In July 2011, I was living in le chic appartement, with its sleek white walls, old wooden floor and Haussmann features. Right downstairs was the boulangerie which had won the Best Baguette in Paris competition the year before.
There are actually a dozen Le Grenier à Pain boulangeries in Paris. I haven’t had the time or acquired a fast enough metabolism to check them all out, but I am very familiar with the two in the 18th arrondissement: the award-winning one on the rue des Abbesses and the less crowded rue Caulaincourt.
It happens to be my boulangerie of choice for an excellent baguette tradition, but it’s not half bad when it comes to the mighty croissant au beurre either.
Croissant Competiton #6: “The croissant is a relatively dark colour and a masterful diamond shape. Rather bizarrely, it didn’t crumple or flake when I pulled it apart – in fact, it was fairly tough, almost like pulling apart a doughnut. As a result, I’m actually very pleased to say that approximately 98% of the croissant reached my mouth, compared to the average percentage which I’d say is probably around 80-85%!
There’s definitely more bread than butter here at Le Grenier à Pain. It’s very chewy, without a doubt the chewiest (is that even a word?!) the most chewy croissant I’ve had so far. Especially compared to Croissant #5 which fell to pieces at the slightest touch, this is The Hulk of the croissant world. However, the yummy toasted butter aftertaste means that this was not just all muscle and no flavour, this is actually a very strong contender for the title of Paris’ best croissant.”
Essential Information
Address: 127 rue Caulaincourt, 75018 Telephone: 01 42 62 30 98 Opening Hours: Friday to Wednesday, from 7h30 til 8pm. Closed Thursday. Address: 38, rue des Abbesses, 75018 Telephone: 01 46 06 41 81 Opening Hours: Thursday to Monday, from 7h30 til 8pm. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Website: Le Grenier a Pain
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