[New York City] Isn’t cronuts quite 2013? I wasn’t quite expecting this long a queue when I reached THE shop that started it all.
Dominique Ansel Bakery has created quite a stir since its opening in NYC in 2011, awarded Best Bakery by Time Out and Metromix.
Of course, its most prominent feat thus far is to combine croissant and donut into one hybrid, resulting in the CRONUT craze and triggering copycats (or inspirations depending on your perspective).
So there I was, 9 am at Spring Street near Greenwich Village. There were about 40 in front of me, obviously tourists speaking a multitude of different languages, holding guidebooks and scrolling hand phones. A couple from Texas has in front of me has never heard of cronuts back home though.
Lines are said to start as early as an hour prior to opening. The bakery only allowed 15 customers in at the same time, and each person was limited to purchase 2 cronuts. Liked that – fair and square.
My wait was about 50 minutes. Some would never hang around that long for a pastry, but like a boy in a toy shop, I was full of anticipation and could feel my heart beat with excitement. *pump pump*
Some background of the Cronut. The pastry is flavoured in three ways – rolled in sugar, filled with cream and topped with glaze. Very sweet.
There is only one flavour of the Cronut pastry out every month. For June 2015, it was Key Lime, Young Coconut with honey biscuit sugar
The moment of truth as I sliced into half and ate. There was love at first sight, but not exactly one first bite. Maybe it was expectations.
I was envisaging a crispier shell and flakier pastry. The key lime cream was delightfully smooth in texture, but the subtlety in taste could have been over-shadowed by the sweetness.
Do leave some allowance space for the cakes, the signatures include the Paris New York (USD$6.50), Mini-Me Cake (USD$6.50) and Cotton Soft Cheese Cake (USD$6.00).
I had the Banana Butterscotch Cake (USD$6.25). The overlapping of tastes of the banana biscuit soaked in butterscotch, and caramelia chocolate mousse glazed with hibiscus, was quite exceptional.
So there are more than just the Crout that Dominique Ansel offers, including the Dominique’s Kouign Amann (The DKA) and Frozen S’more.
Not very far away, there is a newer Dominique Ansel Kitchen, a retail bakery with restaurant service kitchen where 70% of the menu is made à la minute. Pastry maverick Dominique Ansel is indeed incredibly talented and forward.
Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring St, New York, New York 10012 (Closest subway is the C and E Train at Spring Street, 8-10 min walk)
Google Maps
Opening Hours: 8am – 7pm (Mon-Sat), 9am – 7pm (Sun)
Tel: (212) 219-2773
https://www.facebook.com/Dominique.Ansel.Bakery
Dominique Ansel Kitchen
137 Seventh Avenue South New York, NY 10014 (between Charles and West 10th Street. A, B, C, D, E, F, M trains on W 4th St)
Tel: (212) 242-5111
