Saturday, my morning opened up somewhat and I could have done a cake-off but decided to stick to a long run instead. First, I went to try to practice the Hatagaya--Honmachi--Nishi-Shinjuku loop of my
neighborhood course map. Actually I initially ignored the Nishi-Shinjuku part, since it's super simple. The rest of it is a big rectangle with six deviations, three on the north and three on the south. I managed to get the first two (counterclockwise) of each and overran the other two turns (realizing before reaching where to rejoin the path along the main road), so I still need to keep practicing to consider this part of my neighborhood.
Along the south leg, I got something from B. Rue de Berri for the first time, a Pain au Chocolat. They seemed nice enough as a small shop but unfortunately I don't have much nice to say about this pastry. It's sort of a blob, so they aren't much interested in artistry; I'm sympathetic to avoiding unnecessary decoration, although it does affect the texture. For me, it was under-baked, which means thick layers that haven't been made into leaves. Also, the chocolate left an unpleasant aftertaste, although that's a more common problem with pain au chocolat. I'll say it was ok and probably avoid them for pastries, unless its a donut.
Since it was on the way to my next loop to practice, I stopped at Le Pain Quotidien for a first pastry. They had much fancier/heavier things, but I had just had a pastry (though a small one), so I just got a Croissant. It was good, no complaints. And it was effective at canceling the test of the previous Pain au Chocolat.
Next, I practiced the west part of the Hatsudai--Tomigaya--Yoyogi loop, this time successfully. After, I cut back to the as-yet untried Hatagaya-Motoyoyogichou-Nishihara-Tomigaya-Uehara loop. Mostly, I was just making a third attempt to take pictures of Unshouji, but the gate was still shut and, looking in, there did not seem to be any other interesting buildings, so I'm finalizing that landmark on the map. On on that loop, which I modified slightly where it confused me, I stopped for a first and (unintentionally) final pastry, another Croissant, from Boulangerie et Cafe Main Mano there near Yoyogi-Uehara Stn. It was good, better even than Le Pain Quotidien's, having slightly more of the flaky layer. I noticed that this too had an inner layer that wasn't as baked as I would like, but at least that was within a thick enough pastry that it didn't bother me. I attempted again to visit Masuda Seipan for a baked good, and even though it was within the newly posted 11-17 hours, they were again closed, so it's mystery when they're open. I can't remember whether I've tried during a weekday.
In the afternoon, I went out to the Jean-Paul Hévin Chocolate Bar in Marunouchi for a Gaufrette Chocolat, a chocolate waffle which I shared along with JPH's Mont-Blanc. It was definitely good. It was sort of like eating a large soft chocolate chip cookie. As a drink, I had Chocolat Chaud au Rhum for the first time and it was excellent.
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Along the south leg, I got something from B. Rue de Berri for the first time, a Pain au Chocolat. They seemed nice enough as a small shop but unfortunately I don't have much nice to say about this pastry. It's sort of a blob, so they aren't much interested in artistry; I'm sympathetic to avoiding unnecessary decoration, although it does affect the texture. For me, it was under-baked, which means thick layers that haven't been made into leaves. Also, the chocolate left an unpleasant aftertaste, although that's a more common problem with pain au chocolat. I'll say it was ok and probably avoid them for pastries, unless its a donut.
