happy_stomach wrote:

viaChgo wrote:I'm a huge fan of Meinl's croissants as well and assumed they were making them in house. But someone told me that they come frozen. I never substantiated this rumor. But they are damn good croissants. Maybe they come directly from the mothership in Austria?

I sent them a message this morning. Hopefully, we'll have an answer soon.

Did you ever receive a response?

Gypsy Boy wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:

viaChgo wrote:I'm a huge fan of Meinl's croissants as well and assumed they were making them in house. But someone told me that they come frozen. I never substantiated this rumor. But they are damn good croissants. Maybe they come directly from the mothership in Austria?

I sent them a message this morning. Hopefully, we'll have an answer soon.

Did you ever receive a response?

I didn't get an answer to my email (only sent it yesterday morning), but I just called the patisserie, and the woman who answered said they get "a lot of things," including their croissants, from European Imports. They just proof the croissants and bake them.

PitaChip wrote:

Kennyz wrote:The only place where I've physically witnessed croissant-making is Beans & Bagels. Timeout or someone last year rated them as the Best Something in One of Our 800 Something Categories on one of our 7,000 "Best Of" Lists. I've tried these croissants three times now, and each has been underbaked, with unmelted chunks of butter still in the dough and a too-thick egg wash to provide a rich, golden color that belies the underdoneness.

Kenny, my experience at Beans & Bagels has been exactly the opposite. Their croissants are the closest thing I've had in Chicago to the magic of croissants in Paris. Flaky, crispy on the outside and perfectly billowy on the inside. I've taken a particular shine to the spinach variety.

Hope you haven't completely given up on them yet. (Though one experience of unmelted chunks of butter and I probably wouldn't have given them 2 more chances, so more power to you.)

4th time was not a charm, unfortunately. Not really underbaked, but chewy rather than flaky, and I could actually taste the egg wash, which is not something I want in a croissant. There was very little mess on the table or my shirt when I was finished, and crumby mess is a telltale sign of a well made croissant.

Beans & Bagels Croissant:


Pulled open with barely 3-4 crumbs escaping:


Too-clean table and wrapper when finished (pristine shirt and lap not pictured):

This thread inspired me to pick up a croissant from Bennison's at the Andersonville farmers' market yesterday. Even though I only ate half of it (saving the smaller half for my better half), I still managed to get most of the crust on my shirt.

Kenny, I admire your devotion to thorough research.

I'm shocked that Vanille has not been mentioned. I've always been of the assumption that they make their own croissants from scratch. Am I wrong or has everyone simply forgotten about them?

As for the quality of their croissants, I find that the quality is often excellent, but I have purchased croissants from them which are not as fresh and/or not as flaky.

I also think Bittersweet on Belmont makes their own from scratch, but while I like the flavor, the croissants are never authentic . . . not flaky in the least and I would never recommend them to someone seeking a true croissant.

BR wrote:I'm shocked that Vanille has not been mentioned. I've always been of the assumption that they make their own croissants from scratch. Am I wrong or has everyone simply forgotten about them?

As for the quality of their croissants, I find that the quality is often excellent, but I have purchased croissants from them which are not as fresh and/or not as flaky.

I also think Bittersweet on Belmont makes their own from scratch, but while I like the flavor, the croissants are never authentic . . . not flaky in the least and I would never recommend them to someone seeking a true croissant.

Love the Vanille croissants almost as much as Meinl, so I am going to assume they come from European Imports.

Kennyz wrote:

BR wrote:I'm shocked that Vanille has not been mentioned. I've always been of the assumption that they make their own croissants from scratch. Am I wrong or has everyone simply forgotten about them?

Love the Vanille croissants almost as much as Meinl, so I am going to assume they come from European Imports.

This is the news that broke my heart. I've been too sad to call and verify the supplier.

Kennyz wrote:

BR wrote:I'm shocked that Vanille has not been mentioned. I've always been of the assumption that they make their own croissants from scratch. Am I wrong or has everyone simply forgotten about them?

As for the quality of their croissants, I find that the quality is often excellent, but I have purchased croissants from them which are not as fresh and/or not as flaky.

