2 posts tagged “santa fe”
The most enveloping little store in all of Santa Fe is, blessedly, a chocolate shop by the name of Todos Santos.
The man behind the day-glo meets day-of-the-dead decor is Hayward Simoneaux. A transplant with a true knack for the dark and sweet abilities of cacao, he hails from Louisiana well over a decado ago.
I have purchased bars before, a few truffles and caramels (fantastic and not outrageously priced). On my last visit I went for a newly crafted nougat bar, one in pistachio chile and the other yet to be devined.
Unlike other chewy and European nougats, Howard's is fluffy like mousse, sugar-sweet with potent honey flavor, and delicate until the chile peeks its head out.
Each iPod-shuffle-sized bar is the perfect amount for a little indulgence on a Sunday afternoon. Next time, I'll also remember to remove the deceptively thin and clingy pieces of wax paper before I eat half the bar. Ooops.
With its unbeatable Le Classique breakfast of a baguette, sweet butter and European jams matched with your choice of coffee drink, French Corner was a mainstay of eats on San Mateo.
Its unlikely location next to a couple of brake and muffler shops notwithstanding, the restaurant ultimately declined in quality around the time that the owners moved back to France 2 years ago. The dwindling patronage meant that the joint couldn't sustain interest and it closed about a year after that.
Like any good NM transplants, however, Anne-Laure Ligier and her husband Phillipe couldn't stay away and the pair have returned to reopen a bakery and cafe with many of the same staples from their previous lunch spot.
The catch? Its in Santa Fe. Bummer for us, bully for the city different dwellers. Now called Clafoutis, I hope their pastries are as good as I remember and they also have... clafoutis!
Clafoutis French Restaurant and Bakery
402 N. Guadalupe St.
988-1809
Open Monday-Saturday, 7 am-5 pm
