries, though these two might be the only two I've seen; if they don't have one next time I go, I'd also like another new cake, but I should make sure to ask them about their pastry schedule.

Frédéric Cassel: Choux Vanille

Did a walk and run to Ginza Mitsukoshi for a cake from Frédéric Cassel. I've been trying to get Choux Vanille for some time without luck. This week, I was ready to get this month's tart (raspberry), but they finally had the choux pastry, lots, actually (and lots of everything else; apparently, Tuesday is a good day to go there), so I got one.

The running was only 2 km in the middle of the outbound run. My feet were not totally unaffected by yesterday's run, so I didn't try to increase the running (though I increased the walking).

The shell on this pastry is very thin, which is not a complaint. The custard was not too wet (not sure that this is a real thing, but there is surely a spectrum of custard) or eggy, so the excellent vanilla flavor came through well and I enjoyed this very much. I tend to like complicated cakes, but I'm going to say that this was great and see how it stands up to the competition.

Le Pommier, Saint-honoré

Sunday was no cake, but I did take the full walk to Jiyuugaoka, where I got from Paris S'éveille both their Croissant d'Almonde and their, Pain au Chocolat. It was somewhat greedy, but I'm trying to get my sample count up there and they keep not offering me no new cakes. I took the train back, not trying to tempt fate, but my feet seemed (and still seem) fine. I ate the Croissant d'Almonde first, and thought it was excellent; the important point was the almond liquor taste. I can say that the Pain au Chocolat was also excellent, though not distinctive. Fortunately, neither of these was heavy relative to their type, so it was not too much after a couple-hour walk. They've still got a few things in the pastry family, as well as lots of other things in the shop, so I'll be back there again this month. Also, I ran about 1 km later, which also worked out fine.

Monday, I got a third cake from Le Pommier, who were still at Isetan (and again the top guy was there taking my order, so he recognized me as having been there last week). I decided to go traditional and got the Saint-honoré.  Before having my cake, I did a couple errants and ran about 2 km total, which seemed to be fine. Compared to other versions, this had a lot of whipped cream and less custards and small chou balls. Also, the crust was flakier than usual. It worked well and was excellent, so my upgrading them from good to quite good was justified. I noticed in revising my spreadsheet lately that the latter category is actually larger than the former and almost double the intended size. This is because I have I lot of two-cake shops (one good cake and one excellent cake) that could go either way, but this group isn't high enough priority for me to need to take care of that yet. But I would like to find a few to fill out the excellent group.