Paris Baguette

I finally made it out to this place after having heard quite a bit of media hype.

First, the location is good and it occupies a full building with nice decor and plenty of room. Simply put, it is very nice and attractive.

As for the product, I had a croissant, a baguette, and a fruit danish.

The danish was surprisingly good. The mixed fruits seemed fresh with a tasty pudding underneath. The pastry itself had some flakiness to it as well. I would eat one again.

The croissant, quite frankly, was just bread in the shape of a croissant. You can't get the right results w/o proper incredients and old fashioned layering of the pastry. I certainly don't recommend spending your money on one.

The baguette was ok. It was soft and fresh. But its not what I would define as a good baguette. Bluedog and Sullivan Bakery (and I guess a few other places) are much better choices.

It seems to be a popular place and doing well. The coffee and typical summer type drinks seemed to be about like anywhere else. They do have a wide array of goods. But based on what I had, its just prefrozen stuff baked fresh in house.

I do think that they'll do well, and I read that they may try to open a second shop later on. The average US suburbanite hasn't had authentically baked baguettes, croissants and other such goods. So to them, it is a step up from supermarket fare. And as I stated earlier, they built a very nice, attractive venue.

My friend and I did lunch there shortly after they opened... I think we waited about 30 minutes in line. I got one of the flatbread type things with meat on it and had them heat it up. It was good. Pro tip: at the time, the Wendy's next door was closed, so that created badly needed additional parking.

[Robin Garr]

I finally made it out to this place after having heard quite a bit of media hype.

We drove by recently but were discouraged by the line. I had serious doubts that it would compare well to Blue Dog, etc. Thanks for generally confirming that, James.

This is definitely a fast-growing national franchise operation. If I remember correctly, the company is based in South Korea.

I would suspect the goods are parbaked prior to being frozen. More on that in a different post!

[Robin Garr]

I would suspect the goods are parbaked prior to being frozen. More on that in a different post!

Nathaniel, that would not surprise me at all! When Panera came to town, they claimed "bread baked fresh every day," and it didn't take long to find out that they were actually talking about bread parbaked at a vast commissary in St. Louis, trucked here, and "fresh baked" in that form at the local franchise. I suspect it's SOP in the fancy quick-service franchise bread world.

I would suspect the goods are parbaked prior to being frozen. More on that in a different post!

Nathaniel, that would not surprise me at all! When Panera came to town, they claimed "bread baked fresh every day," and it didn't take long to find out that they were actually talking about bread parbaked at a vast commissary in St. Louis, trucked here, and "fresh baked" in that form at the local franchise. I suspect it's SOP in the fancy quick-service franchise bread world.

Its interesting that you mention Panera. I just had a conversation earlier this afternoon with a lady who works at a Panera. Appearently, this is catching up with them as I understand that sales have declined. Their Mac and Cheese is straight out of a bag, stuff is baked in the evening, soups are not made there, etc. Prices have also risen as quality has declined.

[Robin Garr]

Its interesting that you mention Panera. I just had a conversation earlier this afternoon with a lady who works at a Panera. Appearently, this is catching up with them as I understand that sales have declined. Their Mac and Cheese is straight out of a bag, stuff is baked in the evening, soups are not made there, etc. Prices have also risen as quality has declined.

To be completely honest, I can't prove that, because I don't think I have been back to a Panera since I wrote that original story (For Louisville magazine, if I remember correctly) back around the turn of the millennium. I never did go for the food, although I used to take my laptop computer over there to sit with a coffee because Panera was one of the very first places to offer free public wifi.