One of my fondest memories of traveling to Paris was buying a baguette that was nearly as tall as I was. My mother and I gathered slices of prosciutto, pont-l'Évêque cheese, apples, strawberries and grapes from a farmers' market to make a picnic lunch behind the Eiffel Tower -- all we needed was some bread. As soon as we walked inside the bakery, we were hit with the smell of freshly baked bread. The baguette was warm and soft on the inside yet crispy and crunchy on the outside. It was absolutely perfect. And it was nearly five feet long.
When made properly, French pastries, breads, sweets and cookies can make everything seem right. For that brief moment when you bite into a buttery, flaky croissant or pain au chocolat, you are in heaven.
In an ideal world, I would travel to Paris any time I wanted a macaron, éclair or warm hunk of baguette spread with butter, but alas, that is impossible. Thankfully, Houston is home to some outstanding French bakeries. So, without further ado, here are the top five French bakeries in our fair city.
