Mille Feuille

Another WTF moment for me was when I tried a "real" Mille Feuille at Fouquet's and Cafe de la Paix.
Mille Feuille literally means 1,000 leaves. And interestingly enough, it's also called a "Napolean" here in the States.
I have tried this pastry a handful of times trying to understand what the fuss was all about.
Whenever I dined with my mother at a fancy restaurant, she would always order it.
And funny enough, she would always say, "it's just not the same", referring to her experiences in Paris.
So with the limited tastings I've had, I have always considered this dish lacking any pleasant qualities. It always seemed to be a pathetic attempt to display 2 opposing textures. Crunchiness and Smoothness. Because quite literally, the baked portion was hard and crunchy, while the custard portion was rich and sweet.

Low and behold... Enlightenment!

So just like my butter experience, I was blown away by my very first bite at Fouquet's.
This dish is served with a knife and fork.
Again, every time I've ever had this dish, my attempts to take a bite have resulted in a sloppy mess. You can't cut through the ones here. It generally leads to the custard oozing out from the sides due to the pressure of the hard pastry not breaking away and forcing all the goodness away.

Not the case in France.

Literally, multiple thin layers of butter enriched dough make for a tender baked crisp that one can easily cut through and take out bite sized portions.
Once it hits your mouth, the smoothness of the vanilla custard (which is perfect) and the flakiness of the perfectly backed multi layered butter "leaves" make for the perfect pairing.
Now to jazz it all up, Fouquet's garnished it with a raspberry puree on the side, while Cafe de la Paix drizzled caramel on the bottom of the plate. Both equally inspiring and utterly delicious.









And below is a picture of a typical "Mille Feuille" you'll find in the States.
The picture says it all...