A Bean Supporter's Guide to Paris

Every week I sign off with “tell someone you love them,” and while I can make the perfect cake bite, find the best tofu, find a chausson aux pommes that brings me to tears, and share the best beans, no matter how much I type it, I seem unable to say it.

So instead, here is my guide to Paris: Bread, Beans, and the In-between.

My first morning in Paris meant one thing: bread and butter. We got dressed for the great Parisian heat, I put on my favorite dress, and we made our way to my favorite bakery.

The Bread:

I have tried 20? baguettes around Paris. At sub-$1.50 apiece, I can’t go to a bakery in Paris and not get one. It is for research?

If you want the best baguette in Paris, there is one answer to me: Utopie Bakery. But no matter what bakery you go to, you must get the traditional, or your baguette will be deeply underwhelming.

The baguette is light and airy, but also a bit chewy, and tastes almost milky. There is a moisture mixed with an aeration and a developed flavor that, while not sourdough, provides more character than the traditional baguette I’m used to.

After getting baguettes, éclairs, flans, and croissants to enjoy in a park while watching games of bocce, we made our way across the river to get our butter.

The Butter:

If you have been to La Grande Épicerie in Paris, you have seen the famous butter wall, and while I’d love to have a photo of that here, I was instead elbowed to oblivion on a Sunday afternoon and was left standing hopelessly in the corner of the butter aisle until my sexy Sardinian lover could save me from butter-crazed tourists.

We got the full salt, not the demi-sel, and we did manage to slather it in big chunks atop our bread while resting on the hot stones of the Seine.

The next morning it was time for another BFD (a Big Fun Day—read more about the ultimate BFD here). We started off at Moon Croissant, which I was told is the best croissant in all of Paris.

Which brings me to a very important topic:

The Baked Goods:

I think I have somehow managed to convince the internet that I’m a sugar-free, gluten-free vegan, by the extent to which I love beans. And while I do “eat foods, mostly plants”—thank you, Michael Pollan—I don’t believe in restrictions in eating. My introduction to the food world was through baking. A perfect slice of cake is my greatest joy in life. I live for my walks to Nabalom in Berkeley for their almond croissant and a slice of pizza. A good life is balance.

Let me be clear, I’m very grateful I am able to live in a place in life where I am able to have this balance, much of which has come from beans, which have both transformed my health and my mindset with food. But all of this is to say, I eat everything, but when I eat baked goods, I’m very picky.

Moon Croissant was great. We got a pistachio croissant. It was flaky, buttery, but almost too much, and at 5x the price of a standardized French croissant, I don’t think I would return. Instead, I would make my way to Brigat.

The Best Bakery in Paris:

Brigat. Hands down, in my opinion, has the best baked good I’ve had in Paris in the form of their chausson aux pommes.

I’ve been to Poilâne, Union, Du Pain et des Idées, Moon Croissant, and so many more. I have walked hundreds of miles through the city over the years in search of the best laminated goods, and for me, it’s Brigat. Every time. Their chausson aux pommes is a must, the flan is sensational, and their baguette is passable, but at a 15-minute walk from Utopie, get your steps in.

While I’m totally for the spread of gratitude, I sometimes wish when I traveled I was able to find a “do not go” list.

So here is mine:

Du Pain et des Idées: Used to be my favorite bakery in Paris 9 years ago, but so much has changed. Prices have tripled, and quality has lowered dramatically. I used to dream of their pistachio chocolate escargot, which now has food coloring??? This has become a tourist trap and has lost its touch.

Union Bakery: After amazement from the Brigat chausson aux pommes, I was in need of finding better, so I set off to get the “apple bomb” at Union Bakery. Never have I been so disappointed in a bakery as I was with my haul from Union. Their baguette tasted like uncooked flour, the apple bomb was mushy and too sweet, even the basil lemon tart was thin, watery, and left something to be desired. The croissant was not buttery enough, and their kouign-amann was their best item because how bad can equal ratios of butter, flour, and sugar be? But the photos look much better than it tasted. If I wasn’t staying with a friend, I would have had to throw things out, and I think we still did? But the good thing about staying with a young, active man is their appetites seem to be never-ending.

Apart from baked goods, our BFD continued with searching for kangaroos at the Jardin des Plantes, getting denied to go on a carousel because we were “too old,” sitting on the cool tile floors of a stunning mosque discussing both art and the art of falling in love in this digital world to take respite from the heat.

Then it was back to work. The beans needed me.

The Beans:

I set out to explore bean pricing, options, and uses in Paris when on my map appeared “Best Tofu.”

As a Bean Supporter, I had but one option: to go. I made my way through the streets, cash in hand, ready to meet my tofu masters.

Best Tofu:

I ordered a marinated egg, glutinous rice, and a savory soft tofu.

All I can say is that it lives up to its name.

I got a full block of firm tofu and half a kilo of marinated tofu to bring home to share, as well as fresh soy milk. The total of all of this was €10.10.

No matter what, I advise a stop because even if tofu is not your thing, for the price it is unbeatable.

We ate dinner that night along the Seine. I made an “egg” salad with tofu that my lover, who claims to not like mustard nor tofu, managed to scarf down and ask for more of. I will chalk this up as a testament to the tofu rather than my cooking.

The week continued on. I made my way to Montpellier to meet up with my childhood friend in the 100-degree Parisian heat, and we ate a watermelon on the steps of a church, chatting about love and soluble fiber (do have it be known she is one of my recipe testers, all the way in France, so if you are international, thank her for letting us know that they work overseas). We saw some opera, went to a vernissage, got a spoon from the most beautiful cookware/home goods store I’ve ever been in, purchased a woven straw bag at a thrift store, and explored every bean in sight.

The findings: Beans in France are more expensive than beans in the US, but their jarred, already-flavored beans are elite. I should have gotten more pictures, but my struggle lies in the fact that I desire so deeply to live in the moment and enjoy beautiful crafts that I often forget to document these things.

On the quest for the best bean in Paris, though, I stumbled upon a natural wine bar recommended by the one and only David Lebovitz and saw that they served large white beans covered in lemon and oil.

I couldn’t tell if it was the 100-degree weather, the sexy Sardinian, or the perfect rounds of soluble fiber, but all I wanted to say was, “I love you.”

But instead, I analyzed every bean on the plate to take notes of what I loved and how it could be improved, so maybe you all can learn from my mistakes and tell someone you love them: with words and beans.

I Love You Beans Recipe: