It’s been a bit of a fantasy of mine to live in France for a little while. When I first visited Europe three years ago, I almost skipped Paris because I didn’t want to go to places people always go to. Janine knocked some good sense into me. How can you spend four months in Europe and not see Paris?
Once I went, I knew going to Poland was a bad decision for my affair with food. Everything had so much FLAVOUR. And so many different styles. A fair cry from hearty Central European style cuisine.
Anyway, I saw this article and it just tugged my heartstrings and fueled my wanderlust. A post on Croissants and where to find the best of them.
Story Time:
I remember doing a life exercise way back when of some top things to do in my life. I remember writing down “Stroll streets of Europe staring the day off with Espresso and Pain Au Chocolat”. Mind you, at this point I was still completely oblivious to the fact that Croissants were a French only pastry. First morning of when I was in Paris, I decided to go to the Louvre like any good tourist. I walked to my metro stop from my hostel at the 19th arrondisement in Paris at the Crimee Metro station where I thought… there’s a boulangerie and patisserie there! Let’s go get breakfast.
Right here folks.
I grabbed a pain au chocolate and an Apricot Danish there because a) I liked Pain Au Chocolat and b) I thought it looked like two giant egg yolks on a danish (I’m still trying to find some in San Francisco). I started eating it for breakfast when I was walking down the metro and it was singlehandedly the most French and in my mind and one of my most favourite travel memories. Yea, the walking tours was cool. Yes walking into the Louvre, no lineup and seeing the masterpieces was amazing. And yes, seeing Christmas Markets at the Champs Elysee in full force was beautiful (I went in December). But it was certainly something else that how a simple non-descript bakery that sells living consumable art had such an impression. The fact that an unremarkable bakery can have such high quality bewilders me and excites me at the same time. I was absolutely smitten.
To me at the moment, the best resides in San Francisco’s Tartine Bakery. I’d love to check out this list sometime. But man oh man, wouldn’t it be something else to wake up and go down to the bakery to grab it whenever you want instead of trekking to the Mission and waiting 45 minutes in line on the weekends? Probably healthier for my heart.
I honestly believe that Paris is not that special of a place when it comes to food. It’s so hit-or-miss, and whether it’s a hit or a miss, it’s always overpriced. When you visit the small towns of France you find the prices are way cheaper and the quality is out of this world. Bread tastes like you never thought it could. As well, the service is often really welcoming. I live in a little town called Chaumont, 2 hours east of Paris, and the Pain au Chocolat is incredible here. I’ve gotta say though– the best food (and bread) I’ve had so far in France has been in Dijon (though I haven’t been everywhere, I mostly travel into Paris). All the meals I had in Dijon were really good, the bread was top notch. Oddly enough, no one offered me mustard once. I’m glad you found a good bakery in SanFran, and don’t get me wrong, I bet that Parisian boulangerie was amazing !! 🙂
Chris! Have you checked out any of the places listed on an earlier post linking you to Huffington Post’s list of 10 places Parisians don’t want you to know about? Looks like potentially some amazing spots to check out on your next trip into the city!
https://fancyfrites.com/2014/02/20/10-restaurants-parisians-wont-tell-you-about/
I haven’t spent enough time in Paris to really evaluate it to be honest. I spent three tourist days there. I secretly root for Paris and want to believe it is indeed a bastion for great food in the world. Two of the three days there I spent eating at a small local bistro across the street from my hostel. I was very happy with the food there. I rarely eat the same place twice while travelling. It was good value for the price point.
Though Chris, you may be onto something, I read this article below the other day that says the city is becoming less inventive and even *gasp* the Americans are cooking food for the Parisians!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/magazine/can-anyone-save-french-food.html?action=click&contentCollection=Magazine®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=article&_r=0