Legrand croissants

   

   Yesterday I ventured out on a mission to try the fresh croissants at Legrand Bakery on Augusta Street in Greenville.   I grabbed my buddy Josie to go with me so we could sit and chat over lunch, true Parisian style. I glanced at the lovely pastries and breads but decided to tackle actual lunch food first. We grabbed two pre-wrapped sandwiches on baguettes from the deli case. 

She had cheese and apple and I had the ham and cheese. No mayo on this sandwich, folks, just rich, creamy butter slathered on the bread from end to end.  I thought I might have a heart attack before lunch was over. 

How do the french eat all this butter and bread?  Do they walk more?  Do they eat slower?  Sigh. I'm reading "The Sweet Life in Paris" (I started this book months ago and am just now finishing it up) and the author David Lebovitz talks about this too.  It's mystifying!  They smoke, they eat, they drink.  Okay, French people out there.  What is it? Hmmmm? PS: If you are at all interested in visiting Paris, I suggest you get his book and read it. 

After lunch I stood at the pastry case like a kid staring at candy.  I finally settled on an Eclair and a Meringue and ordered a almond croissant, a chocolate croissant and two regular croissants to go. As full as I was, my mouth was watering just watching her place the goodies in my bag.

I munched on the Meringue (not a huge meringue fan in general, but my daughter was in love) and Eclair (heaven) in the car on the way up the mountain on the way home, and somehow managed to save the croissant experience for this morning (though I did open the bag and stare into it several times yesterday just for kicks).

I've checked out the recipe for making croissants before.  It requires a ton of butter, a ton of flour, and a ton of folding and mixing.  It's complicated.  It's time consuming, and quite frankly I don't think I could do the crispy, crumbly, delicious breads justice, so they aren't really on my to-do list.  So I buy from others and enjoy their complexity immensely   One of my favorite movie scenes of all time is when Diane Keaton and Steve Martin are making croissants in It's Complicated.  She makes it look so easy and sexy.  Maybe one day I'll attempt it....Anywho.

This morning, I heated my Almond with Chocolate Croissant in the toaster oven and sat with my cup of coffee at the computer.  After the first bite, I pushed my computer away to focus on the delicate layers, the rich chocolate, and the buttery breadiness.  Yep. I said it. Breadiness.  What a delight.

Go check out Legrand Bakery, folks.  They just opened, so go give them some love.