French Pastry

This is Payard. A Patisserie inside Ceasar's palace in Las Vegas.

I happened upon this place while I was waiting to eat meatballs at Rao's restaurant.

I have been trying since the first of the year to not eat sugar and flour (I have adult acne, and they both exacerbate my condition) That went out the window on day two of my stay in Vegas!

The first day we were in Vegas, Ross and I found a Whole Foods and I stocked up on good snacks for my face. Whole Foods is my favorite grocery store and wish they would open one here in town.

Having lived in Montreal, Quebec and visited Paris, I know what good pastries are. Well I thought I did until Payard's. I love pastries. Pastries are the kind of food that one cannot make at home (unless you are a master pastry chef and even then...) There are places that claim they make them but really they are not "real pastries." Pastry making is an art form and good pastries are hard to find. There are several bakeries in Montreal that claim to make pastries that simply put do not! Once you find a good pastry place, NEVER MOVE. Where I live there are several bakeries and although they make pastries they are disgusting. Truly I could not even finish them.

When I walked into Payard I was pleasently surprised. I went in there looking for a chocolate bar with a high percentage of cocoa (which they have) but when I saw the pastry counter filled with lovely looking treats, I was thrilled. Since I have a weekness for raspberries, I went with the raspberry tart with almond paste filling and perfect crust. There were also fruit tarts, baba au rhums, eclairs, and other chocolate delights. When I sat down and tasted this pastry, I knew that it was by far the best I have ever tasted. (was this perhaps because I had not eaten sugar in weeks...)

I enjoyed my time in Vegas, the mini vacation. I did not like the smoking in the casinos and if I had just 2 hours to spend in Vegas it would most definetly include a stop at Payard Patisserie for more yummy patisseries.