114241 Sun Nov 16 21:10:51 -0800 2003 20 7 Chicago Area 0 621559 The word “croissant” comes from the french word “accroissement” which means “to increase”, a verb that I began to worry was also going to refer to my waistline as I ran into my 5th bakery Sunday morning for a croissant, plain, please. My S.O. was once again waiting patiently (though illegally parked) while I was inside purchasing. I started a quest for the ultimate Chicagoland version of one of mankind’s ultimate expressions of butter and flour - the flaky French croissant (see link below), and continued the search this weekend. A caveat first - I’m a pastry snob. I don’t want to spend my calories on something that isn’t real, for one (no fake flavorings or colors, please). Many bakeries consider “homemade” dough they’ve purchased frozen but baked on the premises. If I’m going to eat a croissant, I want it to be a pure expression of flour, butter and sugar (ok, and yeast and salt): a flaky, crispy outside, a tender, webbed inside, all of it suffused with the lactose perfume of a high-butterfat-content butter. I’ve continued the search based on the many suggestions from this board that I just couldn’t get to in one long bike ride in August. And so, early Sunday morning, off we went, having nourished ourselves first on cappuccini. 9:10 a.m. House of Fine Chocolates, 3109 N. Broadway. Though I’m in this area frequently (Intelligentsia Coffee is a few feet away), I never realized that they had so many pastries here, and none of them overly made-up with fake colors. Must investigate this more. The croissant ($0.97) is European-sized (4" or so), but overly sweet for me, tough, not tender, a soft inside, but not webbed, about an 8 on the croissant-to-brioche scale (1=croissant) and salty. This also has that unmistakable but hard-to-define “fake bakery smell”, making me think that they might bake these from frozen, purchased dough. A sideline: the more the butter is worked into the flour, the less flaky it will be. Croissants are turned usually 3 times, “turned” meaning a cold layer of butter is folded into layers of cold, yeasted dough. If the dough or butter is too warm, less flakiness results, if it’s turned too many times, a similar result. Brioche is bread enriched with eggs and butter, but just worked into the dough, not turned. Thus, brioche is not a derogatory term. It’s just not a croissant. 9:20 a.m. Treasure Island, Wells St. Location. Someone recommeded this, and they do make them in house (or at least bake them there). This one is saltier, more tender than the H.O.F.C.’s, slightly larger, and only $1 including tax. This one lacks a buttery aroma, and still does not have a crispy, caramelized crust and many-layered, slightly hollow middle. A little bland overall, but less harshly pre-packaged tasting. 9:25 a.m. Albert’s Café, 52 W. Elm. How can this charming little cafe/patisserie be right here yet I’ve never heard of it? Maybe 15 tables, some already taken with what looks like locals breaking their fast, a warmly lit, cozy room, a pastry case full of tempting treats. Again, a chowhound recommendation. Croissants are $1 and some change, and have by far the best buttery aroma of the morning so far. Much more tender, though not all that flaky. Butter flavor and aroma enhanced by a pleasant (not cloying) sweetness. I notice the corners sort of melted together, rather than holding their own puffy shape, a sign that perhaps they were proofed too warm, or turned while too warm, or cooked too slowly, all of which could result in a less flaky exterior. Still, these have the taste and interior texture of a baker who cares. I will return here. 9:30 a.m. (would be 9:28 if I had better sense of direction) Pierrot Gourmet, Penninsula Hotel, 108 E. Superior (west of Michigan NOT east, oops). Very excited when someone recommended these since the hotel is supposed to have their own pastry staff (story can probably be found by searching chowhoud with keywords “croissant”, “Penninsula”, “chauffeur” and “limo”). Croissant still Euro-sized, but this time a staggering River-North-sized $3.02. Now I understand the if-you-can-have-your-chauffeur-pick-them-up crack in the chowhound’s post. Still, the flakiest yet! These are the correct texture - crisp on the outside, yet layered and somewhat hollow inside. But just not as buttery as Albert’s. I keep smelling each bag as we drive off to the final destination, overwhelmed by the dairy nose on the Albert’s Café croissant compared to the more dull bouquet of Pierrot Gourmet. If only I could combine the two pastries! But the final destination left no doubt as to (so far) who has the best croissant in the greater metro area - (drum roll) - none other than Vanille Patisserie (2229 Clybourn), who I already lauded in part 1 of my hunt. His croissant (Euro-sized, and worth every penny of its $2.60 price) has all the buttery flavor and aroma, the crispy, caramelized, flake-all-over-your-cappuccino-saucer crust and a hollow, delicately webbed, tender inside. This is a capital “C” croissant, the kind that makes you want to wear a beret or, if female, perhaps wear high heels and sashay seductively down a rainy sidewalk with a small dog on a leash. The chef says his wife’s wedding cake decorating part of the business has been picking up recently, which is helping to support the patisserie, but it’s still just him, his wife, and one other helper. He also has chocolates, pate de fruit and an assortment of pastries such as tart au citron, tart au vanille, et al. I’ve not tried the other pastries, but the pate and chocolates are as top notch as the croissants (almond, chocolate, plain). Still to try (or retry earlier in the morning): Ambrosia Bakery in Barrington, Bittersweet, Red Hen, Tag’s in Evanston, Bennisons in Evanston (I’ve had the last 4, and these are larger, American sized), Bonjour Café in Hyde Park and Swedish Bakery in Andersonville. Any others? Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/113485#617094 Sun Nov 16 21:10:51 -0800 2003 0 Michael M. 1 621567 I was also at Vanille this weekend. My expectations were very high, especially on the heels of Gwiv's comment that these croissants were the best he'd had since Paris, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the plan croissant I had at vanille was very good, but I felt like it was a little too heavy, without the kind of flakiness lightness that I assumed would characterize a superlative croissant. The almond creme filled- version was even denser, and the goo had soaked through the bottom so it was soggy. Again, both were very good, but neither were as good as I'd hoped. I should disclose that I've never had a parisian croissant. The best croissants I've had are italian cornetti - which when they're good are crspy and light and fluffy without any hint of greasiness. I assume that the best fench croissant is better than the best italian cornetto. But I have no way way of knowing. I admit that I find myself in this predicament fairly frequently: I have an ideal version of what I'm hoping to eat worked out in my head even before I've had the experience of eating that version in real life. So, for example, I feel fairly certain that I've never eaten an excellent bagel, but I have no doubt that when I do, I'll know. It's the way I felt about pizza until I sat down at Pepe's in New Haven. Eureka! This is what it's supposed to have been like. This is the experience that eating pizza is supposed to be. So, all that is a rambling way of saying that Vanille's croissant didn't live up to my innate portrait of the archetypical croissant that I ah hoped for. But it was a rainy day, so I should go back to vanille before making any definitive conclusions. Sun Nov 16 22:54:50 -0800 2003 621559 0 Seth Zurer 2 621576 Seth, While I've been to Italy, I don't have a distinctive taste memory of an Italian cornetti, so I can't contrast and compare. Suffice to say that VP's croissants are, in my humble opinion, quite good. My last visit to VP was on a dry day around 10:30 am, pre lunch so I may have been feeling a wee bit peckish. I found the croissant, combined with a cup of Intelligentsia coffee, to be exceptional, especially in light of the fact I was in the Clybourn Corridor as opposed to the 5th Arrondissement. While I enjoy the occasional almond croissant, I have no expectations it will be light and flaky. Try an au naturel VP croisssant again on a dry morning with a cup of coffee, in-house, if you are still ambivalent I owe you $3.95. Actually, Michael M and I each owe you $2. Regards, Gary Mon Nov 17 07:11:45 -0800 2003 621567 0 G Wiv 2 621648 Croissants with almond filling is an American product, not a typical French pastry. I agree that Vanille's croissant this weekend was a little denser on the inside than previous versions, but it is still better than any other I've tried in Chicago so far. OTOH, the cornetti I had in Italy were a little closer to the brioche side of the scale, even early in the morning, as if that was the way they conceived them. Mon Nov 17 19:11:22 -0800 2003 621567 0 Michael M. 3 621694 I beg to differ - the croissant aux amandes is the only filled croissant offered in France, and is most certainly a French invention (the other things called croissants here are pain au chocolat, pommier and a number of other pastries). I also do not agree that the best croissant has a caramelized surface, or any sweetness. It is a pure cloud of crispy, buttery crust, definitely, but not anything beyond that. A Cornetto, I think, is more dense and sweeter. Thanks for the research. Need to try Vanille one of these days, though I am so depressed by the decline in quality of French patisseries and boulangeries that I cannot even begin to cope with the depressing lack of understanding of a croissant so common here. If you do not know what it is, how can you do it right? On a more positive note, I seem to recall the Swissotel had some passable croissants and pain au chocolat at a little stand in the basement. A slightly heartier swiss take on the pastries as I remember, but not badly done. d Tue Nov 18 09:38:06 -0800 2003 621648 0 dickson d 4 621788 Swissotel - I think someone mentioned that once, as well; I'll have to visit there. As to the other points (well, at least I'm arguing with a fellow croissant gourmand): the outside of croissants are "caramelized" in that the are subject to Maillard reactions, the non-enzymatic browning which involves the reaction of simple sugars and amino acids. Many croissant makers emphasize this (the color, flavor and texture) by brushing on a milk/egg glaze. Caramelized just sounded better than "Maillard reaction-ized". Sugar, likewise, is a part of all croissant recipes, even the historical ones from around the 1920's, when they first became popular in France via Vienna. Sugar provides crust colour, adds to the flavour (sweetness