The Four Boulangeries In My Neighborhood

There are currently four neighborhood boulangeries I am bouncing between to pick up our daily baguette (always "tradition" and not "Parisienne"). And some days, a pain au chocolate. Yum! But not all bakeries are built the same. Here's a quick rundown of the four and their attributes. And, yes, they have proper names, but we don't use them.

What I Call the Bakery: Mozart 
Hours: Open all week. Closed on Saturdays. Only bakery open all day on Sundays.
Baguette Quality: Not the best, but pretty good and consistent.
Counter Staff: This one is crowded, so the ladies behind the corner like you to be brief and curt. No chip-chat. They get huffy if you need more than a minute to decide whether to add a croissant.

What I Call the Bakery: The Other Mozart Corner 
Hours: Open all week. Closed on Sundays but open on Saturdays.
Baguette Quality: Inconsistent but usually slightly better than Mozart.
Counter Staff: Not as busy, so they're nicer. Will help you count change and won't give you the stink eye if you don't have cash. Except for the hipster guy who is perpetually annoyed.

What I Call the Bakery: Epicure
Hours: Open all week, plus Saturdays. Closes early on Sundays.
Baguette Quality: The best! Our favorite baguette in the neighborhood. Though, some times we get an "over cooked" loaf.
Counter Staff: Inconsistent. Most are nice and will chat with me about bread and offer tastes of other goods. There are a few guys who are less congenial. Being a large supermarket, they have no issue with credit cards.

What I Call the Bakery: The One on Doctor White Ave
Hours: Really inconsistent. They have posted hours, but I have a hunch they don't follow them.
Baguette Quality: The second best!
Counter Staff: Super nice! They'll chit-chat, if there's not a line of customers. But, they're not always open, so I don't often go there.

There are few other bakeries nearby but they're not on my usual path or, as in the case of one, the counter ladies were rude to me.

Fun baguette tip: I cut uneaten bread into pieces, toss with garlic-flavored olive oil and toast to make delicious croutons. (Though, we don't often have leftover bread in this house.)

Fun baguette fact: They are shaped into long loaves because of Napoleon. He wanted to get his soldiers moving, so he ordered the bread to be shaped in a long loaf so they fit down the legs of the soldiers pants.



Related posts: 
More about our Paris apartment

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