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.