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Each baguette bakery is judged on solely it’s BAGUETTE. We are only speaking baguette here and not critiquing the bakeries based on sandwiches, coffee, pastries, nor customer service. Strictly baguettes people. If you disagree then talk to us on their baguette terms, not their other food items. As stated previously, we are only comparing bakeries who bake their baguettes on premise, (In addition, ones with noteworthy sandwiches are highlighted). Here are our Baguette Qualities Breakdown:
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1. CRUST TEXTURE
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A. Crackily & Crusty
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B. Smooth & Crusty
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C. Smooth & Chewy
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2. CRUST FLAVOR
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A. Buttery
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B. Salty
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C. Plain
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3. CENTER TEXTURE
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A. Light
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B. Dense
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**some will further be defined as small, or large uneven holes.
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Those descriptives then lead to baguette type. This is to help out on choosing the baguette that is best for your needs.
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1. PRIME
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Is usually the type where the baguette is the main focus of eating. Rip it & spread some butter, add a little soy sauce, or mop up your favorite marinara. Often eaten whole by a lone individual. However, the center texture is usually too light to hold up well to cutting. Makes a mean meatball sandwich, but may be too airy for some other sandwiches.
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2. ACCOMPANIMENT
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A bit more dense of a center allowing it to be sliced and still hold shape. The perfect companion to your stellar dips, cheeses, and sliced meat sandwiches. More of a dense bite than the prime baguettes. It is not necessarily inferior to a prime, however, the baguette is now playing more of a secondary role in the meal.
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3. EAT NOW OR NEVER
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Of similar quality to an accompaniment baguette when hot, however when these cool they aren’t as enjoyable. Their beauty can be reawaken by a shot in the oven, or fantastic as toast, but if you want to serve them at a party, you might want to make a different choice.
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Little Saigon, Orange County, CA. One can find baguette bakery after another which makes these treasures to the level that can make a frenchman reminisce of home. Just within the city boundaries of Westminster & Garden Grove, a plethora of quality baguette bakeries have allowed us to become very discriminating. At the better of these bakeries, you have to fight your way to the front to order, then wait for 5 minutes, because they can’t make the baguettes fast enough to keep up with the demand. You anxiously await your culinary treasure, then it comes directly out of the hot oven and into your hands. So hot and ohhh so delicious. Fight your way out of the bakery, smile smacked across your face, then bite into it before even reaching the car. Always so delicious, light and crusty, don’t be surprised if you find yourself eating a whole one by yourself. Yeah, it’s that good. The standout, thumbs up Vietnamese baguettes have an irresistible, light & thin crackily crust. If it’s hard enough to bat a baseball to center field, it’s not even worth considering. The center must be light, airy and not spongy or overly dense. The large selection of fantastic baguettes in Orange County has inspired favorites and arguments in defense of preferred hunting grounds.
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But who really is the best? It depends on so many factors and after many a debate, we have yet to conclude on our favorites. We have searched, smelled, ripped-into, dipped, spread & feasted upon many, many a baguette. We only take note of the ones where you can get baguettes hot out of the oven, because the experience of eating it at that moment, hot & fresh, is exquisite. Anything that is more than 4 hours old is inferior. “Baked Daily” is not enough. Compiled are comparisons based on factors we feel are most important to the quality of a baguette. They are rated relative to each other, but just as everyone is divided on their favorites, so are we. So we give you two separate rankings. The debate goes on.
13672 Goldenwest St., Westminster, CA
Type: Accompaniment.
Crust: Crackily & Crusty. Plain topped w/ sesame seeds.
Center: Dense w/ some large holes.
Other Notes: A little bit off the beaten path from the heart of Little Saigon, but still worth the effort for the baguette when it’s hot out of the oven. Unique with the sesame seed crust.
9152 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, CA
Type: Now or Never.
Crust: Smooth & Chewy. Salty.
Center: Dense w/ small holes.
Other Notes: Baguette quality similar to Top Baguette only crust was saltier. When cold, it becomes more like a soft sub-sandwich type bread.
8948 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, CA
15551 Brookhurst St., Westminster, CA
Type: Between Prime & Accompaniment.
Crust: Crackily & Crusty. Buttery.
Center: Light, but slightly more dense than Saigon.
Other Notes: Very popular. Highest chance of getting one still warm throughout the day. Baguettes bagged in plastic, ask for paper to maintain crustiness. Location off Bolsa & Westminster can be fun & challenging to make your purchase. Just push & shove when needed to get to the front. Everyone does it.
**Sandwiches: Good fillings. Best price for sandwiches : buy 2 get one free.
8940 Westminster Ave., Westminster, CA
Type: Prime.
Crust: Crackily & Crusty. Slightly Buttery.
Center: Unbelievably Light.
Other Notes: Our #1 consensus. When out of the oven, it is so crackly light and addicting. You can eat a whole one plain. Still fantastic cooled. High chance of getting one still warm throughout the day. Also bake a cross between a demi and boule, perfect for hearty, sloppy sandwiches. The crust is incredibly thin, crisp and crackily! “F*#! me” meatball sandwich good.
**Sandwiches: Good fillings.
14354 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, CA
Type: Accompaniment.
Crust: Crackily & Crusty. Slightly Salty.
Center: Dense w/ large uneven holes.
Other Notes: Great solo, but dense enough to slice & have w/ salami, cheeses, or as any sandwich base. One of the most aesthetic baguettes. Owned by Việt-Parisians. Bread & pastries very reflective of their previous home, Paris.
14520 Magnolia St., Westminster, CA
Type: Prime.
Crust: Crackily & Crusty. Buttery.
Center: Light.
