This man hardly requires an introduction. Pastry and chocolate connoisseur, formerly of legendary restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA., David Lebovitz is as much a famous face in Paris as in the States. Author of six books, including The Sweet Life in Paris which chronicles the trials and tribulations of his move to France, his adjustment, and comical encounters that represent daily life in the capital, and a hugely successful eponymous blog, David has become a veritable resource for Francophiles and adopted-Parisians.

Between organizing chocolate and candy tastings, seasonal book signings, attending food blog conferences, writing, and private gastronomy tours through Paris and Lausanne, Switzerland, he managed to find the time to create the ultimate mobile guide to the city’s top spots for pastries, ice cream, hot chocolate and more. David teamed up with fellow writer and tour guide Heather Stimmler-Hall and my friend, Bryan Pirolli, to create Paris Pastry, an iPhone app that serves as an invaluable pastry-hunting tool for visitors and locals alike.

I’m honored to have David on Franco File Friday today!

Describe what you love about France in three words.
Universal Health Care

One of the things I miss most about the US are the variety of hearty sandwiches available – what has you waxing nostalgic?
American television (not because it’s so great, but because it’s rather tiring watching Columbo and Love Boat reruns dubbed in French), aluminum foil that’s thicker than tissue paper, unscented products, banks that let you deposit and withdraw your money whenever you want to, and supermarket cashiers who give you your change back without sneezing into their hand first.

What is your favorite go-to spot to relax and recharge outside of Paris?
A friend’s house, which is a small, simple home on the top of a mountain near Nice and overlooks the valley and the Mediterranean in the distance. The house is very clean and sparse, but she’s a cook so the kitchen is a pleasure to work in and well-equipped. Just outside is a nice patio, which is the perfect place in the summer to enjoy ice-cold rosé and aïoli – a big platter of vegetables with garlic mayonnaise, which we make in her giant Provençal mortar and pestle. And because it’s at the top of a small village, you need to walk up a rather steep hill to get there. So by the time you’ve made it to the top, you feel like you’ve earned that rosé.

Of all the 300 pastry shops, bakeries and salons de thé you feature in your new Paris Pastry app, what are the two you’d recommend most to Paris newcomers with limited time?

Well, it’s hard to narrow it down to just two, so there is a Top 25 List I have included in the app. But if someone had only two chocolate shops to go to, I’d say Patrick Roger and Jean-Charles Rochoux. However since it’s France and no one follows the rules, I’d like to add Fouquet, A l’Etoile d’Or, and Bague de Kenza, which has lovely Algerian pastries, as places I’m equally smitten with.

Most amusing or frustrating interaction with the French?

What’s frustrating about the French is that they will never admit they’re wrong, even if you have an entire stack of irrefutable evidence which proves otherwise. I’m just astonished (and a little amazed) at how they are able to hold their ground, no matter what. And what seems to me to be logical, isn’t necessarily so. On our last drive through Brittany, both my French partner and the locals told me to stop following road signs, which often led to the wrong direction, and instead, ask for directions. And they were right.

What’s amusing is how “small town” Paris can be, in spite of the fact that it’s a major world city. Banks that close for no reason, the disdain for “le marketing” or anything commercial (even though the French often excel at commerce, especially when it comes to luxury brands), the cafés where a grouchy welcome turns into a lengthy (and friendly) conversation at the bar, the little bakeries on every corner where you can exit with a treat for less than a euro, the multitude of wine bars where you can have a glass (or two…) for less than the price of a Starbucks latte, and the bus drivers of Paris, who are my personal heroes, since they manage to navigate the windy streets with a boatload of passengers while maintaining a zen-like state, and are always ready with a proper “Bonjour” when you enter the bus. I am forever in awe of them.

Thanks David! I think most foodies are in awe of you! Download the Paris Pastry app now and follow David’s riotous tweets on Twitter: @davidlebovitz.

{all photos courtesy of David Lebovitz}