Breizh Cafe

After spending the morning heading to the Eiffel Tower, heading up the tower (all the way to the top!) and then descending down, we were pretty hungry.  Seeing how we hadn't had a legit crêpe yet (we had one from a food truck on the first day), we headed over to the closest location of Breizh Cafe.  Often known as one of the best places to grab crêpes in Paris, it is also one of the most expensive.  But whatever, we were on vacation where calories and prices do not count...

We snagged one of the last unreserved tables and it took quite a long time before we had a chance to put our order in.  Our server was friendly, but seemed to be overworked.  Viv ended up with the Cured Ham with egg and comté.  You can actually see it in the picture where the thin crêpe was nicely browned and crispy.  I found it to be appealingly thin and aromatic.  Inside, there was plenty of the aforementioned components which made it fulfilling and flavourful.

For myself, I decided to get something meaty in the Beef Pastrami with comté, cabbage, caramelized onions and yuzu-kosho cream.  With a consistent crêpe like the previous one, it housed a good amount of pastrami, hence making it a fairly hearty creation.  I thought the caramelized onions were a good match for the salty pastrami adding a balancing sweetness.  The cabbage provided a fresh crunch while the yuzu-kosho added both acidity and spice.

My son loves smoked salmon.  So much so, when I get the entire fillet from Costco, he devours it within a few days.  Hence, it was no surprise he went for the Organic Smoke Salmon with goat cheese, chive cream and green salad.  Naturally, the combination of buttery smoked salmon and whipped cream cheese was a match made in heaven.  That reminded him of having that atop a bagel, but instead in a light crispy crepe.

For my daughter, it was all about the duck in the Smoked Duck Fillet with pan-fried mushrooms, comté, organic scrambled eggs, fresh cream and espelette pepper.  If the components elicit thoughts of a rich and robust crêpe, you would be correct.  Lots of cheese and eggs meant this would be filling.  Add in the tender smoky duck and the aromatic and buttery mushrooms, there was a lot to like about this creation.

To end things off, we had a dessert crêpe with the Churned Butter with brown sugar.  There were 3 choices for the butter, but we went for the classic slightly salted butter.  Unlike the savoury versions, this crepe was soft, fluffy and a bit chewy.  It was aromatic and of course slightly sweet from the caramelized brown sugar.  Adding a velvety hug, the butter brought it all together.  So from this experience, I would agree that Breizh Cafe is definitely a good spot for crêpes in Paris (and apparently in other places in the world).  A little pricey, but worth it in my opinion.

The Good:

- Excellent crêpes

- Lots of choice

- Multiple locations

The Bad:

- Pricey

- Service is really slow

Davie Village Bakery

Last time I visited Davie Village Bakery, I was there to try their Giant Croissants.  Okay, before you roll your eyes thinking that these were solely a novelty, they were actually really good!  The croissant itself was exactly what I want from one.  It shattered, had good lamination and was buttery.  Sure, they were as large as my arm, but I found them reasonably-priced.  This time around, Jackie and I were there to try their Giant Donuts as well as other goodies.

So let's get right to those Giant Donuts!  So these were not technically donuts even though they were shaped as such.  In reality, they were large eclairs featuring choux pastry with a cream filling inside and a glaze on the outside.  We had to let them warm up a bit first since they were in the fridge.  Eating them like an eclair, they were legit with all the right textures and not being incredibly sweet.  We put a regular donut next to the "Simpsons" donut for size comparison.

We had some baked goods in the form of a regular Butter Croissant, Hazelnut Croissant, Pistachio Chocolate Croissant and Double-Baked Crookie.  Since I've already had their giant croissants, I already knew their butter croissant would be solid.  That it was with good lamination and shattering beautifully when I bit into it.  The other 2 variations had similar qualities except with chocolate hazelnut and pistachio chocolate respectively.  The crookie was interesting that was, you guessed it, a cross between a croissant and a cookie.  It was not as firm as a cookie but not flaky like a croissant.  It was semi-sweet and I thought it was not bad.