Other Notes: Melts in your mouth when hot, but slightly doughy when cooled. Baguette very, very thin, crusty & crackily with little center. Good chance of getting one still warm in the afternoon.
14550 Brookhurst St., Westminster, CA
Type: Now or Never.
Crust: Smooth & Crusty. Plain Crust.
Center: Light.
Other Notes: Baguettes mainly used for their sandwiches. Main batch is baked in the morning. Least chance of getting one hot throughout the day. Located in same plaza as Gala.
**Sandwiches: Good fillings.
8536 Westminster Blvd, Westminster, CA
Type: Accompaniment.
Crust: Smooth & Crusty. Plain Crust.
Center: Light.
Other Notes: Nice thin crust, very light center. Taste is almost too plain. Have excellent other pastries. Baguettes are more secondary.
14570 Brookhurst St., Westminster, CA
Type: Accompaniment.
Crust: Crackily & Crusty. Plain Crust.
Center: Dense w/ large uneven holes.
Other Notes: Good all-around baguette. Similar to Pierre Patisserie. One of the most aesthetic baguettes. Currently only Brookhurst location making on-site. Best chance of getting a hot one is in the morning. Often sold out in afternoon.
9262 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, CA
Type: Prime.
Crust: Crackily and Crusty. Very Buttery.
Center: Light.
Other Notes: Excellent hot, yet usually seems like it’s just a couple oven minutes away from a perfect crust & center. Most buttery crust of the bunch. Best chance of getting one warm is in the morning.
Type: Accompaniment.
Crust: Smooth & Crusty. Plain Crust.
Center: Dense w/ small holes.
Other Notes: Good mid-range baguette. Impressive that all locations can all consistently carry this good of quality. High chance of getting one warm. They guarantee the baguettes to be hot. Sometimes you just need to ask for the one out of the oven.
**Sandwiches: Good Fillings.
10161 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, CA
Type: Now or Never
Crust: Smooth and Chewy. Plain
Center: Dense w/ small holes
Other Notes: Make the baguettes more for their own use. Selling is almost an afterthought. One of our favorite places for other goodies, just not their bread.
8432 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, CA
Type: Accompaniment.
Crust: Crackily & Crusty. Slightly buttery & salty.
Center: Dense w/ small holes.
Other Notes: Newcomer to the field. This bakery shows great promise considering they just opened at the beginning of the year. Best chance of getting one warm in the morning.
9433 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, CA
Type: Now or Never.
Crust: Smooth & Crusty. Plain Crust.
Center: Dense w/ small holes. One of the originals of Little Saigon. Still puts out a quality baguette, just so many of the other bakeries have raised the bar. Only first morning batch is warm.
9635 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, CA
Type: Now or Never
Crust: Smooth & Crusty. Plain Crust.
Center: Dense w/ large uneven holes.
Other Notes: Baguettes are more for their sandwiches. Still crispy when out of the oven. Best chance of warm one is in the morning.
15972 Euclid St., #A, Fountain Valley, CA
Type: Now or Never
Crust: Crusty and Chewy. Plain
Center: Dense w/ small holes
Other Notes: Baguettes are shorter. When cools, the baguette gets softer, but is crusty when warm.
**Sandwiches: Good fillings.
Brookhurst St., near Westminster Ave., Westminster, CA
Type: Prime
Crust: Smooth & Crusty. Salty.
Center: Dense w/ small holes.
Other Notes: Good & Light. Skinniest shape of all baguettes. High chance of getting one warm throughout day.
**Sandwiches: Good fillings.
9062 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, CA
Type: Now or Never.
Crust: Smooth & Chewy. Salty.
Center: Dense w/ small holes.
Other Notes: Only demi-baguette size currently sold. When cools, more like a chewy sub-style bread. Best chance of getting one warm is in the morning.
14081 Newport Ave., Tustin, CA
Type: Now or Never
Crust: Smooth and Chewy. Plain
Center: Dense w/ small holes
Other Notes: Bread is baked mostly for their own sandwiches. Gets softer when cools.
**Sandwiches: Good fillings.
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The simple French baguette. The most basic of breads, yet the hardest to find one of great quality. Lucky for us, we have the Vietnamese in Little Saigon. Although the French occupation of Việt-Nam only lasted about 100 years, the Vietnamese allowed them to stay just long enough to learn some of their highest culinary specialties and make it their own. From the French, Vietnamese adapted (among other things) breads, pastries, and coffee. Passed on from the homeland, the Việt immigrants have brought these culinary skills to their local communities all across America. Yet, not only does the Little Saigon community in Orange County, CA host the largest Vietnamese immigrant community outside of Việt-Nam, but it also boasts the largest selection of Việt style baguette bakeries in America.
2. Bánh Mì Chè Cali (all locations similar w/ minor variation in crust)
3. Boulangerie Pierre & Patisserie
6. Tip Top’ Sandwiches (not to be confused with
#16 Top Baguette)
9. Lee’s Sandwiches (6 locations tasted, all very similar in quality)
2. Boulangerie Pierre & Patisserie
3. Bánh Mì Chè Cali (all locations similar w/ minor variation in crust)
5. Tip Top’ Sandwiches (not to be confused with
#16 Top Baguette)
10. Lee’s Sandwiches (6 locations tasted, all very similar in quality)
The Power Rankings:
Note: There is really no “bad” baguette in our findings. When out of the oven, even the least favorite baguette on the list is still delicious and most are far superior to super-market competitors and a majority of artisan bakeries. So if all else fails and you had to “settle” on the bottom of the list, rest assured it was well worth your money. Also, every bakery has it’s good and bad days, so give each location at least 2 visits.
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