Food + Drink

FOOD: All I Want For Christmas Is A Cronut™!!



SONY DSCIf you don’t know what a Cronut™ is then you must be living under a rock.  The hybrid pastry created by Dominique Ansel has taken the foodie world by storm.  But is it worth watching the sunrise in Soho?  I mean, I’ve put my life on the line waiting in the wee hours for the Countdown Pack and other Air Jordan releases.  But, we’re talking about a croissant doughnut mash-up.  Initially, i was so against this idea until a friend raved about his experience with the fig mascarpone version in September.
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So like MC Ricky D, “I gave myself a stretch up, a morning yawning” and set up shop a few feet from the storefront on 198 Spring Street at 5:34 AM.  All that stood in front of me and this delightful treat were two people and a 2-hour and-26-minute wait.  I totally wasn’t prepared for the last minute trip to the Big Apple.  While my insulated Sorel boots and socks sat inside my warm house in DC, I shivered outside in 30 degree weather donning a pair of Toms.  Around 6:20 AM, my toes went from cold, burning, achy to just straight numb.  I literally danced in line just to survive.  Around 7:40, an employee of Dominique Ansel Bakery dished out some scrumptious madeleines to the appease the growing crowd that now wrapped around the corner.

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When the clock struck 8 o’clock, Chef Ansel appeared at the front door like the second coming of the Messiah and granted us entry into his heavenly abode.  Five minutes later, I was leaving the studio where he creates his French-inspired masterpiece with two Valrhona Chocolate Champagne with fresh orange zest sugar.  As much as I wanted to hate the Cronut™ just for the wait alone, my tastebuds reigned supreme.  As I opened that yellow box, the buttery scent caused my mouth to salivate like I was one of Pavlov’s dogs.  Visually, the pastry looked like a work of art.  The exterior was perfectly crisp, dusted with an orange zest sugar and edible gold dust.  The flaky interior achieved textural nirvana with a Valrhona Caraibe filling.  Every since trekking through France, I’ve been a sucker for a proper pain au chocolat and the December flavor Cronut™ took me right back to that place.  Believe the hype, the Cronut™ is that damn good!  And I would do it all over again without hesitation.  Certified.

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Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012