Then we moved onto some creative Desserts featuring Lemon, Peach and a Raspberry Macaron.  Love the whimsical presentation where once cut into, the lemon revealed a lemon cream filling and a lemony custard centre.  Really refreshing and natural-tasting.  The peach was very similar except for the difference in flavour.  It wasn't too sweet and had a nice floral fruit taste.  As for the macaron, the texture was on point with a crispy delicate shell with a soft but slightly chewy texture inside.  Raspberries and the cream in the middle were fruity and light.

For even more variety, they also have made-to-order crêpes as well as gelato/sorbetto.  Naturally, being freshly-made, the Crêpes were soft, warm and fluffy.  Loved the nutty and aromatic pistachio.  Of course the Nutella was a bit sweet, but at least it was a pleasant sweetness.  We then moved onto the Gelato and it was also quite good.  I liked how it was creamy and light (where it was melting, which is a good thing because no stabilizers used).  The flavours were chose were Cherry Cheesecake, Pistachio and another flavour that I honestly forgot.  But what I can say is that it was purposefully sweet and surprisingly good for a non-gelato spot.  In fact, everything I've ever tried here has been very good.  You can't go wrong with the things here and the pricing is reasonable.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Solid all-around

- Their novelty items (giant croissant and giant donuts) are actually good and well-priced

- Large selection of items

The Bad:

- Crêpes were good texturally, but maybe a bit too much sweet sauces

Sweet Sin Bakery & Cafe

With all of these delicious meals in Vegas, it was about time we hit up something more dessert-focused.  Well, you can't get much more focused than Sweet Sin Bakery & Cafe located within The Linq Promenade.  I have passed by this place on my previous visit to Vegas in 2022 and was wanting to go inside, but alas, we were so full from eating, it didn't happen.  With an invite to try their wares, this was the perfect situation for myself, Jackie, Roanna and Eileen.

So we got started with a couple of Smoothies including the Tropical and Wildberries.  Consisting of rum, pineapple juice, banana, mango puree and coconut gelato, the tropical definitely tasted like its namesake.  It was creamy and smooth with only a mild rum flavor.  Good balance of sweet and tangy.  As for the wildberries, naturally, it had mixed berries, raspberry puree, strawberry sorbet, cranberry juice and vodka.  This one was more on the tangier side with mild sweetness.  Once again, the vodka was not overpowering in this.

The first thing we tried was also one of our favorites in the Crème Brûlée Crêpe.  This was a made-to-order crêpe that was slipped into a cone, filled with custard and topped with sugar.  Then they torched the whole thing.  The result was a pretty convincing crème brûlée.  Lots of smokiness to go with caramelized sweetness but the concoction was not that sweet.  The crepe itself was soft and light with only the slightest amount of chewiness.

Another fan favorite was the Raspberry-filled Croissant.  One might consider this a novelty, but I assure you, this was one legit croissant.  I've recently been to Paris and this was no slouch.  There was defined layers that shattered upon contact.  It was buttery and had all the right textures.  Inside, there was a wealth of raspberry jelly that was fruity and sweet.  Despite the amount of jelly, it did not negatively impact the texture of the croissant.

The hits kept coming with the Chocolate Éclair and Napoleon.  The dark chocolate glaze on the éclair was smooth, slightly bitter and mildly sweet.  The choux pastry was light and had a slight crispy exterior.  Inside, the filling was creamy while purposefully sweet.  As for the Napoleon, the layers of crisp pastry were fairly light and shattered beautifully.  The pastry cream was rich and just sweet enough.  Loved the pistachio on top of the fresh cream.

If you know me, I tend to like fruity drinks and desserts, so the Strawberry Tart was right up my alley.  Crispy and firm, the tart shell was a textural delight.  On top, the strawberries were ripe and sweet while the fresh cream was light and mildly sweet.  At first, I thought the Cinnamon Roll would be super sugary due to the huge layer of cream cheese icing on top.  However, it wasn't and that was fine by me.  The roll underneath was flaky and buttery.

