Hola Paris

Back in May, I was doing a morning walk around Old Town, when I walked into Old Town Urban Market mainly to see what was going on with the location of Barrio Donas that was opening there. You can read about my visit to Barrio Donas here. When I noticed that the shop opening right across from Barrio Donas had some activity going on. It was called Hola Paris, a name which harkens to some of our favorite places to travel, so of course I was interested. There was a nice couple setting things up, when I inquired about the name, the nice owner named Gabby is Mexican and her Husband who is handling the chef duties named Benjamin is from the outskirts of Paris! Thus, Hola Paris! Of course, I then cracked them up when I left saying "merci, adios, au revoir"! 

The place opened a couple of weeks later. Looking at the menu, which featured pastries and crepes was perhaps not going to be our cup of tea. We had spent two weeks in Paris during our last trip to the city and one of the places we tried was the ever popular crêperie Breizh Cafe. It turns out that we didn't care for the savory crepes there.

Still, the owners of Hola Paris seemed so nice. So, I decided to check things out. I went on one quiet morning to the very "Instagrammable" looking shop in the Urban Market.

Benjamin broke into a big smile and laughed when he saw me.......I guess he remembered me! We had a nice conversation and I mentioned I don't care for sweets much. I also mentioned that during our last stay in Paris, we tried crepes and didn't care for it. He asked where  and I told him Breizh Cafe. Benjamin quickly explained that Breizh Cafe makes Bretonne style crepes, which uses buckwheat. The style made here is based on the sweeter style crepes made with wheat  flour. He also pointed out, because of the Mexican touches, the several of offerings are quite savory and even have some spice.

He recommended I try the Ham y Queso ($13), which includes jambon and queso fresco. 

Upon turning, I noticed this sign, which gave me flashbacks!

I asked him about it and was told Gabby loves Chanel! I mentioned the Cambon location....and apparently Gabby loves that location as well! Oh boy.......

Anyway, I went and had a seat and soon enough my crepe was delivered.

The crepe was light and at first a bit too sweet for me.

But as I tucked into it, the saltiness from the ham and the mild, rich milkiness of the queso fresco started coming to the forefront. While this was still a bit too sweet for my taste it was not bad!

I waited about a month, before revisiting. And Benjamin greeted me with a smile. In thinking about what I'd had on the previous visit, I thought that a bit of heat might really spice up things a bit. So, I decided to order the La Suiza ($14), which included tomatillo sauce and a green salsa. 

   This time the crepe was delivered with a fork and knife. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy chicken in a crepe, but it wasn't bad at all. Actually, the bite of tangy-sour heat from the sauces/salsa really made it enjoyable to my palate. The sweetness was tempered and the cheese really helped to balance out the flavors. I do think this could have used a bit more salt. And heck, even more spicy too!

   I'm glad I tried Hola Paris. While it's not something I crave, Benjamin and Gabby are so nice and friendly. I really enjoyed chatting with Benjamin about Paris.

It'll be interesting to see what other savory items make it to the menu...and heck, I might even just have a Kir Royal here once day!

Hola Paris
2548 Congress St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm
Sat - Sun 9am - 7pm

Comments

[kat]

nice!

[Kenneth]

The sign said bakery. No croissants?

[Kirk]

It was Kat!

They had a few almond and chocolate croissants, but no aux buerre and not baked inhouse Kenneth!

[Frank]

Great post, going to have to check it out. I tried the Birria/seafood spot there and found the birria to be overpriced. But I do love me some crepes.

Thanks for trying it multiple times, I appreciate that approach.

Have you made your way down to Asa Bakery in East Village? They have some savory baked goods, and while it's own by Beshock Ramen (Which honestly fails to deliver on multiple fronts) I'm excited to have more things pop up in the East Village

[Junichi]

Nice to see more variety in Old Town.

[Kirk]

Hi Frank - I think the portions at Tuetano have gotten quite large and the quality - except for the tuetanos have gone down a bit. The crepes edge on the sweet side, but aren't too bad. I walked past Asa while waiting for takeout from Sovereign a couple of weeks ago, but they weren't open yet....I'll check them out next time I'm in the area. Thanks for commenting!

I'm enjoying the nice little "growth spurt" in the area Junichi!