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Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2009
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 10:33 am: | 
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I know every RAVES about the Pain au Chocolat which are from Balthazar bakery now available at Cranes. But let me ask you, what is so great about them? I had one this weekend, and while the chocolate was of nice enough quality. I found the whole experience sorta lacking...and I eat chocolate croissants. I found the eggy topping to be sorta hard and I could literally pull it off in big pieces. I'm not sure why ANYONE would want a hard topped shiny surface to their chocolate croissant to be honest. And while Balthazar's croissant are AIRY and light, I sort of missed the super buttery layering effect that is common in well made croissants. The top of the Balthazar croissant only has like 3 or 4 folded over layers. I think I am used to (and prefer) 20 or 30 crispy layers so that their is a nice flaky crunch that spills lots of shards of super light pastry chunkies all over your clothes. The inside can be light and airy but the top needs to be buttery and layered. I am partial to the style of croissant at Panino Giusto on Hudson Street just north of Perry Street in the West Village. I think Peppe Rosso in the dining concourse of Grand Central Station has the same exact ones and I often get them there now that my commute has changed.
TS and I had a disagreement over this issue this weekend. TS believes that the Balthazar bakery is the "traditional" French style of croissants. But I've been to France and had AMAZING ones and don't remember them being like Balthazar Bakeries. Anyone want to chime in here and settle the matter? |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2017
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 12:21 pm: |
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Damn was my post so long winded and uninteresting that it really warranted NO reply? I can take the criticism. Feel free to tell me I'm a big dummy head whose posts you skip over 'cause they suck. |
Joseph Cammarata
Citizen
Username: Jcammarata
Post Number: 9
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 12:26 pm: |
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Allegater,
I totally agree with your thoughts about Balthazar. I am a buyer at Dean and Deluca and we feel that they have gotten too commercial. Their products are good, some very good i.e. the breads. But there are much better bakeries out there like La Bergamote, Ceci Cela and our favorite, Petrossian. Just a thought. |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2020
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 12:40 pm: |
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I like Ceci Cela alot too.
Wow Joe, is being a buyer at D&D as cool of a job as it sounds? |
doulamomma
Citizen
Username: Doulamomma
Post Number: 1409
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 12:41 pm: |
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We got a selection of treats for Mother's Day, among them the Pain au Chocolat...we felt it wasn't up to par - seemed a bit heavy & dry - the other things were great - very flaky & light & yummy...think I have had them from there in the past & liked them...off day for that particular item, perhaps. But we, too are very picky about of pain au chocolate. Usually like them from Le Pain Quotidien in SoHo on Grand St. |
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 1250
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 1:00 pm: |
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I understand that they are not the be-all and end-all of Pain au Chocolat but that fact I can get this in Maplewood Village is phenomonal!
(The humidity affects pastries in Paris too...there are good days and not-as-good days at the boulangeries in every neighborhood.)
I salute Cranes Deli for bringing high quality stuff to town - even if it is not the holy grail of it's kind.
I challenge other Maplewood business to bring more high quality products to town...or better yet make them here themselves!
A butcher who stocks D'Artagnan foie gras and dry-aged meats, a artisanal bakery (no birthday cakes!) and green market with cool seasonal stuff like ramps would be nice! |
shasta
Citizen
Username: Shashalagoumba
Post Number: 99
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 1:15 pm: |
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KMK, ditto on your post. Thanks! |
doulamomma
Citizen
Username: Doulamomma
Post Number: 1411
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 1:38 pm: |
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I hope my post wasn't understood to mean that I feel differently than kmk & Shasta...I'm a big fan of the folks at Crane's & love their stuff!
yes - kmk - humidity was what I was thinking but didn't quite pin down the thought |
Camnol
Citizen
Username: Camnol
Post Number: 346
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 1:44 pm: |
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I really enjoyed my Mother's Day pain au chocolat, but only after warming it up. Heating it makes a huge difference. |
Hank Zona
Supporter
Username: Hankzona
Post Number: 5583
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 1:46 pm: |
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The already not too shabby pain au chocolat will be greatly improved when Cranes starts pumping in Edith Piaf music and replaces the wooden tables with cute round marbletop cafe tables out on the sidewalk. Maybe replace the stores across the street with a replica of Sacre Couer or the Tullieries (thats one way to get rid of a salon or two!). I'll do my part by lending Steve and Dave some old berets I have in the closet. |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 4441
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 2:26 pm: |
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Old beret? C'mon, I just saw you in that last week! |
Joseph Cammarata
Citizen
Username: Jcammarata
Post Number: 10
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 3:04 pm: |
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Alleygate,
Working at Dean and Deluca is fun in that you are usually the first in the country to taste great products...everyone wants to be in D&D because in so many ways it is great advertising for their product. However, it can be very stressful with gross margins, sales etc. Not only that, but you have to be able to know how to merchandise; quite well that is. That's why the store is so beautiful...a European look with clean lines, very little clutter, stark white and where the attitude is less is more and that the food should sell itself. It is also important to note that it is very difficult to get a product in here...taste, packaging, ingredients,etc.
