Wednesday, December 19, 2007

At long last

It's no secret that one of the things Kirk and I miss the most about living in Europe is GOOD BREAD. We just got so used to eating good bread all the time. Kirk's favorite was Pagnolbrot from Coop (and of course his weekend Zopf), and I loved anything that was nutty, crunchy, and/or seedy (which meant I usually had to share a loaf with a friend considering I could never finish it all before it went bad 2 days later). I'm constantly on the lookout for good bread here. Wherever I go, I look for bakeries or gourmet shops that may sell fresh bread. I've found some pretty good options, but we're never totally satisfied, even with what I buy at the local German bakery. I guess we've become bread snobs!

At long last, I may have found the closest to perfect baguette, sold at a little French cafe that Baby and I visited for the first time this morning. We had a few errands to run, including picking up a bottle of our favorite olive oil at a local wine (and gourmet) shop. When I first visited this wine store a few months ago I was thrilled with their cheese selection, and thrilled to discover that they also sell serrano ham which we love. Both go perfectly with the long-sought-after baguette and olive oil. YUM. This wine shop is in the same shopping center (too cute and little to be called a strip mall) as a couple nice kids stores, which makes it a great outing for Baby as well. I love how so many book stores (including Barnes and Nobles type stores) have a whole kids play area with train sets and doll houses. I can get my shopping done and Baby thinks she's at a playdate!

Anyway, after picking up the olive oil, having Baby's feet measured at the kids shoe store, and playing at the book store for a while, we decided to stop at Cafe Parisien (in the same shopping center) for a snack. Why have we never been to this place before? It truly feels like a little European cafe, minus the cigarette smoke. I love it. I ordered crepes for me and a chunk of baguette for Baby. Unfortunately, the crepes didn't quite compare to what we used to get in France (or even to those at the Basel Weihnachtsmarkt), but the baguette was delicious! I had to go back for more because Baby and I ate all of what I ordered. It totally brought back memories of eating a fresh baguette as walked through the streets of some cute little French town on our anniversary trip to Burgundy two years ago.

As a side note, have we ever mentioned how much Baby loves bread? We often say it's obvious that she was born in Europe... she can never get enough carbs.

I'm going out for a girls' night out tonight, but I brought a baguette home for Kirk to have for dinner. Stay tuned for his report. I suspect most of it (if not all of it) will be gone by the time I get home. That boy likes his bread!