Best chocolatine in Montreal?

[hungryann]

I am partial to deGascogne but I just wanted to see what else there is out there.
Abou 10 years ago when I lived in the pPlateau, there was a bakery on Duluth just east of St-Laurent, that had great chocolate croissants. Does it still exist and does anyone know the name?

[hungryann]

Reviving an old thread of mine for an update. Back in 2006-7, I had checked out the chocolatines from Kouing Amann on Mount-Royal and was pleased they were the same as the ones I remembered from the Duluth bakery. I went today to KA for a chocolatine and they have changed their recipe! The chocolate inside is still delicious but the pastry is neither buttery nor flaky; it was sort of a dud. What gives? Did anybody else notice a change in their products? Sigh, I will have to venture further east and try Le Fromentier, Fous Desserts and Les Saveurs du Plateau.

[emerilcantcook]

I have been frequenting them more often than I should, just because I live close (and have a lovely boyfriend who would trek there in his pajamas to bring us morning pastries). It seems to me that most of their filled pastries are unreliable for some reason that I still cannot figure out. We would get a croissant and and almondine for example, and while the former would be flaky and buttery, the latter would taste like 5 days old even if it is 9 in the morning on a Saturday. But then one day I'd have a great almondine on my way to work, again on a late morning. I think their plain croissants are still somewhat reliable, as well as their bread; but rest (including their namesake pastry) have some split personality thing going on. Perhaps people on different shifts have different level of skills? Or the humidity level fluctuates that much? Dunno.

[hungryann]

Also I don't know if I am crazy but I remember their shape as an elongated croissant. The one I had today was rectangular (like a pain au chocolat).

[BLM]

Based on the recommendations here, I tried many of them the past few days. Tried the croissants and/or chocolatine at Fous Desserts, Autour D'un Pain, M. Pinchot, Olive et Gourmando, Paltoquet, Duc de Lorraine, Les Saveurs du Plateau, Le Fromentier. The clear best in my tasting was Olive et Gourmando(near perfection). Next would be Autour D'un Pain & Paltoquet equally(both very good). In the case of Paltoquet, I tried their whole wheat(they were out of their traditional croissants on my visit). The one dud, was M. Pinchot(both their croissants & chocolatine were subpar). Maybe I got M. Pinchot on a bad day, & their croissants were in different degrees of doneless in different baskets(some were light & some were very dark & some were right doneness). I'll give M. Pinchot another try soon. Disappointed with the croissants at Duc de Lorraine this time, as I've had at least near perfect croissants there before. The first time, I tasted the croissants at Paltoquet were at least as good as Olive et Gourmando. I think I'll be a regular at Olive et Gourmando from now on.

[rogersh]

Hi,

I think that Gascogne has the best pain au chocolat, but their croissant aren't as good as Kouing Amann....Le Paltoquet's are good when warm, but once they're room temperature, I'm not that impressed. Overall, I think that Montreal needs another bakery to make a truly incredible pain au chocolat.

Is it true, that Kouing Amann is on holidays right now? We were planning a Montreal food run (we live in Ottawa) and we always pick up a couple dozen croissants for our freezer. If they're closed, we might delay 'til they open up again.

Thanks!

Hannah

[MaeveH]

went by last night, they're closed until next week...

[BLM]

I checked Le Kouing-Amann thursday, they're closed until next friday(August 18th).

[BLM]

I'm going to try most of these recommendations by the end of this week. Of these I've only tried Le Paltoquet before. I tried stuff at Olive & Gourando & Le Kouign-Amann before but not their croissants. I tried the croissants at Fous Desserts, & I remembered it being good, but can't remember how good. Do most of these places make chocolatines? Is the croissants at Duc de Lorraine still the best(or among the top 3)?

[Campofiorin]

WHile at Fous Desserts, why not head a little further east on Laurier to try Le Fromentier as well as Les Saveurs du Plateau. They're both on the same side of the street less than 10 mins walk.

[BLM]

I did yesterday.

[wizpers]

My fav's

-The crispy ones at fou dessert... full of butter
-and the one at paltoquet... more classic

[quitesimplysmj]

M. Pinchot on Brebeuf & Maryanne. It's just a little neighbourhood bakery, but they make the best croissants around.

[SnackHappy]

That bakery on Duluth sold pastries from Le Kouign-Amann. They made the best pate feuilleté in town. I used to live at that place. The old owner/baker Daniel is long gone now, but I believe the place still exists.

