Ruth Reichl and Nancy Silverton on the Tour de Fromage cheese tour

A few tastes from the Tour de Fromage cheese tasting

With Denise Acabo at L'Etoile d'Or

It used to be that, in addition to writing over at Paris by Mouth, I would occasionally find time on a spare and calm Sunday to post something over here, too.

Spare Sundays are now a thing of the past. Blame the food tours. We started offering them two months ago, and they’ve turned out to be rather popular (and time consuming). Who knew?

Word of mouth from happy clients has really helped, and that goes double when the happy client is Ruth Reichl. That’s right: the supremely knowledgeable Editor of Gilt Taste (former Editor of Gourmet magazine and restaurant critic for the New York Times) recently came on a tour with the awe-inspiring Nancy Silverton. I was, as you can imagine, in a state of panic about what to say to these two food stars. In the end, though, Ruth was kind enough to write that “I’d recommend these to anyone; in a very intense two hours we worked our way through Androuet and Barthelemy, and discovered a few cheeses that were completely new to me.”

I’m hoping to get back to blogging soon, but in the meantime you’ll find me cutting the cheese (and pastry and pâté) out on the sidewalks, rushing between one highly caloric stop to the next. It’s a lot of fun, and you’re very welcome to join us!

• More detail about the tour options
• Our schedule of upcoming tours
• What clients have said about the tours

The resulting article, The Wheat from the Chaff: the Best Baguette in Paris, is online now. It’s time to start researching my next piece, entitled “The Blubber from the Fool: The Best Detox Diets for Meg.”

Additional links:

• A goofy Q&A about baguette protocol between me and BT editor Steve Merrill.
• My Google map of the best baguettes in Paris, which plots the top ten winners from each of the past four years. With more than 6500 views in 30 days, this map represents a clear threat to public health.
• Some hunger-making photographs from Marie Hennechart in slideshow to accompany the BT article.
• An account from Phyllis Flick of her experience judging the 2010 baguette competition.

Bodian, a Senagal-born baker who grew up in Seine-Saint-Denis, is no stranger to awards. He earned a 5th place ranking in the 2009 competition and 4th place in 2007. Bodian was also one of only a handful of bakers to earn a 3/3 rating in the Palmarès 2005 (most recent) guide to Paris boulangeries.

Phyllis Flick, who served as a judge in today’s competition, promises a full report on her blog about what it’s like  to watch Ghislain Arabian chew her way through a mountain of baguettes. I can’t wait to learn the rest of the results, and promise to update my Google map of the Best Baguettes in Paris as soon as the top 10 for 2010 are announced.

Le Grenier à Pain (Djibril Bodian)
38 rue des Abbesses, 75018

Update: the 2011 results were added to this map and listed on Paris by Mouth. Click to see the most up-to-date rankings for the Best Baguettes in Paris.

View The Best Baguettes in Paris in a larger map

Grand Prix de la Baguette de la Ville de Paris 2010

1. Djibril Bodian (Le Grenier à Pain Abbesses), 38 rue des Abbesses, 75018
2. Daniel Pouphary, (La Parisienne) 28 rue Monge, 75005
3. Dominique Saibron, 77 avenue du Général Leclerc, 75014
4. Yves Desgranges, 6 rue de Passy, 75016
5. Philippe Gosselin, 258 boulevard Saint-Germain, 75007
6. Xavier Doué, 163 avenue de versaillais, 75016
7. Sébastien and Sylvie Lohézic (Boulangerie Lohézic), 31 rue Guersant, 75017
8. Michel Chorin (Boulangerie d’Isa) 127 rue de Charenton, 75012
9. Mohamed Zerzour (Boulangerie Zerzour), 50 rue de l’Amiral Roussin, 75015
10. Mohamed Zerzour (Zerzour II), 324 rue Lecourbe, 75014

Grand Prix de la Baguette de la Ville de Paris 2009

1. Franck Tombarel (Le Grenier de Félix), 64 avenue Félix Faure, 75015
2. Benjamin Turquier, 134 rue de Turenne, 75003
3. Stéphane Eury, 98 rue de Meaux, 75019
4. Eran Mayer, 100 rue du Théâtre, 75015
5. Djibril Bodian (Le Grenier à Pain Abbesses), 38 rue des Abbesses, 75018
6. Stéphane Henry, 2 bis boulevard Morland, 75004
7. Thierry Racoillet (Coquelicot) 50 bis rue de Douai, 75009
8. Frédéric Pichard, 88 rue de Cambronne, 75015
9. Jean-Marc Touchard, 111 rue Saint Dominique, 75007
10. Bertrand Pougnet (Le Grenier à Pain), 52 avenue d’Italie, 75013

Grand Prix de la Baguette de la Ville de Paris 2008

1. Anis Bouabsa (Au Duc de la Chapelle), 32 rue Tristan Tzara, 75018
2. Fabrice Pottier, 231 rue Vaugirard, 75015
3. Morgan Gantier, 2 rue Corot, 75016
4. Franck Tombarel (Le Grenier de Félix),  64 avenue Félix Faure, 75015
5. Emmanuel Merlhes, 225 rue Charenton, 75012
6. Lydie et Arnaud Dumont, 53 rue Navier, 75017
7. Régis Colin, 53 rue Montmartre, 75002
8. Raoul Maeder, 158 boulevard Berthier, 75017
9. Stéphane Eury, 98 rue de Meaux, 75019
10. Alexandre Planchais (Boulangerie Alexine), 40 rue Lepic, 75018

Grand Prix de la Baguette de la Ville de Paris 2007

1. Arnaud Delmontel, 57 rue Damrémont, 75018
2. Régis Colin, 53 rue Montmartre, 75002
3. Anis Bouabsa (Au Duc de la Chapelle), 32 rue Tristan Tzara, 75018
4. Djibril Bodian (Le Grenier à Pain Abbesses), 38 rue des Abbesses, 75018
5. Raoul Maeder, 158 boulevard Berthier, 75017
6. Thierry Racoillet, 24 rue des Abbesses, 75018
7. Emmanuel Croteau, 40 rue Sorbier, 75020 *CHANGE OF OWNER (see comments)
8. Alexandre Planchais (Boulangerie Alexine), 40 rue Lepic, 75018
9. Thierry Renard, 113 bis boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013
10. Bertrand Pougnet (Le Grenier à Pain), 52 avenue d’Italie, 75013