I was trying to go to a bistro called Le Comptoir du Relais; it was completely full (it almost never occurs to me to make reservations, so this actually happens a lot). They do, however, have a small take-out window with sandwiches and pastries. I figured this was a pretty good opportunity to try a ham and butter sandwich, which is supposedly the second most popular sandwich in France.
(The first? Burgers. Everyone loves burgers.)
It was so good. The crispy (but not overly crunchy) exterior of the baguette combined with the pleasantly chewy interior makes this the perfect bread for a sandwich like this. Combined with the really good quality ham, a very generous slathering of salted butter, and a few slightly sweet cornichons to add some crunch and balance out the rich butter and the fatty ham, it was close to sandwich perfection. It was maybe the best ham sandwich I’ve ever had.
For dessert? The butter theme continued with a beurre-sucre crepe (butter and sugar). This is exactly what it sounds like — it’s a crepe, brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar. It doesn’t sound like much, but the slightly buttery flavour combined with the slight crunch you get from the sugar works shockingly well on the freshly-made crepe.