There's a reason that Berthillon is the most famous glacier (ice cream maker) in Paris. And that reason is their wild strawberry sorbet. No, wait: it's their caramel au gingembre ice cream (it tastes like a ginger snap). Or the agenaise. Definitely the agenaise... More
Pain au chocolat—literally "chocolate bread." What an understatement. Buttery croissant dough wrapped around not one, but two sticks of chocolate. An indulgence like this could only come from France. For three days, my intrepid photographer and I scoured the city for pain au chocolat that stand out from the Parisian crowd. In the end, we found 10 that can't be missed. More
@Rio Yeti and KarmaFreeCooking: yes, Grom is wonderful, too! I love their liquirizia (licorice), with a scoop of chocolate.
They are not only located in Paris. As an Italian company- gelato- they have locations in (I believe) 34 cities in Italy. Internationally, they are in Paris, as well as Malibu, New York, Osaka and Tokyo. If you'd like to read more, I know Ed Levine and Erin Zimmer have posted about the NY locations.
RE: wild strawberries: For the wild strawberry sorbet, they remove the seeds. Muriel's father took a few of those seeds and sprinkled them by the door. You would never notice it, but there is a tiny sprig of scraggly leaves that is actually a strawberry bush! Of course, they could never eat them. But Muriel said her father always jokes with the street cleaner 'Be careful, I want my wild strawberries!'
@ phillamb1684: Oui, ils sont ouverts l'hiver aussi - they are open in winter, too.
@ illinijojo1: The wild strawberry sorbet is one of their signature flavors, for the reasons I talked about in the article.
@ VioletG: Yep, it's memorable. I also love that their flavors are usually simple, and let the ingredients shine.
The chocolate is amazing! Best chocolate ice cream I've ever had, far and away.
@iDano: The bakery near my place has a wonderful apricot flan, and as I was researching the pain au chocolat, I came across a bakery with a raspberry one that looked gorgeous. If I hadn't been working my way through my umpteenth pain au chocolat of the day, I definitely would have tasted it! I'll just have to go back.
@mmfood: I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was my first article for Serious Eats, and a pleasure to research.
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@Chapps: Berthillon twice a day - that's the right idea!