Best Baguette in Paris

Sorry not to have posted over the past few days, but there was so much to do in Paris that it was near impossible to take any time to write about any of the numerous food options to be had. One thing I will say, as this is the first time that I have traveled to Paris with Boy 1 and Boy 2, is that the types of places you would have avoided like the plague as a single traveler are rather good. This includes the cafes in the Tuileries, which have good coffee, decent wine, and acceptable food. One piece of advice is to avoid their “special” croque mousier, which was tasty but a bit goopy. The fries at the cafeteria at the Eiffel Tower are acceptable, and the sandwiches ok, except they really do use to much butter. When you are waiting hours to climb to the top of Notre Dame, the takeout sandwich place with the yellow sign across the street from the line has an excellent chicken sandwich. The crepes at the stand near the carousel in the Tulleries are freshly made and rather good after a brisk go-round.

One thing we did do was to go back to our old neighborhood in the 17th arrondissement. There, off the Place de Ternes, we went to a boulangerie/patessiere that had advertised itself as having won “the best baguette in Paris” award for 2006. The store, J.P. Cohier (270 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré), is easily reached after a quick look at the Arc De Triumph. The store is a typical bakery featuring bread, pastries and cold drinks. There are some stools and some outdoor seating. In addition to the baguette, we felt obliged to try some éclairs, a few croissants, some pain chocolate, and a maroon. All the pastries were excellent, and, true to the award, the baguette may have been the best I have ever eaten. A crunchy, yet bitable outside, an velvety, almost egg like inside, and a phenomenal bouquet. I would show you a picture, but the four of us ate the whole thing walking up Rue Wagram, so all you can see is the wrapper. I did find one English Website describing Mr. Cohier and his work. This site has some bread photos. The bread was so good that number one son asked if it could be flown in, and while I doubt it will be done, its certainly worth the brief walk from the Arc de Triumph to eat this amazing piece of bread.