I've been eating pastries from Michel Richards for as long as I can remember. A good family friend of ours, Yoko-san, lived in Beverly Hills near Robertson Blvd. and would bring a box of the apple turnovers ($2.50) every time she came to visit us in the OC. Needless to say, I always looked forward to a visit from her and her daughters who were the best playmates. This little cafe restaurant has been around since 1977 and French people actually work in the kitchen and at the counter so you know it has to be great!
I've never actually visited the Patisserie until I moved out to LA a few years ago. And I've actually never had anything else from the pretty glass case stuffed with cakes and pastries either because I always go back for the apple turnovers. They are just so good that I can't get myself to try something new.
Once (11 years ago or so) Yoko-san brought us a box of dozen apple turnovers on one of her visits and my mom left it on the kitchen counter for us to enjoy later. Well, our golden retriever got to it before we did and ate every single one of them! We were so disappointed but the dog sure did look happy. 
My parents spent the night out our place yesterday and we decided to go pick up a box of turnovers ourselves to enjoy for breakfast today, and boy did we! The flavor and texture never changes through all of the years. Light, crispy, flaky, and ultra buttery but the apple sauce inside isn't overwhelmingly sweet. I've been told that the apple sauce inside is freshly homemade everyday. I will be back to this place again and again and maybe one day I'll get around to trying something else on the menu!Michel Richard
310 S Robertson Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel: (310) 275-5707
Tel: (310) 275-5707
A dozen organic eggs that I asked for...
My guilty pleasure, trashy magazines...
Hubby and I visited a small mill that produces artesanal cachaças during our stay in 
Traditionally, the fermentation agent is a maize flour and the distillation unit is a copper pot still, like this one we saw at the mill. 
There were so many different flavors to choose from but we picked a bottle of passion fruit flavored cachaça to bring home with us.
There is a lot of fascinating age and history to this city. Until slavery ended officially in 1888, it's estimated that more than 4 million slaves were brought to Brazil from Africa, and the port of Salvador was the major center of the slave trade. Because of the history, many people of African decent still live in Salvador and there is a lot of African influence in this city. 
The oldest part of town is called "Pelourinho." The city is quaint, lively and colorful with pastel colored houses lining the narrow cobble-stoned streets and wide open squares.
The people of Salvador are also colorful and lively. While walking up and down the streets I spotted African Brazilian women wearing bright dresses with belled skirts and colorful head scarves.
Many stands near the bay sell freshly fried acaraje, a native sandwich that's like a huge "hush puppy" stuffed with votapa and shrimp. 
mmmmmm... stuffed fried goodness. Nothing like Brazilian heartburn!
We visited a really neat church in Salvador, Nosso Senhor do Bonfim. This church plays a very important role in the Candomblé (African) religion and is dedicated to Oxalá, one of the highest deities. The 18th century church is relatively plain but the gates are adorned with thousands and thousands of fitas, or colorful ribbons. The billowing ribbons were absolutely beautiful.
