Paris, France — It is one of those places you might just walk by. Fortunately we didn’t and discovered a delicious spot for all kinds of breads, pastries, homemade soups and sandwiches, salads, pastries and more inside Paris Baguette. Even the name sounds a little like overkill. But it is a perfect name. We tried the one in the Montparnasse neighborhood, but there are several across town and thousands all over the world, each with their own neighborhood touch. The one on Lexington Avenue in New York has butter cookies and iced coffee on the menu.

Meanwhile back in Paris, we opted for a selection of homemade quiches (cheese, leek and Lorraine), small sandwiches and local fruit juice from a producer in the Greater Paris region. But the key element is the tea salon tucked away in the back. You choose your favorites at the extensive counter and then take them back to the very Parisian looking salon with its wood floors and windows looking out onto a quaint courtyard. It is a nice, good value eating experience in the Montparnasse neighborhood which is one that actually hasn’t changed that much since it was the haunt of American expatriates in the 1920s and remains to this day home to landmark restaurants and cafés, artist’s studios, art book shops and art supply shops. 

The Paris Baguette at Montparnasse, Châtelet and Saint Michel make their own bread at the shop. While the pastries and breads for the other locations are made in a central location at La Défense and sent to all of the Parisian shops. You can stop in for breakfast, lunch or an afternoon snack or tea, the famous French goûter. You can purchase the items individually or within an all-inclusive menu that generally includes a drink, sandwich, quiche or salad and a delicious dessert. They also do desserts that cater to the holiday season like a Yule Log Cake or currently a 12th Night Cake. 

Another aspect we appreciated were the products straight from some of France’s finest producers to take away or accompany your meal like the delicious jams from the house of Francis Miot  (triple world jam champion), hailing from the very gastronomic region of southwestern France, chocolates and cookies from the family-owned house of Mercier, founded in 1912. One also finds dairy products and homemade apple juice from La Ferme de Viltain, a farm located just 10 miles (17 km) from Paris. Wheat, emanating from the rich fields of the Beauce and Eure-et-Loire both within 90 minutes from Paris, is supplied to Paris Baguette by the Moulins Viron in Chartres, a flour mill that is six generations young. And don’t miss the craft ice-creams from La Fabrique Givrée or the savory, finely sourced spreads from Super Producteur. The other nice thing about Paris Baguette in both Paris and New York is that they cater. Our Paris Baguette in Paris: 5 place du 18 Juin 1940, 75006 Paris, France. Tel: +33 (0) 1 45 48 97 21. https://www.parisbaguette.fr/  ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette

Left to right: Chocolate Yule Log cake, a Paris-Brest pastry and a Raspberry Yule Log cake at Paris Baguette. Photo courtesy Paris Baguette. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette