In honor of National Croissant Day, Abby, Meredith and I conducted a very official taste test of our favorite French pastry. To brighten a brisk Monday morning, we brought croissants from three local cafes and bakeries to our office. On the roster we had the east coast coffee-roasting favorite La Colombe, the international superstar Paul, and the D.C. native Firehook Bakery. Check out our ratings below to see which croissant became our across-the-board office winner!
#1. Paul’s Plain Croissant
First up to the plate came a plain croissant which can be found at any Paul bakery around the world. We were immediately pleased with its flakiness; shavings of the pastry crumbled around us. Abby was impressed with how it managed to be simultaneously soft on the inside, but crunchy on the outside. Meredith commented on how buttery the croissant was, our finger pads growing greasy. It was a bit messy, but is it even a croissant if you stay clean throughout the eating experience?
Appearance: 4
Taste: 4
Consistency: 5
#2. La Colombe’s Plain Croissant
Next came another plain croissant from La Colombe, whose coffee we adore. We were struck by how perfect the croissant looked. Almost too perfect. When we cut into it, we saw layers of flaky pastry like the rings of Saturn, Abby noted. In terms of flakiness, the croissant held its form pretty well when cut or bitten into, preventing a mess. However, it was so chewy it reminded us more of challah than the famous French pastry, but we weren’t necessarily mad about it.
Appearance: 5
Taste: 4
Consistency: 3
#3. Firehook’s Chocolate Almond and Almond Croissants
To add some variety, we changed it up by testing Firehook’s specialty croissants: the almond and chocolate almond. Off the bat, we weren’t thrilled with the appearance of either. They both looked squished, as if they were sitting at the bottom of the grocery bag. The almond croissant, dusted with almonds and filled with an almond paste, was so rich that Abby called it a “diabetes situation”. The chocolate croissant was drizzled and stuffed with chocolate and almond slivers, and was almost hard to enjoy with the overwhelming almond flavor still looming.
Appearance: 2
Taste: 3
Consistency: 4
THE RESULTS…
Unanimously, Abby, Meredith and I agreed that ….. Paul’s croissant was are favorite! Aesthetically, it looked the most appealing. It had a bit of crunch, it had density, and it had buttery flakiness. We couldn’t have asked for more. We’ll definitely be visiting Paul for more of these delicacies soon. Probably by the end of the day.