Croissant Chronicles Pt. 1
Juniper, the remarkably unremarkable
It’s Saturday morning, you and a friend are about to try that new bakery that was on a Instagram reel the previous day. You already know what you’re going to order, the “Award Winning” ‘Cubano-croissant’ and perhaps indulge yourself in the seasonal ‘Pink Pearl Apple Danish’. The line is non existent, perhaps its a slow morning or just maybe it’s a tell-tale sign of what you should expect. Upon first bite of the Cubano croissant, its cold so not the best start, and it tastes like exactly? what you expected it to be.
Was it good? Yes. Is it the best Cubano of all time? Surely not. Is it unique for a croissant? Certainly, gotta believe the award had to be won on the merit of the creativity/uniqueness.
The trouble with putting stuff inside a croissant is all those heavy ingredients are weighing down CRUSHING the airy layers of the croissant itself, a pastry known in particular for its shape & texture, the structural integrity if you will. If we’re judging it as a croissant, its unremarkable, if we’re judging it as a sandwich, it’s a solid sandwich. So perhaps the lens of judgement simply needed to be revised.
Now onto the apple danish, this was actually rather impressive! Glad it came second. The apples themselves had just the right bite and tartness, a difficult feat of accomplishment. Whats got my mind spinning is the execution of the apple aspect and the puff pastry it rests on. There is NO CHANCE you just throw the apples on the pastry and bake both at the same time hoping both cook perfectly. There has to be some sort of second-bake time or a pre-softening of the apples to achieve what they did. Certainly would go back for it again, if I was nearby…..
The conclusion
It’s a solid bakery, if I lived a stones throw away I’d probably be quite the regular. Would I go out of my way to try things again? Probably not. If someone invited me, would I nudge them in a different direction? No, its a perfectly fine establishment with plenty of staying power.
Review: Reliable local’s favorite, but if you forknig over premium croissant dollars I say go to Arsicault or B Patt.