I also think Bittersweet on Belmont makes their own from scratch, but while I like the flavor, the croissants are never authentic . . . not flaky in the least and I would never recommend them to someone seeking a true croissant.

Love the Vanille croissants almost as much as Meinl, so I am going to assume they come from European Imports.

I would be very very surprised if they didn't make them in-house. I'll ask Keli when I see her next.

What about GNR Marie's Bakery in Highwood? I've seen croissants of various types in their case. They seem to make everything else in house, so probably they make the croissants, too. Does anyone know for sure?

stevez wrote:What about GNR Marie's Bakery in Highwood? I've seen croissants of various types in their case. They seem to make everything else in house, so probably they make the croissants, too. Does anyone know for sure?

HI,

Shame on me, I never noticed any. I will inquire when I am there next.

If there are so many bakeries purchasing frozen, you may as well buy frozen croissants from Williams and Sonoma or Trader Joe's to bake it yourself.

Regards,

Vanille makes their own croissants, how could an owner that teaches at the French Pastry School not make their own? Had one from the French market yesterday, it was wonderful. The market, at 6 pm was shockingly empty. Even the actual food-to-order booths had no customers, employees were reading books. Does not bode well for the future.

Hi,

What are the hours for the market on Wednesdays? I am not close enough to contemplate visiting, though I assumed by evening it was closed. I may not be alone thinking this.

Regards,

They are actually open until 7:30 on weekdays. Also, I have found that in front of their door on the West side, they have a 15 minute loading zone, put your flashers on, and parking is actually FREE!!

Bernard Runo, who used to run Sweet Thang when it was on North, made absolutely killer croissants. And I can vouch for their in-houseness. We lived upstairs and would get blasted with the butter smell around 3:00 every morning

I know he didn't have anything to do with the second location, and I can't seem to find anything recent about him, but if he's still in the city somewhere baking croissants, find him.

GNR Nhu Lan makes their own croissants. I just bought one, but have not yet tried it. Judging by their other bread products, I'm expecting it to be very good.

Fox & Obel makes their own croissants (my favorite almond croissant in the city). Leonidas (Chicago and Wilmette locations) gets theirs from European Imports.

stevez wrote:GNR Nhu Lan makes their own croissants. I just bought one, but have not yet tried it. Judging by their other bread products, I'm expecting it to be very good.

To follow up, the Nhu Lan croissant is more like an airy brioche than a flaky croissant. Traditionalists would be appalled, but I thought despite it's shortcomings as a croissant, it was very good.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Red Hen. I don't have recent knowledge, but they definitely made their own croissants when I worked there about 8 years ago.

Last January I found out that Fritz Pastry on Diversey Parkway in Chicago makes very good croissants.
Until then my favorite croissants were from Bennison's in Evanston.
But I read that Bonjour bakery in Hyde Park produces some very good croissants too.

stevez wrote:What about GNR Marie's Bakery in Highwood? I've seen croissants of various types in their case. They seem to make everything else in house, so probably they make the croissants, too. Does anyone know for sure?

The answer is, yes, they do make htier own croissants, though there were none in their case late yesterday afternoon.

When I can't get them from the nuns of St. Roger's Abbey at Hyde Park Produce (that is, it is not the weekend), then Bonjour Cafe and Bakery does an admirable job. I believe The Med Bakery croissants are made in-house as well. While not at all an expert in French cuisine, I think the nuns do the best job on a croissant in Chicago, and for the lowest price--after all, they barely speak English, so for authenticity they win. The two dollar price tag is sweet, too. Their other times and locations elude me right now.

Bonjour Cafe/Bakery
1550 E 55th St
Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 241-5300

Med Bakery
1327 E 57th St
Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 667-7394
(The bakery entrance is east of the restaurant entrance)

Hyde Park Produce
1226 E 53rd St
Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 324-7100
(The nuns sell assorted pastries here on weekends, inside the store by the windows in front)

Cinnamon Girl wrote:They are actually open until 7:30 on weekdays. Also, I have found that in front of their door on the West side, they have a 15 minute loading zone, put your flashers on, and parking is actually FREE!!

