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Salads and Baguettes of Greatness

Posted by Robyn Lee, March 14, 2007 at 10:30 AM

By Robyn Lee | I returned to one of my favorite restaurants, Le Relais Gascon, upon the request for a place that served French food, was vegetarian friendly, didn't cost a bucketload, and could fit a group of six. They're known for making crazy salads in bowls the size of babies' bathtubs that defy convention by consisting of a mountain of thick, garlic-laden fried potato rounds on a bed of lettuce and other salad items that wouldn't taste nearly as awesome without potato suffocation. For those unrestricted by a vegetarian diet, the salad may also include fat-laden things of animal origins such as tuna, lardons, smoked duck or foie gras. Say hello to the most delicious and thus least healthy salad ever.

On Sunday morning I took a few friends to Gosselin, picked by Travel + Leisure as having the best baguettes in Paris. Being open on a Sunday when many other places were closed was also a draw that may have contributed to the long line outside its door aside from the award-winning baguettes. My friends and I dug into our carb-laden treasures while sitting on a bench in the inner courtyard of the nearby Louvre. While the baguette was delicious with its thick, crispy crust and soft, chewy innards, the members of the non-baguette family didn't fare as well. The croissant was disappointingly so-so for being too dense and missing the crucial light, explodingly flaky outer layer, and the pain aux raisins just tasted too dry. Definitely try a baguette, but it may be best to get your viennoiseries elsewhere.

Le Relais Gascon
6 Rue des Abbesses, 18ème

Gosselin
125 Rue St.-Honoré, 1ème

Robyn Lee is interning at Serious Eats for the semester. Like what you've read here? See more at The Girl Who Ate Everything.

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