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Posted by on Jul 16, 2013 in More Featured, Pop Culture, Russ Stevens | 0 comments

I Finally Tried A Cronut!

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I hate the expression “foodie.”  It sounds like something someone said on an episode of The View (when Meredith Viera was still on it).  Anyway, if there was another word for that, that is what I would call myself.  I’m an (insert other word for foodie here) and my latest fascination has been the Cronut.  The Cronut, created about a month ago by Dominique Ansel of Dominique Ansel Bakery, has taken NYC by storm.  Each week, Gothamist and other blogs have some article about either how long the line for the half-Crossaint half-Donut was, or some new flavor.  I decided that while I really wanted to one, I was going to wait until the hype died down a bit.  It hasn’t but now other bakeries are getting in on the fun.

Recently other Bakeries have gotten in on the Cronut craze.  Le Petit Bakery in Fort Greene has started making their very own Cronut’s.  They call them “squats,” because when you finish one, you’ll definitely have to hit the gym.  Anyway, considering I live in Fort Greene, I figured it would be way easier to try the “duplicator” instead of the originator.  I got to Le Petit five minutes prior to opening and good that I did, because similar to Ansel Bakery, there was already a considerable crowd of people looking to get in on the franken-pastry. I only had to wait about fifteen additional minutes to get my hands on a “Squat,” but the people who showed up within a few minutes of me probably had to wait upwards of half an hour or more.  The hold up in the Bakery itself was that it is very small space and they only had half of their days order of Squats ready at opening, and two people working.  So if you were happy to leave with their Maple Bacon filled with Nutella Squat, you were in good shape.  I, however, didn’t wait over a month to just try one variety.  I was perfectly content to wait a bit longer to try the Oreo Squat as well.

At $4 per Squat, I felt that to be a bit overpriced, but this is New York and we’re always willing to pay the most for the things we need least, so I plunked down $8 biked home and waited until I was in the comfort of my own apartment to indulge.  They say good things come to those who wait, and man was that true.  The Squats at Le Petit were incredible.  They were the perfect marriage of a flaky, buttery crossaint, and a sweet doughy donut.  The idea of it is entirely unnecessary, but I think that was part of the fun.  I am sure that a regular Cronut is good, but I liked that Le Petit really seemed to have fun with their flavor combinations.  The Maple Bacon filled with Nutella was good, but seemed more like a novelty than anything else.  The bacon did not really add much to the experience, and considering I am a huge bacon fan, like all Americans, that left me a bit flat.  However, the Oreo variety was worth the wait because it was sublime.  It might be one of the single best pastries I’ve ever had.  The Oreo cookie crumbled on top of the squat with an Oreo creme frosting, was the first step in the right direction, but filling the squat with pockets of boston creme, took it to another level completely. Another giant plus was that the Oreo cookie and the frosting were house-made.

Do I feel somewhat bad for never getting a Cronut from the Ansel Bakery? Yes, to some degree I do, but the convenience of a local Cronut/Squat shop far outweighs my desire to be an originator.  I have no immediate plans to wake up early just to eat a Squat, but once the hype dies down a bit more, I can see it being an “I deserve this!” occasional indulgence.  If these kinds of things are in your wheelhouse, you owe it to yourself to head over to Le Petit Bakery on 345 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205 (http://lepetitbakery.com/).  Get there when they open, and you wont have the crazy lines I am still hearing about.  Remember, You deserve it.

About Russ Stevens

Russ Stevens is an editor and writer at Rookerville and a guidance counselor at Nyack HS. He mostly writes about either loving or hating things. In his spare time, he performs Improv comedy with his troupe Priest and The Beekeeper and is a co-producer of their monthly variety show Pig Pile. He loves all the New York sports teams that are historically bad, and he hates lateness more than anything in the world.

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