NY Eats: Dominique Ansel Bakery and the famous Cronut®!
I had read sooooooo much about the Cronut® (yes, registered trademark!), and all about the trend's diffusion all over the world, from the croissant-donut, to the dossaint, to whatever the non-registered-trademark versions are called.
But finally I got to come to New York, and had time to visit the Dominique Ansel Bakery itself, and get my original Cronut! I'd of course read all about the long lines at the bakery as well, with many recommending getting in line before the bakery's opening at 8am. Of course, my sister and I ended up not getting in quite so early, and we got there after 9am.
Yes, there was a line, but it wasn't too bad, and most importantly, there were still Cronuts available when we got to the front of the line!
Of course, when I stand in a long line, I automatically order even more food to make the wait even more "worth it." Works out well for the bakery too, haha! In the end, we got a "Perfect Little Egg Sandwich" so as not to have a 100% sweet breakfast, a Cronut each, a DKA (Dominique's Kouign Amann), and a Frozen S'more.
I swear, Dominique Ansel Bakery decorated their tables to be perfect Instagram settings
The Frozen S'more was torched to order!
Nestled inside the marshmallow was an interior core of vanilla ice cream covered in cookie pieces, although I was expecting the marshmallow to be more gooey than it was, given that it was freshly torched.
The Perfect Little Egg Sandwich was definitely a welcome "side dish." It's a steamed block of egg that's silky and custardy, with a slice of Gruyere cheese, and nestled in a brioche bun.
The DKA was nice and rich and buttery; and the Cronut? Every month there is a new (never before seen) flavor, and it is the only flavor that's available. Somehow, I didn't realize that the Cronut was filled! This month the flavor was blackberry buttermilk. So how was it?
Well, I was expecting the best elements of a croissant, the crispy, flakiness, to carry over to the Cronut. But perhaps it was due to the wet filling, but the Cronut was surprisingly soft. Also, I'm personally not a big fan of fruit-flavored pastries (besides blueberry and apple), so I wasn't wild about this month's flavor.
For me, I'm good with lining up early in the morning just once for this breakfast treat. But, I am super happy I finally got to try the famous Cronut! Now, whenever I see one of the knock-off versions somewhere in the world, whether in Europe or in a San Diego branch of a Korean bakery, I'll know that I got to try the original.
