Florence Kahn

You wouldn’t expect to find a boulangerie in the heart of the Marais named after the first Jewish woman to serve in the United States Congress.  But there’s nothing American about this shop, easily identifiable by its beautiful, blue and white tile mosaic on the facade.  (It’s actually a historical landmark, which opened back in 1932.)  In fact, it’s one of the last standing, traditional Jewish bakeries in Paris’s Jewish Quarter, and undoubtedly the best, especially for Pre-War Europe classics.

But Florence Kahn isn’t just a bakery because it peddles in savories, too, including pastrami on an Onion Pletzl (roll), Herring, Cheese Boureks, Challah, Bagels, and homemade Matzoh year round.  There’s Matzoh Ball Soup, Stuffed Cabbage, and even Borscht that you can take-out or eat on the outside terrace when the weather permits (there’s no inside seating at all).

My favorite way to go here is dessert and there’s plenty of fantastic sweets to choose from.  A few of my favorites are the Apple Strudel, Poppy Seed Strudel and Fig Cake, which will ruin Fig Newtons for you forever.  And, of course, their Cheesecake.  In Parisian hands, cheesecake is a different thing entirely. It’s usually made with Fromage Blanc, thus much snowier in color than American cheesecake, moister, and lighter.   Florence Kahn features plain, blueberry, raspberry, cherry and even Pistachio versions.  If I were you, I’d get a variety of sweets to sample and snack on them over the course of the day so you experience the breadth of what this wonderful shop has to offer.