I AM a Cronut Fan

ADVENTURE: Cronuts!

THE LINE: I got up at 6:00 AM to go stand in line to get one of these. Not many things in life can inspire that kind of one-morning, one-day commitment from me. Luckily I was going with this guy:

Jonas is tired but excited to taste the sublime.

He got in line about ten minutes before me, and so our Cronut victory was assured. A Cronut is a delicious, much-feted dessert designed by chef Dominique Ansel, for those of you who don’t know-- which, I don’t know who you are or where you’ve been living the past year or so while New York has been losing its shiz over these, but apparently you exist because a woman passed our line and was totally confused when we explained we were waiting for cronuts, which are a pastry, that is a combination of a donut and a croissant. Actually her exact words were, “Really?” And not in an impressed way. Jonas and I and all our fellow linegoers were like, “How out of the loop is she?” but I think secretly we all felt a little embarrassed, because, well, it is kind of ridiculous to wake up at the crack of dawn on a rainy day to stand in line for a pastry.

Unless you have a lot of spare time, like moi at the moment, and the pastry is as delicious as this one.

We got there at about 7:20 and 7:30, respectively, and waited until about 8:45 to actually get into the bakery. All in all, not bad, and we had each other’s pleasant conversation to while away the time. This sign also provided some entertainment:

THE DESSERT BAR: As I ordered the Cronuts (2, of course, the maximum each patron is allowed), I felt a little thrill. It was actually happening to me! I had once scoffed at the idea of the Cronut, thinking I would never have time to stand in the weekend’s 3 hour long line to get one, and what was the big deal, anyway? But now that I was actually going to taste NEW YORK’S MOST FAMOUS DESSERT, it felt like I was a part of something. Something exciting and delicious and wonderful. It deserves mentioning that everything in the bakery looked delicious. Look at this:

Yummm.

THE CRONUT ITSELF: REALLLLY YUMMY. LOOK AT THIS THING:

This month’s flavor is Strawberry Balsamic and Mascarpone. So, the filling was a strawberry jam that was really perfectly sweet and tart and mascarpone. Sooooo. so. YUM.

Jonas' feeling was that the Cronut did not quite live up to its hype, however, and he preferred the DKAs, which unfortunately I do not have a picture of but are described thusly on the bakery's website: Tender, flaky, croissant-like dough with a caramelized crunchy crust.

So, yeah. Those were also heavenly. (Although I prefer the Cronut. But hey, differences are what make us American. Or, at least, not Sparta.)

Later I solidified Jill’s eternal friendship and undying loyalty by bringing her my second Cronut.

She owes me her firstborn child now. Yay friendship!

She concurred that it was the best thing since sliced bread and also approximately 1000x better than sliced bread. So.

CONCLUSION: Cronuts. Worth it.