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Happy Anniversary to Café Papillon.

Store Front

Mickael De Boucha celebrated his mother’s birthday on February 14, 2006 and the very next day, he bought and opened Café Papillon on February 15, 2006. He refers to himself as the, “Crazy French man of Sanford.” But this modest and very charming fellow owns and operates a very clean eating restaurant, using only the freshest ingredients. He makes his own croissants and pastries and all his ingredients are organic. He is a strong advocate for healthy eating because eating well is living well.

Patio Seating

He has a beautiful and colorful outdoor seating with a variety of plants, flowers, flags, and French-colored windmills.  This was certainly a very happy place. As I was admiring the weather, I was getting hypnotized by the sweet smell of the croissant. He must have just finished heating up the bread because the smell grew stronger and stronger and my stomach was starting to become very vocal…. if you know what I mean.

I browse through the menu and it is a pretty simple menu, he serves sandwiches and salads and the soups are seasonal. I chose to go with a Parisian Warp. It was described in the menu as, “Jambon Braise, Fromage de Comte, Beurre,” which is French for, “Braised Ham, Comte Cheese, and Butter.”

Parisian with Fresh Croissant

He brought out my sandwich and it came with a side of plain ruffled potato chips. The sandwich was jammed packed with mixed green, seasoned with the lemon and olive oil vinaigrette. I had a couple of slices of the braised ham topped off with a very rich and creamy cheese. The fresh warm croissant just melted as I took my first bite into the sandwich.

I have never had a fresh croissant before or even French food. There was always been this barrier for me that French food was very expensive which made it a bit of a reach for me. This place was far from that, it reminded much of a restaurant down in Key West, Blue Heaven Café, with a collection of various styles of furniture and outdoor seating that embraces the natural environment. Though, Café Papillion didn’t have the canopy trees or the lobbyist chickens, his style, like Blue Heaven, just reflected nature and its simplicity.

The prices are decent but the quality is outstanding.

I ended the meal with a piece of éclair…all I could say, MEGA YUMMO!

Eclair

Happy Anniversary to Café Papillon.