If there is anything that most of us would have on our list of must-eats when we visit Paris, croissants would obviously make the list, even though it is one of the most stereotypical pastries that we associate the country with.
Despite that, croissants are a dime a dozen everywhere you look when you’re in the most famous French city, and while every boulangerie has their own take on the famous pastry, there is one bakery that makes the top of the list.
La Maison d’Isabelle, located at Saint-Germain, is one of the most talked about bakery and home to the best croissants of Paris, having earned this an official accolade in 2018.
While this location is easy to locate with the help of Google Maps, the most foolproof way to know that you’ve arrived at the location is when you see a long line of people queuing outside a bakery with a black signboard that proudly states “1er Prix 2018”.
I was there on a Sunday morning, around 9.30am, and was kinda surprised to see that there was still a pretty decent turnout, despite the rainy weather.
I stood in line for about a minute or two, with my companions, when we realised that there were actually two separate queues leading to different stations. The line we were in led to a breads only type of set-up while the other, slightly shorter queue, led into the bakery where the prized croissants sat.
Now, if you think that this bakery only sold croissants, you might be pleased to know that they’ve got a number of other pastries available, ranging from quiches to sandwiches and even tarts. As tempted as we were to get more than what we came for, we didn’t give in and stuck to our plan to get the croissants, as well as some pain au chocolat.
Typically, croissants that have been out of the oven for a while would tend to become a little soft and not retain its fresh-like qualities but the croissants from La Maison d’Isabelle was not only flaky when I tore it in half, it was also crispy when I bit into it — just like a warmed up piece of croissant without the heat.
The winning point of the croissant for me was the insides of the croissant, which had an all-rounded buttery taste without that rich, oily feeling you might get that might make you feel as if you’ve used a slab of butter as a lip balm.
The pain au chocolat, on the other hand, was decent though it didn’t exactly blow my mind. This was largely due to the seemingly miser chocolate filling, which I felt could have been more generous to balance out the overall ratio of pastry and chocolate — so that it wouldn’t feel like I was just having a type of buttery pastry with little bits of chocolate.
PSA on keeping belongings safe while at the bakery
Pastries aside, it is important to remember that La Maison d’Isabelle is also a hot tourist spot and when it gets crowded, you’ll need to be alert to your surroundings, especially when pickpockets are a prevalent concern for tourists in Paris.
While we were enjoying our croissants outside the bakery, we unwittingly became witnesses to a possible case of pickpocket when two suspicious characters, lugging large suitcases, made their way to a crowded spot filled with unaware tourists, just next to the bakery.
These two suspicious folks, who were initially situated right outside the bakery, had decided to mingle with these unaware tourists who were either snacking on their croissants, or waiting for their companions who were purchasing the croissants.
We initially wanted to give it a benefit of the doubt that they were seeking shelter from the rain, but these two purposefully squeezed their way into the crowd so that they could stand right behind a woman who was standing alone.
They not only stood uncomfortably close to her; they were also extremely close to the opening of her bag that was hanging precariously on her shoulder.
Even though we were not able to see if the deed had already occurred (since we were standing a good distance from them), we felt it was only right to warn her — if not for this time, at least for her to be more alert during the rest of her holiday.
We will never know if we managed to thwart the plans those two had, but this anxiety-inducing incident has definitely opened my eyes to how easy these scenarios can just happen, and reminded me to always be aware of my surroundings no matter where I am.