The most whimsical items were the Macream Cakes coated with a colorful fondant shell and topped with icing, candy and a macaron.  We tried Pretty in Pink and the Unicorn.  Although the cupcake hidden within was moist and delicious, the sweet fondant wasn't my favourite.  After I removed the layer, I quite enjoyed the rest of the cupcake.  For me, I liked the Unicorn more since it had chocolate sponge cake.

One of the under-the-radar items was the Ube Cake Jar.  Well first of all, it was striking with the classic purple color.  Secondly, it had the usual nutty aromatics combined with a muted sweetness.  Cake underneath was moist.  The award for the most ludicrous creation was the Birthday Shake.  Just look at it!  Not only was it a shake, we found marshmallows, macaron and a loaded rice krispy square.  I thought this was super sweet and the rest of the things on top made it a heavy dessert.  Great for kids and people who have a sweet tooth.

As you can see in the shake, they also have Macarons.  In fact, there selection is diverse and colorful.  I thought they were on the sweeter side, but the crisp texture was on point while the inside was soft and chewy.  To complete the dessert selection, we also found Chocolates.  They were pretty with striking designs and colors.  I didn't actually get to try them, but by all reports, they were silky and sweet.  Believe it or not, we had more items than this, but I really don't want to write a novel.  With the items I did blog about, it is obvious that the quality and execution is there.  If your sweet tooth is calling you, then pay Sweet Sin a visit while you are in Vegas.

*All desserts and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Quality items including the legit pastries

- So much choice

- Depending on what you order, not crazy sweet

The Bad:

- It is mostly a take-and-go spot as there are not many seats available

- Wasn't a fan of fondant on the cupcakes

Le Billig

Coming back from a long day of sightseeing and having some bevvies in the lovely Bar 1608 in the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, we were pretty tired.  So we decided to retire to our hotel rooms and rest up.  Well, that took longer than expected and by the time we headed out for some eats, it was pretty late.  No matter because we were looking for crêpes and in particular, Le Billig on Rue St. Jean, approximately 4 blocks from our hotel.  They are open late and we made it there before last call.

So since we were in the weird time where most people would be having dessert rather than dinner, we decided to go for one savoury and one sweet selection each.  Costanza went for the baseline in the basic Crêpe with Maple Syrup.  Good idea as there was nothing to hide here.  This thin crêpe was delicate with crispy edges.  The rest of it was tender with an appealing chewiness.  It was buttery and accepted the syrup beautifully.

Elaine went for something much more substantial in La Béarn with duck confit, goat's cheese, spinach and onion confit.  Oh yah, this was fantastic with a crispy thin crepe encasing plenty of ingredients.  This was definitely a meal in itself and more so.  The goat's cheese was creamy and rich without being overly gamy.  Tender shreds of duck confit were strewn about as well as tender spinach leaves.  The thing that put it over the top was the sweet onion confit.  It really brought out the natural flavours of the duck.

For myself, I stayed on the same course and had La Galette Saucisse with homemade cabbage sausage, mustard cream, cheese, wilted onions, spinach and potatoes.  Again, we found a uniformly crispy crêpe folded over topped with the aforementioned ingredients.  The sausage was juicy and meaty where it was complimented by the mustard cream perfectly.  It had a nice bite to offset the heaviness.  Loved the crispy potatoes and the spinach was cooked just enough.

Viv ended up with the La Lemon Curd with lemon cream, mascarpone, salidou and white chocolate chips.  This was utterly delicious with pointed tanginess that was balanced by the salted butter caramel on the bottom of the plate.  The white chocolate chips also added another layer of sweetness and texture. Wow, we were pretty impressed with our crêpes!  They were well-made and combined with thoughtful as well as impactful ingredients.  Would recommend this place to everyone!

The Good:

- Solid crêpes

- Lots of selection

- Friendly service

The Bad:

- Gets pretty warm in there, might want to sit outside?