bakery

Le Pain Quotidien is nominated for a Luxist Award in the Best Bread Bakery category.

When Alain Coumont opened Le Pain Quotidien in his native Belgium in 1990, little did he know then what his artisanal bakery would eventually spawn. Coumont, a highly regarded chef at one of Brussels' most prestigious restaurants, just wasn't able to source bread worthy of his clientele and so started making it himself.

The concept was a huge success from day one. By 1993, there were 16 different locations in Europe. And by 1997, Coumont had opened his first store in New York City. Fast forward to 2009, and you'll find a company, still privately owned, with more than 114 locations around the world. This year, new locations have opened or will open in the Middle East, the United States, Europe and Russia.

Le Pain Quotidien is a French phrase that means "the daily bread." Indeed, Le Pain Quotidien bread is made fresh daily, just as it was in the very beginning. Its whole wheat sourdough breads, called pain au levain, are naturally fermented. Organic stone-ground flour, salt, and water is kneaded and shaped by hand and then baked in a hearth under the watchful eye of artisan bakers.

Le Pain Quotidien restaurants are known for their communal tables, made from reclaimed wood, in which customers sit side-by-side. There, they dine on simple fare from soups and salads to tartines and homemade pastries and breads. The company uses organic ingredients whenever possible.

Each location offers a range of homemade baked goods, from buttery croissants, organic brioche and challah to baguettes, all of which are baked fresh at each location daily. Baked goods are also available for purchase at the counter, including whole and half loaves of wheat, rye, spelt, five-grain and walnut bread.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed in Gourmet Foods. Readers' Choice Awards for Food will be announced on November 30th.

Zingerman's Mail Order has been nominated for a Luxist Award in the Best Online Gourmet Food category. The original Zingerman's Delicatessen was started in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1982 by Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig. It offered a combination of specialty foods, traditional Jewish dishes, and a few sandwiches.

Over the years Zingerman's grew steadily, adding (among others) a bakery, a creamery, a couple of restaurants, and a mail order business to sell it all. Zingerman's Mail Order offers a little bit of everything, all wrapped up in personal touches like excellent customer service and a website that displays everything in charming artistic renditions of reality.

Zingerman's focuses mostly on traditionally made foods, plus a few extras that they deem worthy, but overall the selection is intentionally kept "tight and focused" so people can find what they're looking for more efficiently. They carry goods from all the Zingerman's businesses and this time of year is an especially good time to shop their Thanksgiving selection that includes goodies like Spiced Pecans, Crespone Salami, and their "Turkey Rescue Kit" for making the best of all the seasonal leftovers.

Shop online at Zingermans.com or request a paper catalog by mail here.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed in Gourmet Foods. Readers' Choice Awards for Food will be announced on November 30th.

Three Dog Bakery is a chain that caters exclusively to man's best friend. That means that their blueberry muffins, scones and various cookies are all dog-friendly and, though edible, significantly less appealing to owners. But you don't need to live near one of their many locations to spoil you pet. Through their "dogalog" (as opposed to a catalog) they sell all kinds of goodies, but if you really want to indulge your pet, the way to go is the 12-month club that provides a different treat every month or with a set of 24 dog-friendly "ruffles". Their most unusual item is the celebration cake in carob chip or peanut butter, which looks remarkably like a human birthday cake. The cakes are customizable and have to be shipped overnight or second day air, but the prices start at only $20 per cake.

I've seen plenty of cakes and cookies that get pictures printed onto edible icing. They're a huge hit at birthday parties, weddings, etc. I've never seen the technique used on doggie treats before, but that is precisely what they do at My Dog's Bakery. Doggie PhotoTreats are customized with the name and photo of your dog on each biscuit. They come in Salmon and Roast Beef & Potato flavors, made using all-natural ingredients and the piped-on frosting includes carob, not chocolate. The pricing is $4 for one, $10 for 3 and $16 for 6. The bakery also mentions on their website that they plan to introduce doggie-friendly cakes.

Of course, the company says that the art is for your dog, but I think we can all agree that it's really for the owner. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but Fido cares more about the taste of the cookies than what they look like.

I Dream of Cake is a bakery that excels in producing the most exquisite cakes you can imagine. Of course, many of the cakes are intended as wedding designs, but there isn't a single occasion that can't involve a cake of some sort. Mother's Day, for example? Some of the very unusually shaped cakes done by I Dream of Cake are actually made to look like purses - designer purses, no less. They have done Louis Vuitton more than once, Chanel and many others. Prices vary and all the cakes are made to order, so if you're interested, you'll have to call for pricing.