The first time I went to Angelina Patisserie was when I was in Paris for Fashion Week almost 20 years ago. I was visiting with the Belgian Couture Designer Jean Paul Knott and staying in his Atelier, and one of the young women who was working there as an Assistant for the Fashion Week show asked me one day if I had ever been to Angelina's. I never had, and she said that the next time she could take some time away she'd take me there. Paris Fashion Week is busy and exhausting, and there isn't often a moment that we can find to relax, but one afternoon the Assistant who had told me about Angelina's found me and said if we were quick we could just make it there and back again before she would be needed again. We ran outside giggling like school girls skipping class, and made our way to Angelina's. I didn't know what to expect but I knew when I saw it that it would be lovely, and it was so more than that.
The hot chocolate at Angelina Paris is to my taste the finest and best anywhere. That afternoon we had it at a table, served in a hot chocolate pot with fresh whipped cream to add as much of as we wanted to. It was so delicious that I made a point of going back again, and of buying bags of it to bring home. In those days flying was so much easier, and a sealed bag of chocolate was not a problem to bring with you at all. Soon after that flying became more difficult, and carrying anything with you other than small personal items and clothing was no longer allowed. In recent years I checked online a few times to see if it was possible to order the bags of chocolate to be sent, but the shipping was so high that it seemed too much of an extravagance. And then one day I read in one of the newsletters I get that Angelina Paris was opening in New York City. If I remember rightly it was originally slated to open in the fall of 2019, but the date was pushed forward, and then of course the world as we know it changed and things were closing rather than opening, but I kept checking and I did see that there was still a plan for it to open. I walked by the location where it was listed that it would be opening a few times, and on one visit I saw a sign that said the name I remembered. Then at some point a little while after that, when I checked again online I saw they had opened. It was during a time when I still wasn't traveling much into Manhattan, but I was planning to go as soon as I could find the time. One afternoon when things had begun to open up a bit more and I was feeling much freer, I stopped by after another appointment and when I walked in I was so happy to see tins of the chocolate lining the shelves and desserts in the glass case with the signature writing on the labels that I remembered so well and had missed for so long. That day was a very hot one, and I didn't have enough time to go back to the salon and sit, so I bought a tin of chocolate to take home and when the very pleasant man who was serving behind the counter suggested that I could try iced hot chocolate I did and found a new favorite thing for hot summer months.
I returned a few weeks later to have lunch one afternoon, and to try their ice cream which I've not had before. When I looked at the menu there were so many wonderful things that I could have ordered anything and been delighted, and I chose a lobster roll which came unexpectedly with a small cup of Lobster Bisque, something I love and that reminded me instantly of visiting Rumpelmeyers on 57th Street years before with my Mother. I hadn't realized that there was a relationship between Angelina's and Rumpelmeyers until I started doing my research when I wanted to find a way to get that wonderful hot chocolate in New York, and Rumpelmeyers was closed at that point. To find myself at this new Angelina Paris in New York with a Lobster Bisque as lovely as my sweetest memories was a blessing I hadn't dreamed of. When the sundae came it was so special and the ice cream so fresh and creamy and flavorful that I posted a photograph describing it and saying it made me feel like a princess. Served with a small pitcher of hot chocolate to pour over it, this was delicious ice cream brought to another level, with rich flavors and textures and a hint of warmth bring out the softer side of the ice cream and making a moment of flavorfilled memory that was as special as the times with my mother all those years ago.
Angelia Paris is a special and delightful place to visit, and now that there is one in New York City I plan to visit as often as I can. Whether for lunch, dinner, brunch, or an afternoon hot or iced hot chocolate with a pastry, any time I can find myself at Angelina will be a lovely one.
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