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Henderson the Bread Fascist?


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I have often thought about making my eGullet signature line:

"I'll change my signature line when Gramercy Tavern gets better bread."

I believe the rolls at Gramercy are from Tom Cat. I don't know what's going on at Tom Cat, which used to provide quite edible bread to a number of restaurants and gourmet shops, but the rolls they're churning out at this time are unimpressive. Still, they could be salvaged by a device known as a bread warmer, which apparently the Gramercy Tavern management has not heard of. I make this complaint every time I go, and I have written about it in published reviews as well -- it seems to be the restaurant's one perennial blind spot.

Given the excellent bread at All Bar One (inside joke), I've got to say I come down on the side of the London bread scene. Perhaps I was lucky but I'm thinking back to a two-day period a year or two ago when, on one day, I had bread from Paul (a chain that rivals Pain Quotidien for the consistency and excellence of its breads) and from the Neal's Yard Dairy shop (might this have been Poliane's bread? I can't remember), and, on the next day, I had a very good baguette from Conran's fancy grocery store (which had a stunning bread display) and a couple of nice loaves from Harrod's (which seems to have good everything), particularly the most olive-full olive loaf I've ever seen yet it was not too salty. I also found the local London supermarket bread selections to be on par with what in New York City would be the selection at a gourmet shop like Zabar's or Fairway.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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"...I come down on the side of the London bread scene. Perhaps I was lucky but I'm thinking back to a two-day period a year or two ago when, on one day, I had bread from Paul (a chain that rivals Pain Quotidien for the consistency and excellence of its breads) and from the Neal's Yard Dairy shop (might this have been Poliane's bread? I can't remember), and, on the next day, I had a very good baguette from Conran's fancy grocery store (which had a stunning bread display) and a couple of nice loaves from Harrod's (which seems to have good everything), particularly the most olive-full olive loaf I've ever seen yet it was not too salty. I also found the local London supermarket bread selections to be on par with what in New York City would be the selection at a gourmet shop like Zabar's or Fairway..."

F-G - I can't comment on the bread at GT. I was going to say that I think you were lucky but in fact it's not even a matter of luck. You said it yourself : you were here for a couple of days, and you hit nearly all the good bread places - and it *took* two days not because there are so many of them, but because they require a hike for the average person.

Of the places you mention - I agree Paul and Poilane are great. But as you point out, both are part of French chains - so yes, technically "in" London but not native - and not exactly widely available, i.e. only in about five or six places. Harrods Food Hall is fantastic, and much as I dislike Conran shops in general, maybe the bread is good at Bluebird (I think that's the one you tried?) Waitrose own bread *looks* nice - but like dried pasta, it's all the same texture and flavour - i.e. styrofoam - fashioned into different shapes. Waitrose does carry Sally Clarke's bread which is good, but they only have a few loaves a week.

I can't speak for the other markets but as Waitrose is supposedly the most upscale one, I can't imagine the bread selection at the others is any more promising. So basically, that's fewer than 10 shops that sell decent bread in this whole, huge city !

Back to my original gripe - in London, in order to find good bread - something that *should* be cheap and plentiful - you have a choice of about 10 locations, several of which are actually outposts of one or two companies - it's like having to do your regular grocery shopping at the likes of Bloomingdales. Ridiculous.

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Back to my original gripe - in London, in order to find good bread - something that *should* be cheap and plentiful - you have a choice of about 10 locations, several of which are actually outposts of one or two companies - it's like having to do your regular grocery shopping at the likes of Bloomingdales. Ridiculous.

I suspect this is just the usual shabby new york laziness coming into play Mag's

All the following are within minutes of where I live and where you work ( I believe ) all sell exemplary bread that is just one small area of London. You DO NOT get this in NY. I am not commenting on the price as that is another issue altogether

Apostrophe ( Great Eastern St )

Flaneur ( Farringdon Road )

Comptoir Gascon

There are two stalls in Spitalfields that sell better bread than anything I have ever tasted in NY

Even the little Safeway on Whitecross St has started selling a range of excellent Organic breads

St John's

that's in two minutes thinking.

even you cannot complain about these. Oh I fogot, you are from NY, of course you can.

S

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S

OK, now we're getting somewhere ! As Scully said (or was it Mulder?) - "I want to believe" but so far, practical examples have been so few & far between - . I haven't heard of Apostrophe, and I hadn't thought of going to CG for bread, now I will give them a try.

Flaneur's a bit of a red herring though - don't they sell bread from St John (two blocks away)...as an aside, St John said it's not happy with the quality of the sourdough they've been selling so they're going back into the proverbial test kitchen.

To your other point - New Yorkers reserve the right to complain, loudly, about any injustice. The difference between us and Londoners is that we don't just mumble into thin air, we put our money where our big mouths are... :laugh:

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