As I've mentioned, we are in a really little town called Locoal-Mendon pronounced Loqualle. The town itself is quite small. In five minutes you can walk through it twice. However, there are hundreds and hundreds of homes in this rural area. Town has three beauty parlors, a garage, a restaurant, two cafe/bars, a church, a post office (only open 4 hours a day) a library only open 6 hours a week, a grocery store called Huit a Huit (which means open 8 to 8, but it closes for 2 hours at lunch time) and two boulangeries.
Now, selecting the best boulangerie is a really big deal. After all, your daily baguette, is an integral part of lunch and dinner. One of the bakeries is located directly in town, on the main road. So, it is harder to get to if you are in a car. The other one, is two blocks away and just on the edge of town but it has a parking lot. So, since it was easier, we tested its baguette first. It looked good, felt crunchy on the outside BUT, unfortunately, the inside was a bit doughy for our taste. Next day, we of course tried the other bakery. The crust was a bit crunchier, the interior was perfect and the taste heavenly! So, as far as we are concerned , we have made our choice.
Curiously, some others in the town feel differently. But, I suspect their choice has to do with distance. After they have hiked in to town, they are so tired that they would think ANY bread is good! Since we have to pass both bakeries on our way home, I find myself peeking out the car window to see which one is busier. I'm not as bad as Peter Mayle who got up in the middle of the night to see if one of the bakeries in his town was receiving , dare I say it, frozen dough from an outside source. And I must admit, I think the bakery I find inferior, may be doing the same thing! Not that I am about to get up at 2 a. m. to prove my theory.
However, I do find it fascinating to see which bakery has more customers at any given time. So far, the one that we like best is the winner hands down. At lunch time and early in the morning, there is usually a line out the door. The other morning, I had to wait 10 minutes before it was my turn! And while I was waiting, I counted 11 different types of bread you could buy, besides a baguette.
The only day that the other bakery is really busy, is on Monday when the "best" bakery is closed! And, when they reopen on Tuesday morning, their display cases are filled with the most delicious looking goodies!!!
p.s. And, I am not making this up! Early this morning we were driving past the "other" bakery and we witnessed a man get out of a truck carrying a huge container filled with (you are not going to believe it) BAGUETTES! He calmly walked to the back door of the bakery, opened it, and disappeared through the door! So, their bread isn't even baked on their premises!!
