Cronuts

What is it? Is it worth the wait? This hybrid pastry, a combination of a croissant and donut has fascinated more than just the food community. It has become a topic of discussion on talk shows, news broadcasts and even celebrities have sought out this in-demand sweet. I must say creator, Chef Dominique Ansel is doing a remarkable job of keeping up with the media frenzy through very active communication on Twitter, to the point that I think PR has become his full time job and yet that is not true at all. I was pleasantly surprised to find the chef was right by the register, boxing and bagging cronuts this past Saturday when I ventured out for my cronut.

How to get it:
Seeking out the cronut began a week before arriving in NYC. The bakery takes a week’s worth of pre-orders over the phone the Monday prior. This is the ideal thing to do because then you can pick up from the bakery at your leisure. Unfortunately, after 30 minutes of endless dialing and going straight to voice mail I gave up. The only other option was the line.

Time to test my patience. I set my alarm for a 5:30am wake up for a 6:30am arrival at the bakery. When I got there, I was 67th in line. It was a Saturday so the line was probably a bit longer than if I attempted on a weekday but according to Chef Ansel, you should be fine as long as you arrive before 7am.

UPDATE 7/12/13: I’ve noticed people inquiring about whether or not they are in the Bay Area. As far as I know right now we don’t have any copy-cats. As soon as I hear of something I’ll be sure to try it!

UPDATE 11/6/13: I have since had 2 versions of copy cats in the Bay Area: Fillmore Bakeshop (SF), Paris Baguette (Palo Alto). Post to come soon!

For the next hour and a half till opening I people-watched and awkwardly looked away from the dozen or so cronut-line photos and videos that waiting people and passerby took. When the shop opened at 8, I still had about a half hour wait to get in and pay, but out came fresh-baked mini madeleines to tie us over. Merci Chef! Warm little cakes with crisp edges definitely put me in a good mood. The madeleines were still fluffy and moist even when prepared in a much smaller mold. I just wish they were bigger so I could really sink my teeth into them.

What is a cronut?
The cronut is made from a laminated dough, similar to croissant dough but the folding process is different as well as the thickness to which it is rolled. Then the dough is cut into rounds, fried, rolled in granulated sugar and filled with flavored cream. On top is a piped ring of icing. June’s flavor is maple-lemon, a maple sugar coated exterior and lemon cream interior.

How did it taste?
The added texture when biting into the flaky layers did make the pastry more interesting and the lemon cream was oozing out because it was filled so generously. It was a bit tart, but similar to how citrus pastries are done in Paris. I guess they prefer less sweet things. Still delicious and very rich. If I may suggest, a nice vanilla bean-flecked cream would be a great filling.

The pastry is very well executed, as good as any pastry I’ve had in Paris, where I think they do the best job with croissant dough, perhaps because of that addicting French butter. For some reason I feel like I’m supposed to say the cronut was the best pastry I’ve ever had because I was willing to wait that long. I don’t think I could pinpoint any one pastry that I feel that strongly about but the cronut is definitely high on the list based on execution and creativity.

Was it worth the wait?
For me it was a sense of urgency to find out what the fuss was about. As a food person, I was definitely intrigued by the concept. I didn’t want to wait who knows how long before the hype dies down. For others that I talked to, it was just something fun to do. Post-cronut experience, it was entertaining and I don’t mind being that crazy person who waited 2 hours for a pastry because I love them that much. Someone needs to make a “I Survived the Cronut Line” t-shirt.

If you do wait, you will not be disappointed if you like what I described when I ate the cronut. It’s also reasonably priced at $5. I’ve had plain croissant dough items for $4. It’s been recommended to the Chef that he raise prices but I applaud that he keeps things as is.

Still can’t decide if you should wait? If you’re impatient to find out what the fuss is about then yes. If not, then pre-order for a later date or better yet, help out for a good cause and try his doughnut hole version at the NYC Wine & Food Festival benefitting Share Our Strength held in October.

I stole Chef Ansel away from his packaging duties for a photo and he was incredibly nice to talk to. He stressed how important it was to maintain the quality of the product, which is why he makes a select quantity a day. I definitely respect that and appreciate that he cares that much.

I will go back at the bakery to try some of the other items. During the cronut craziness, the best time to go is after 10am for since the line is the same as for the cronuts. And if you want to get something similar, go for the Dominique Kouign Amann (DKA).

Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012

LINKS I LOVE:

Everything You Need To Know About The Cronut Buzzfeed

A beautifully photographed slideshow of how Chef Dominique Ansel makes the cronut POPSUGAR

Dominique Ansel shows how to makes the rose-flavored cronut VIDEO