It seems odd to travel the extra 1500-odd miles to have French pastries in Bucharest, especially when they’re a little pricier than the traditional local confectionary. Bucharest does eclairs better then Paris, though, so it’s so worth it.

 

I realize that’s an inflammatory statement, and based on personal tastes, so let me explain. French cuisine is generally about subtlety, and you need a refined and sensitive palate to get the nuance of what is critically acclaimed. My taste buds are New Mexican, and have therefore received a lifetime of abuse from daily doses of our staple green chile that render most of the subtle hints of flavor in French cuisine lost on me. Romanian cuisine, on the other hand, announces its flavors with the taste-equivalent of full Dolby surround-sound with base-boost and force feedback. When you take that concept and basically distill a flavor-essence, then enrich the crème and glazing of a miniature culinary work of art with this double boosted flavor, it’s not just a party in your mouth, it’s a full-blown rave.

 

We got the selection of 12 mini-eclairs, which I highly recommend for anyone. Yes, if you’re splitting them you get only one bite of each flavor, but that is enough to remember for a lifetime. Were I a poet, I would compose sonnets to the boldly seductive interplay of fruits and crème or chocolate within the light, perfectly flavored cake. Since I’m not a poet, I will simply say that they were an amazing new explosion of perfectly delectable flavor in every bite, and my better-half and I are going to go back every time we’re in Bucharest!

 

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