I happened to be listening to Roland’s Food Court on SiriusXM.  It’s an occasional show on Saturday nights on The Opie and Anthony Channel.  One of his guests happened to be Dominique Ansel.

Up until this point I vacillated between desperately needing to get my hands on The Cronut and not caring one iota about this fad.  After hearing about the bakery and having an upcoming holiday I figured I’d go for it.

I confirmed that the bakery would be open on July 4th and did some research.  According to the web site, if you’re on line before 7:15 odds are that you’ll get The Cronut.  I wasn’t going to take any chances.

The alarm went off at 5am.  I rolled out of bed and less than a minute later I rolled back in.  After a few minutes of internal debate I heaved myself out of bed.  I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t get in on this Cronut craze and wasn’t sure when another opportunity would present itself.

Driving into NYC at that hour is a breeze and I managed to park across the street from the bakery.  At 6:15am the line was already around the corner but I wasn’t concerned.  People had their chairs out, they were spread out on blankets, and I was an hour earlier than the recommended cut off.

I plopped myself down, opened my magazine and proceeded to wait.  The doors opened at 8am and I proceeded to wait some more.  I didn’t get into the bakery until approximately 9:15am.  And there were still at least 20 people ahead of me.

I knew exactly what I wanted and ordered quickly: two Cronuts, plain croissant, ham & cheese croissant, one DKM.  I paid for my goods and high-tailed it home.  I was tired and now I was hungry.  The Boyfriend Chef had made coffee and was waiting to share in the goodness.

The Cronuts come in a tulip box.  They could have thrown them in a bag and I would have been happy.  Supposedly the box is a big deal but they’re available at tulipbox.com.  I  guess they’re unique enough that it’s a status symbol of sorts to be seen with one.

The July flavor is listed as “blackberry” on the site but on the show it was a blackberry lime.  My thoughts?  Don’t wait on line for The Cronut.  I desperately wanted to love this but it wasn’t anything special.  I’ve had killer donuts at the Doughnut Plant and highly recommend them.

But does that mean you should skip Dominique Ansel Bakery?  Absolutely NOT.  The DKA (“Dominique Kouign Amann”) was amazing.  THIS is what I wanted The Cronut to be.  The dough is flaky, the crust sweet and crunchy and caramelized.  THIS was the divine bakery treat that made the trip worth it.

I just realized I missed the photos of the DKM.  I guess I’ll just have to go back.

Dominique Ansel Bakery

189 Spring Street

New York, NY 10012