Feelin' Froggy

At Les Delices de Paris (5303 Leets-dale Drive), owners Alexandre and Christelle Donat wear their experience on their sleeves. Well, on the walls, really, which are filled with diplomas and certificates from French pastry schools. But no paperwork is necessary, because the smells in this place are proof enough. Les Delices does an almond croissant that's even better than Katherine's — a huge thing, impossibly light and buttery, topped with crunchy almond slivers and filled with the most remarkable almond paste I've ever tasted. At Les Delices, Laura and I will actually fight over who gets the bigger half of the éclair. The last time I brought home a box of pastries from here, Laura pretended like she didn't care — and then, when I had to step out for something (cigarettes or sandwiches, I can't remember), she tore into it and ate all but one tiny bite of the citron tart, the best single pastry in the Les Delices arsenal. I'm pretty sure she still had crumbs on her face when I came home.

Unfortunately, we're not the only ones to have discovered Les Delices. By the time I fight my way through the horrible parking lot, I often find most of the bakery cases almost completely empty. It's been months since I was able to buy a loaf of bread there.

I like Trompeau Bakery, at 1729 East Evans, for one big reason and about a hundred small ones. The big reason is the owner, Pascal Trompeau, who seems to eat, sleep and live here. There's something about him that flips my crazy-Zen-baking-monk switch; he has the obsessive dedication that's always been what I've found most attractive about bakers. And the hundred of small reasons I like Trompeau are, of course, every single thing that Pascal makes.

Leftovers: I would bet that Boulder's fathers voted to ban smoking about five minutes after the city was founded — which is strange, because Boulder is liberal in so many other ways. I mean, I could walk down the street with no pants on, completely gone on blotter, trying to collect signatures for my petition to have trees legally declared sentient beings, and no one would bat an eye. But if I were to light up a cigarette while doing it? Jesus, people would chase me out of town with sticks.

And yet, even in the midst of all this institutionalized discrimination, one joint has decided to stand up, jump through all the necessary legal hoops and offer degenerate tobacco lovers like me a place to get our fix in peace: Fuller's Griffin Cigar Bar is scheduled to open on March 7, inside the Millennium Harvest House, at 1345 28th Street. "Fuller's Griffin provides the perfect environment to relax and privately enjoy what is elsewhere forbidden," says Ken Wallace, the hotel's F&B director.

Ooh, I like the sound of that. What's more, Wallace is right. Currently, there's is not a single establishment in all of Boulder County where you can (legally) light up. Next month, there will be exactly one: Fuller's Griffin.