In addition to the loading zone, you can park for up to an hour in the covered, ground-level parking just north of Randolph (just north of the French Market); it's free if you have $20+ of purchases. For a map and details, see the market's website.

happy_stomach wrote:Fox & Obel makes their own croissants (my favorite almond croissant in the city).

Mine too!

happy_stomach wrote:Fox & Obel makes their own croissants (my favorite almond croissant in the city). Leonidas (Chicago and Wilmette locations) gets theirs from European Imports.

They do? I guess I just assumed Leonidas gets theirs from Vanille, since they sell Vanille's entremets there.

Two new, excellent bakeries have opened: Alliance Bakery in Wicker Park, and Floriole in Lincoln Park. Both have lots of great baked goods, but I give the edge in croissants to Alliance.

nsxtasy wrote:Two new, excellent bakeries have opened: Alliance Bakery in Wicker Park, and Floriole in Lincoln Park. ....

new? I'm pretty sure Alliance was there when I lived in the neighborhood in 2002.

Sorry, I had never heard of it before seeing it mentioned recently in the Tribune, so I guess it was an erroneous assumption on my part. I'm pretty darn sure they're still making their own croissants, even after eight years.

Floriole opened three months ago, so I would consider it new.

no problem, thanks for reminding me about the place. Years ago I was hooked on Alliance's very tart, buttery lemon bars. Might be time to have one again soon.

nsxtasy wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:Leonidas (Chicago and Wilmette locations) gets theirs from European Imports.

They do? I guess I just assumed Leonidas gets theirs from Vanille, since they sell Vanille's entremets there.

My understanding is that they used to get their croissants from Vanille but no longer.

Kennyz wrote:Years ago I was hooked on Alliance's very tart, buttery lemon bars. Might be time to have one again soon.

Their bar desserts are still the best thing they do (though I've never had a cake from there). Stay away from the cookies. Black and whites were inconsistent, then wildly inconsistent, then consistently bad. Blagojevich frosted sugar cookie was cute as a button but tasted like wood. Macarons are OK, say better than Delightful Pastries, but nowhere near the quality of Vanille or Macaron Chicago.

Alliance: stay very far away from the cupcakes, dry..blech. I always want to get something there, usually just end with coffee, because I haven't tasted any good pastry. Thanks for the bars tip.. back to croissants...

Cook-au-vin (the questionable name aside) has very good croissants. Have had them at the Logan Sq Farmers Market. They also have a small storefront on Elston, which I've never been to, and they are opening up in Logan Square soon. I'm guessing they make their own, but don't know that. I'm not sure I care that much either.

Their baguettes are decent, not superb, and always seem to have too much excess flour.

http://cook-au-vin.com/

'bake', 2246 west north avenue, makes its own croissants. eric estrella, who owns it with his wife jennifer is head pastry chef at the ritz carlton, former corporate chef at francois payard in NYC. he makes the croissants for his own bakery by hand-the way one would at home; i'm guessing his output isn't huge. i think they're delicious. justjoan


edited to correct the name to 'bake'.

Newly opened La Boulangerie makes one hell of a flaky, buttery croissant. Unfortunately, they opened in a space with one severe limitation: they are not allowed to sell croissants. At least not in the normal, stop in on your way to work kind of way. New Wave coffee, a couple of storefronts over, has a clause in its contract with the building that prohibits anyone else from coming in and selling individual pastries. They're allowed to sell loaves of bread. I hope La Boulangerie got one hell of a deal on rent, because otherwise it seems like a strange decision to open here.

You can purchase a dozen croissants at a time from La Boulangerie. I did that today, and they allowed me to take 2 with me, with 10 more on reserve. They kept a little card with my name on it and will mark it off as I exaust my 12 pre-purchased croissants. Worked for me since I've had they're fabulous croissants elsewhere, but this seems like a showstopping arrangement for the many potential customers who've not yet tried one.

La Boulangerie
2569 N Milwaukee Ave
(773) 358-2569