A Dominique Ansel Day

We started off MLK Day by heading down to Dominique Ansel Bakery for some Cronuts. No, we didn't wait in the long line early in the morning. Instead we took a leisurely trip down in the early afternoon and picked up our pre-ordered Cronuts with barely a wait at all. They were sold out of Cronuts for the day and the regular line went for the entire length of the bakery, so we were pretty glad pre-ordering exists. 

This wasn't our first time getting Cronuts from the bakery, although we haven't been pre-ordering as much as we would like because we often forget before it's too late to order for that month. (You have to order two weeks in advance.) We got some last summer when the flavor was blueberry elderflower with lime sugar (which made A's favorites list last year), and this time around, the flavor of the month was golden honey vanilla with lemon sugar. Both were good, but between the two, we preferred the blueberry elderflower one, as there was just so much delicious fruit flavor in that one.

If you've never had a Cronut before, they're a magical creation of Dominique Ansel that is part croissant and part donut. It's layers of flaky croissant dough formed and fried up like a donut. It's filled with whatever cream/jam and then frosted with the second flavor. It's a simple concept that no one else has seemed to figure out how to do. A has tried several imitators, and none of them have come anywhere close to being as light, airy, and delicious as the original.

After our Cronuts, we intended to go get something savory for lunch, but after we found out the place we planned to go for fried chicken had closed down, we meandered up the avenue trying to decide what to do instead. As we deliberated, we found ourselves approaching Dominique Ansel Kitchen. We knew they had some special collaborations over MLK weekend and had thought about dropping by for a snack later if we had time, so since we were already there, we put off our savory food for a little bit longer.

The collaboration was with Wildair, and they came up with two things - an apple pie corn dog and a warm quince apple cider. We didn't order the cider because we were only there for a snack, but they gave out some samples so we got to try it anyway which was great. The cider combined local quince, Red Jacket apple cider, kaffir lime, cinnamon, clove, allspice, and hints of maple and birch. It was cozy and comforting, and if we had been looking for a warm drink, we really would have considered getting a cup of that.

The apple pie corn dog consisted of roasted parsnip ice cream, caramelized gala apples, and almond biscuit in a cornmeal batter, topped with apple cider caramel and potato chip feuilletine. Neither of us could really taste that the ice cream was supposed to be parsnip flavored. A thought it really just tasted like vanilla. The apples were a nice mix of tartness and sweetness, and they made an excellent topping. The potato chips didn't add a ton of flavor, but they gave the dessert a depth and texture that was very similar to streusel with just a mild hint of salt.

We hadn't planned on hitting up both Dominique Ansel spots one after the other that day, but sometimes things just work out for the best. We're glad we were able to try the apple pie corn dog since it was a very limited time offer. It definitely pushed back our savory meal for the day, but in the end we weren't too upset by that.