My Coiffeuse Wants A Cheesecake Recipe

Sometimes when you travel, the urge to eat something familiar causes a craving. Craving cheesecake? When it came up in a conversation, I realized that (1) I wanted a piece of cheesecake and (2) it seems to be quite popular in Paris. I decided it is time for a cheesecake project: Start making a list of cheesecake places in Paris! Good ideas begin in the most unusual places.

Hair salon conversation covers a wide range of subjects. Chez Glamour, my coiffeuse, Anita, and a client touched on light subjects:  actors and cheesecake. The women in the salon agreed that the transition from child actor to adult actor is difficult.  We shared good opinions about Johnny Depp and Leonardo di Caprio, and decided that they are two successful examples. Then the conversation moved on to a weightier topic: cheesecake.

Anita, who owns Glamour, has a desire for American cheesecake and wonders what kind of cheese to use. If she wants to make a New York cheesecake, where can she buy the American ingredient Philadelphia Cream Cheese? And where does she find a recipe?

Two of us agree that frommage frais will work for her and suggest adding some frommage blanc (Jockey or Fjord–two types of light sour cream). The two cheeses are essentially the same thing.

The search mission of the project begins as I roll my caddie shopping trolley along (as if I am still a flight attendant) to go grocery shopping, I jump on bus 69 and head over to the Marais area close by. Schwartz’s Deli carries the Philadelphia Cream Cheese for Anita’s baking project.  With one 200 gram pack in my Schwartz’s brown bag, I head back to the Bastille and deliver it to Anita. (Later, I discover that Monoprix rue Saint-Antoine near the Saint-Paul metro carries the cream cheese as well). The next step is to translate a recipe for her.

I volunteer to translate one of my recipes. For all francophiles out there, you can thank goodness for Quebec! KraftCanada has all the cheesecake recipes in French. The task at hand just gotten easier. All I have to do is email her the link! Cheesecake takes some time to prepare. (I hope I can try a piece when she is done.)

In the meantime, it may be easier to just take her a piece of cheesecake from Schwartz’s where they use the Philadelphia cream cheese. This project has turned into a dégustation of cheesecakes! The three cheesecakes I have tasted in the Marais are delicious. Schwartz’s is the most traditional of three Marais cheesecake makers.

The other two shops/restaurants, Sacha Finkelsztajn (the yellow boutique) and Pitzman (with the Grand Central clock hanging outside) make cheesecakes in the frommage blanc style, both slightly different and delicious in their own right. To read more about French style cheesecake, visit Saveurs du Monde and use Google Translate.

Like the rind flora on a cheese, the types of cheesecake, the shops and the cafés selling them keep multiplying. Up the street from Schwartz’s is a shop distinctly designed for girls who like pink, Princess Crêpe. While visiting the museum, I noticed that the café at the Jacquemart-André is another place to try various styles of cheesecake.

What began as a request for cream cheese and a recipe is turning into a never ending delicious project and calls for more sit ups!

Glamour Coiffure
Anita Loiseau
46 rue de la Roquette 75011
01 48 06 86 95
Mention Colleen’s Paris: 32 euros for your first visit instead of 39 euros
Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Carte de fidelité (eight visits, your ninth costs 18 euros; valid for 18 months)

Anita: “For a style and cut suited to you, even if it is just the bangs, hair color, or a “brushing” (shampoo, blow-dry and comb out), with or without a reservation…come to GLAMOUR! We have a cozy, modern and bright salon. Anita, Laura, Johanna and Coralie are dynamic, smiling and receptive stylists, who will take the time to listen to your hairstyling wishes.”
Editor’s note: I can add that watching the interaction among them, resembles girls getting together, working together, enjoying their job and their environment. Always making sure to help one another and keep the salon spic and span.

Qype This is a useful site generated by Internet users and business owners to find restaurants, bars, art galleries, products, boutiques, etc. (Use Google Translate)

Blues Bar-B-Q – real Philadelphia Cream Cheese cake
1 rue Sedaine 75011 Paris
Open: Tuesday to Thursday noon – 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: nooon to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Closed Monday)

Mo makes the best cheesecake and it has variety. The cheesecake comes out different each time – in a good way. You know it is home made. He decorates it with the swirls of strawberry sauce.

Blues Bar-B-Q also serves real hickory chip cooked barbeque for that taste away from home. If you want their home sauce (vinegar and pepper) on the pulled pork, don’t say anything. If you want the meat plain, ask for it plain. They are American and speak English.

Sacha Finkelsztajn – cheesecake variety; frommage blanc style
27, re des Rosier 75004
01 42 72 78 91
excellent apple strudel! large variety of Central European Yiddish and Russian food
Closed Tuesday
Open: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Annual vacation: mid-July to mid-August

Schwartz’s Deli – real Philadelphia Cream Cheese cake
16 rue des Ecouffes 75004
01 48 87 31 29
Deli-style diner – look for the swirling barber pole outside
Open seven days a week
Weekdays: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m./lunch between noon and 3 p.m.
dinner: 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Weekends: lunch: noon to 5 p.m./dinner 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Pitzman – frommage blanc style
8 rue Pavée 75004
open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (they close at 2 p.m. on Fridays)
Kosher pizza, bagels, pitas, etc.

Princess Crêpe – have not tried it yet
3 Rue des Ecouffes 75004 Paris
Open 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Closed Monday and Thursday

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