can intensify the perception of dairy flavors) and has a tenderising effect on the finished product. The amount can vary, of course. Croissant aux amandes - you're right. I meant that the gooey-filled almond paste croissants are a U.S. thing: overly large (so they don't bake properly) with poorly made doughs and soggy bottoms. But it didn't come out that way! Thanks! Tue Nov 18 20:39:24 -0800 2003 621694 0 Michael M. 2 621668 Don't lose faith in the platonic croissant. I think your intuition serves you well. I had the ideal, delivered to my hotel room door with cafe au lait, on four consecutive mornings in Paris. Those deliveries constitute my fondest memory of that trip. You may never find the ideal without a trip to France. It's fiendishly difficult to find a good croissant here, much less a great one. I only located two good ones in New York. Thanks to Michael M. for scouring Chicago so zealously. I'm on my way to Vanille. Mon Nov 17 22:09:29 -0800 2003 621567 0 Cathleen 3 621693 Do you have the name of the hotel with the great croissants in Paris? I'm planning a trip and would love to start the day with the perfect croissant, delivered to my room no less! Tue Nov 18 09:26:45 -0800 2003 621668 0 Naomi 4 621778 I'm pretty sure it was the Hotel Orsay, or was it Hotel D'Orsay? It's a small place with no frills, very reasonable and with nice rooms for the price. Tue Nov 18 18:31:51 -0800 2003 621693 0 Cathleen 5 621843 Thank you! Wed Nov 19 17:32:18 -0800 2003 621778 0 Naomi 1 621583 Have you tried Fox & Obel? I like Vanille's better, but it certainly seems to deserve a place on your list. Mon Nov 17 10:34:15 -0800 2003 621559 0 Aaron D 1 621598 It's been a while since I've had a croissant at Bon Jour Bakery down in Hyde Park so memory of their quality is fuzzy (but I find their scones wonderfully buttery/crumbly and their quiche nice and custardy) but here's my beef with the BJ Bakery: if you ask to have your croissant heated they only have the option to NUKE it. Which is the worst thing you could ever do to a croissant, bad bad it will kill the pastry, make it tough. A travesty, really if you've got a lovely criossant to start with. And so I wonder why they'd be sort of careless on this detail. I am curious, have you been eating your croissants at room temp or heated? I just love when they get crispy from a few minutes in an oven . . . anyhow, thanks for the reports and continued good hunting. bjt Mon Nov 17 11:53:44 -0800 2003 621559 0 bjt 2 621608 I agree with you on the nuke - it DESTROYS a croissant and any person who asks if you want it heated up and then puts it in a microwave must not have been trained very well. Also I noticed that you have to eat croissants when they are fresh - even a few hours can do them in. It amazes me that people will buy croissants at Starbucks when they know they have to be many, many hours (days?) old. I have stopped buying croissants for the most part because I have been really dissapointed with them - though I did have a good fresh one at Fox and Obell a few months back - after reading these posts, I think I will check out some of the places mentioned. Mon Nov 17 13:05:43 -0800 2003 621598 0 BryL 3 621647 I agree about old croissants; I had them all in the morning, within a few hours of baking, room temp. Mon Nov 17 19:06:23 -0800 2003 621608 0 Michael M. 1 621614 No one is going to confuse my guilty-pleasure for an haute croissant, but I stop by my local Potash grocer around 8:30-9am and grab one fresh out of the oven. If they sit in the plastic-glass bin for too long, they tend to steam themselves and get a bit soggy, so timing is key. Kind of greasy, not very flaky, but oddly satisfying. And the .89 price enhances the experience! It's better than anything I've ever gotten at Starbucks, Seattle's Best, even Torrefazione Italia, etc., at more than twice the price. Mon Nov 17 14:08:23 -0800 2003 621559 0 JohnJeter 2 621646 Where is your place? Although saying it's a better pastry than Starbucks and S.B. offers is like saying you found a cupcake better than Hostess or Little Debbie offers, but still. Share your place... Mon Nov 17 19:03:17 -0800 2003 621614 0 Michael M. 3 621681 Sorry, guess my post didn't make it clear. The Potash Bros. grocery store on State. I'm sure that the place attached to the Peninsula and several other spots around here have a better one but "I'm not going to pay $2.50 for a croissant!". Tue Nov 18 00:14:29 -0800 2003 621646 0 JohnJeter 1 621670 Hmmm. Tag's and Bennisons? I would be astounded to hear that great croissants hailed from either one. If you really want a field trip, Gerhardt's in downtown Lake Forest makes croissants that are quite good by American standards. Mon Nov 17 22:15:14 -0800 2003 621559 0 Cathleen 1 621857 who has the croissant that has smoke salmon in it? Thu Nov 20 09:23:40 -0800 2003 621559 0 dee 1 621890 Any word if the pastry chef from the former Michel Sendra cafe on Ontario is back in business anywhere? Those were by far my favorite croissants in Chicago - the best I've had outside of France. Plus they had Illy espresso, and it was only a block from my office. Thu Nov 20 18:24:03 -0800 2003 621559 0 JamesD 1 623146 Try Bale Bakery - a Vietnamese Bakery at the head of Argyle Street on Broadway. Their croissant are authentic and more reminiscent of what you can get on a street corner in Renne or Lyon (as opposed to Paris) Sun Dec 14 20:09:01 -0800 2003 621559 0 suzhof