Anyway, I also want to mention that I will be opening my own store in Chatham..very Dean and Deluca like. I used to be the buyer of caviar, foie gras, charcuterie, fresh truffles and salmon. I was promoted to packaged food buyer so I will what I just mentioned plus things like rose petal jams, Payard chocolates, Iranian caviar, etc. Real specialty items i.e. bottarga, wild pinenuts, etc.
The irony though is that I will also carry some Balthazar products as it is hard to get any good desserts in the suburbs. I will have a van that goes to the city everyday to pick up unusual products that don't deliver to the suburbs.
I think I have talked too much in this email.
Ciao! |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2025
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 3:21 pm: |
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Doula, I bought the specific pain au chocolat on Mother's day also. Same batch, so maybe it was actually an off day.
Having said that I have gotten other chocolate croissants from Balthazar bakery (at Dishes in the Grand Central Station dining concourse) and was mostly unimpressed with them too. I think it's as others (and myself) already mentioned, I don't care for that style of croissant. But different strokes for different folks. I mostly just wanted to know if this style of croissant is considered TRADITIONAL as TS stated. I didn't think so.
Also, by NO STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION did I want people to think that I didn't LOVE Cranes. I'm a huge, and vocal fan of the place. I have told the owners NUMEROUS times to their faces that I love what they do. I love their vegetarian sandwiches, I love their bread, I love their drink selection, I love their homemade potato chips, I love their pastries, I love the owners friendly service, and much more. I totally agree that THIS place is EXACTLY the kind of place I want to see MORE OF IN MAPLEWOOD. It's the benchmark for all new places in town.
Joe, your place sounds very cool. I may just have to FINALLY get out to Chatham to see your place when it opens. |
george detor
Citizen
Username: Highpontiff
Post Number: 1
Registered: 5-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 3:32 pm: |
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I have it on good authority that you can request the chocolate croissant at Cranes warmed to your liking. It will melt the butter, crisp the top, and gooiefy the chocolate to your liking.
Also, I believe the proprieters secretly don berets in the back of the house, and practice mime and silly French accents until the wee hours of the night. |
Soda
Supporter
Username: Soda
Post Number: 3944
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 3:55 pm: |
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I was just over there enjoying a muffaletta sammich and a Boylan's Creme, and Mr. Crane's computer (behind the counter) displayed this thread. I asked him if he enjoyed folks talking about him on MOL, and he replied, "I do enjoy it, but I rarely respond."
So be aware: you're being lurked by a guy in a beret...
-s. |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2028
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 4:29 pm: |
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Hola Senor Crane. |
Hank Zona
Supporter
Username: Hankzona
Post Number: 5585
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 4:34 pm: |
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it should be...Bon Jour Monsieur Crane |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2030
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 5:34 pm: |
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Je ne comprends rien.
that is the sum total of my French |
doulamomma
Citizen
Username: Doulamomma
Post Number: 1414
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 8:11 pm: |
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"Also, I believe the proprieters secretly don berets in the back of the house, and practice mime and silly French accents until the wee hours of the night."
Just as I would expect - having fun while working shows in the product!
And if they didn't before, they probably will now! |
Judy
Citizen
Username: Judith_marie
Post Number: 4
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 11:47 am: |
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Are the people in Maplewood willing to spend more for better pastries? I know I am. Why are there no pastry shops (not bakeries) in the area, i.e. Maplewood, South Orange, Millburn, Short Hills? The only Pain au Chocolats I like are my own. Believe me, when they come out of the oven hot, there's nothing like them.
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Sherri De Rose
Citizen
Username: Honeydo
Post Number: 231
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 8:53 pm: |
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I've had Judy's Pain au Chocolat and they're better than sex! (That guy in the beret must have been my hubby Rich!) |
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