About one week into my internship I discovered Un Je Ne Sais Quoi. It’s a cute, little, French bakery in Dupont Circle, an adorable French couple runs it and only hires people who speak French in addition to English, they have pastries in the mornings and add desserts in the afternoon. Everything is made in house and they have great coffee. Even better, it’s way cheaper and way better than Starbucks.
At first I tried to be cool about my addiction, but that turned out to be impossible. Pretty soon I was going there before work everyday before work. I’d sit and have coffee and the occasional pastry; read the news or do homework for 40 minutes to an hour. I have been there at roughly 8:40 am - 9:26 am, practically every Monday through Thursday for almost three months. Sometimes, if I needed a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, or an after work snack, I’d stop back in- I will admit, there were more than a few days when I went to this bakery three times in one day. Un Je Ne Sais Quoi very quickly started being referred to at my office as “Kylie’s favorite place on Earth” or even shortened to “EARTTHH!!” on occasion. And let me say, it is not an exaggeration.
Pretty soon, every person that works there started recognizing me, I even got a few free snacks throughout the summer. But sadly today was my last stop in. PSA: Un Je Ne Sais Quoi will be closed July 31st-August 14 so that the owners can go on vacation. Today, I’m not embarrassed to say, I almost shed a tear leaving my favorite place. So, what did I do to cope with this deep, emotional loss? I bought seven packs of 20 homemade meringues, yes- 140 meringues- and promised myself that I would come back to DC, even if just to have coffee at my favorite place on Earth again.
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