Dear Gluttons,
After a
long week of lectures about sugar it was easy to imagine what your dear
gluttons had on their minds. Luckily for us, we had heard of just the place to
get our fix of tasty treats; Crisan. If you haven’t heard of this place by
now, shame on you! This cozy little bakery sits quietly among the bustle of
Lark Street, waiting for you to come in and sample its goods. Well once that
last class ended, we drove right on down and had a sugar feast!
Now there
is nothing we love more than trying out something new. Even better is trying
something new and loving it! And even better is trying and loving two new things! Exactly the case
with the Tea Please and Lavander Cake pastries we had. Both were
fairly light pastries, perfect ways to end a heavy meal or as a light snack
with coffee (although, don’t take our word that they are light in terms of
calories, no promises there).
The Tea Please is a green tea buttery cream
almond cake and the lighter of the two. The texture of the cake itself is very
soft and moist and the cream is a light coating between the cake layers. As you may have gleaned from the previous posts, we studious gluttons have a fine appreciation for subtle flavor and this pastry is very subtle. The lighness and subtlety of this pastry make it a light and wonderful choice for those who want something a little different but would rather slowly work their way in.
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| Right: Lavender Cookie Cake, Center: Tea Please |
Now that we were warmed up with some light hors d'oeuvre (any light post-meal dessert is a suitable appetizer for a dessert feast), we were ready for some heavier fare. What better than and indulgent Mint Brownie and a European delight, the Nutella Croissant?
Now don't take the following brevity as a lack of quality on the Croissant's part. It was delicious! Flakey pastry with buttery rich Nutella, we really don't have to preach it's virtues. You know what you are signing up for! We just hope that one day soon there will be some Nutella feature co-starring bananas. Eat healthy. Sort of.
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| Left: Nutella Croissant, Right: Mint Brownie |
The Mint Brownie, on the other hand, is very special. To be honest it is not really a mint brownie. When you bite in there is no mint flavor, just the cool sensation of mint. And that to us, is, well, cool, because the brownie itself is GREAT. We don't want any strong mint flavor cramping this brownie's style. The brownie is very rich and on the darker/mocha-esque side; so in less words, perfect. Unless you grabbed them right out of the oven, you couldn't do better. And so that cool mint effect is just the right way to add a twist without ruining a good thing. To be fair to the mint, it does make a return appearance, this time in flavor, at the end. It is slight but noticeable, and we enjoyed it. It was a nice way to wrap up a memorable mint brownie experience (one that we will probably repeat very very soon).
What makes Crisan even more amazing is that while they have amazing pastries and baked goods, they have a huge variety of Gelato too! We are pretty confident when we say there probably is a Crisan in heaven. In addition to the standard flavors, Crisan had some unique flavors we hadn't seen before like Pomegranate and Blood Orange. Expect a follow up to this review, dedicated to Gelato and you our dear readers. For you we taste it all!
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| Heaven? |
So filled up on coffee and desserts we exited Crisan, with smiles from ear to ear. And we are sure that if you make time in your schedule to stop by, you will leave just as elated as we were.