On Mont-Royal between Drolet and Henri-Julien.

[hungryann]

Sorry, I am not sure I understand. Does the bakery on Duluth still exist under different ownership or does the place that used to supply them exist? Please clarify.

[SnackHappy]

Le Kouing-Amann on Mont-Royal is still around, I believe. It's changed ownership, but I believe they still make the same stuff. I should check it out soon. I've been meaning to do that for a while.

On a side note: What do you people think of the croissants from Autour D'un Pain?

[MaeveH]

yup, it's a whole new ownership at Kouing Amann. The croissants are pretty nice, but last I checked they're on vacation for a bit longer. Haven't tried the eponymous pastry yet to compare to the last baker's version...

I'm still trying to figure out which bakery on Duluth everyone's referring to. You can't be meaning the Portuguese Stella Estrella (sp?), but I'm blanking on what else it could be.

[SnackHappy]

If it's the one I'm thinking about, it was a hole in the wall somewhere between St-Dominique and Coloniale. The owner was a former employee of Kouing-Amann.

[hungryann]

No, I don't think it was portuguese. It was a hole in the wall with some colorful graffiti on the outside and it had a small counter inside; I think they also served sandwiches.

[Mr F]

"On a side note: What do you people think of the croissants from Autour D'un Pain?"

I'm a fan of Autour d'un Pain at St-Urbain/Mont-Royal (haven't visited the other outlets), but then I don't have much occasion to have croissants or related items like chocolatines elsewhere. I also think their baguette is among the best I've had, particularly the Baguette Bio.

I had an Olive & Gourmando chocolatine this morning, so I can now say that in my opinion Autour d'un Pain stands up quite well. Unfortunately, most of the employees seem ill-trained in using the espresso machine, so you should stick to the café filtre, which is unspectacular but serviceable.

[celfie]

in case anyone is interested
paltoquet is at

1464, avenue Van Horne
Outremont, QC H2V 1L2
Phone: [phone]

these are the best croissants in the city hands down

[carswell]

>>these are the best croissants in the city hands down<<

On a good day, maybe. The problem with Platoquet is that it's wildly uneven.

[BLM]

Carswell is this based on personal experience, or what you have heard? This exact same point was made on the Endless Banquet food blog. I've tried Paltoquet once, & was very impressed(the other times when I've visited Paltoquet, they were sold out on their croissants).

[carswell]

Personal experience. Until searching ...an endless banquet just now, I was unaware they'd "done" Le Paltoquet; it appears to be mentioned once in a post on desserts at Les Chèvres and not at all in the listing. Michelle's description of the bad-day croissants as "dense, floury, and tasteless" pretty much jibes with mine -- "heavy" and "lifeless" were adjectives I remember using -- and with friends who made a detour to the store after an initial rave from me and came back with a "meh." I admit my experience is limited; I've never been much of a pastry person and that goes double for croissants these days (*le cholestérol oblige*). And I think the guys running the shop have their hearts and minds in the right place. But I don't feel I can give their croissants an unqualified recco.

http://endlessbanquet.blogspot.com/20...

[Campofiorin]

My personal fave is Les Saveurs du Plateau on Laurier East and a stone's throw from there, Le Fromentier makes a good one too. I've also heard good things from Fous Desserts further down Laurier near St-Hubert but never tried it.

[BLM]

Checked Fous Desserts yesterday. They just started renovating their establishment(it's expected to take a month or two to complete), so in the meantime they have opened a temporary location three doors down(to the east). It's a bit confusing, as there's no sign at their original location, indicating they have a temporary location.

[Plateaumaman]

Unfortunately the bakery on Duluth near St-Laurent has been gone for some time.

I second the vote for baking the uncooked Pain Doré chocolatines. And they usually don't need to rise overnight or they become yeasty - an hour or so in the morning will do.

[carswell]

Not a chocolatine expert by any means but Olive et Gourmando's are pretty impressive.

Au Pain Doré's are merely serviceable except for the fact that they also sell them uncooked and frozen. There is definitely something to be said for chocolatines hot from your oven.

[celfie]

paltoquet on van horne