Behold the new pain au chocolat — still in beta testing, according to my informant waiter this morning at the Four Seasons Paris George V’s La Galerie — a bright and cheerful dining lounge in the heart of the sumptuous hotel.
This pain au chocolat has a slightly crunchy, caramelized exterior reminiscent of my favorite viennoiserie — the kouign amann. I had traveled to the hotel for the Parisian Breakfast option, which features a croissant, pain au raisin, two mini baguettes with an assortment of jams and butter, and the much-anticipated new pain au chocolat — except when I peered into my pastry basket, the prior mortal pain au chocolat stared back at me.
Perplexed, I asked the waiter where the missing pastry was. He told me there were only a few made each day at Le Cinq while the recipe is still being perfected, but he managed to smuggle out for me two glistening pain au chocolats to the dining lounge where I awaited with the second cappuccino my other waiter had brought me. Hotels like the George V anticipate your every need and when the two pain au chocolats were placed before me delicate and gleaming, it was a Proust – madeleine moment, except mine can be summarized in one word — sublime.
Four Seasons Paris Le Cinq
31, avenue George V
75008 Paris
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