Shopping the French Way

A small tribute to the French habit of building a meal one stop at a time, across a mile and a half of Evanston: bread, produce, meat, cheese, wine, and chocolate from the shops that each do one thing well.

In honor of La Fête Nationale, better known in the U.S. as Bastille Day, we're celebrating one of our favorite French food traditions: building an entire meal one specialty shop at a time.

I’m not talking about a giant grocery run. Not a cart filled under fluorescent lights. Just a Saturday spent moving through Evanston, stopping at the places that do one thing well. The route is short enough to do on foot or by bike if you want the full experience, and easy to take one stop at a time if you’re driving.

Begin downtown at the farmers' market. Grab whatever looks best that morning: tomatoes, greens, berries, herbs, flowers. Fred's Bread sets up a stall there, so this is your bread stop: a baguette, a sourdough, a few croissants for the next morning. Don't let the name fool you. Fred is French -- Frédéric -- and I believe his Baguette de Tradition is the most authentic in the city. (If it isn't a Saturday, Fred has a shop up on Noyes Street that's well worth the trip on its own.) While you're still downtown, duck into Patisserie Coralie on the corner of Davis Street and Chicago Avenue. Whenever I'm there, I can almost convince myself I'm somewhere in Paris. Order a macaron or a pastry and a coffee. Sit for a while and let the morning catch up with you. This is an activity that the French would never rush. Neither should you.

Work your way south on Chicago Avenue to us at Homestead for the main course. Pick up a chicken or a few beautiful cuts for the grill. And since you've celebrated French culture all morning, you may as well keep it going here. Ask what sausages are in the case. There's often a Toulouse, our Lyon truffle pistachio, or the lamb merguez my French customers say reminds them of home. Add some duck leg confit, pâté or a little terrine if you want to commit to the theme. And don't forget the cheese. We keep a small selection, and I can point you to one that pairs well with a good baguette. On a practical note, since we sit in the middle of this route and our products are perishable, an insulated bag is worth bringing along.

Keep going to The Wine Goddess on Main Street, just west of Chicago Avenue. Tell them what you're cooking and they'll help you find the right bottle. Their French selection is excellent, though you'll be in good hands with whatever you're pouring. Finally, double back on Main to the east side of Chicago Avenue and finish with a few chocolates from Belgian Chocolatier Piron for dessert.

A butcher, a baker, a patisserie, a wine shop, and a chocolatier, each run by people who care deeply about their one thing. The whole route runs about a mile and a half and it's all walkable or near a CTA train stop (Davis, Dempster, and Main). Most American towns our size can't say that. I don't take it for granted.

So on Bastille Day, or any day you want to enjoy a more old-world approach, create a meal shaped by the shops around us, the season we're in, and the people who make it.

Bonne fête, Evanston!

Homestead Meats is Evanston’s locally sourced butcher shop, handcrafting unique fresh meats, deli meats, sausages, and other charcuterie. All fresh meats and eggs are sourced from family-owned Midwestern farms that raise their livestock in open pastures, without hormones or GMO feed.