Postings by Dope on the Slope have been spotty of late.
The rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated. I may have gone a little nuts, but I have not been consumed by rodents. However, I have
been consumed by business travel and work…
Dope did, however, take the time to take his own Croissant Test at Colson’s Patisserie and Sweet Melissa’s, two new, hihg quality pastry shops in the slopeshere.
So I decided to
give both establishments the croissant test. In my opinion, the standard by
which one should judge any patisserie is the quality of their croissant. I
admit that this standard is flawed given that what constitutes the
"perfect" croissant is ultimately a matter of taste, but the
variables that matter for me are: flakiness, butteriness, and
"weight." A doughy, leaden croissant with not a hint of butter flavor
is a zero, while a light, ultra-flaky butter bomb is Nirvana. By this measure,
Colson is the clear winner. The Sweet Melissa croissant is decent (3 out of 5), but it can’t
compete with Colson’s (4.5 out of 5). The
difference is service was evident on my subsequent visit as well. The counter
at Sweet Melissa was in complete disarray, while the service at Colson was
delayed but adequate. For more go to Dope on the Slope.
The co-owner of Colson is Belgian. Skip the croissants and try his Belgian-style pastries. His tarte belge is filled with a delicate layer of riz au lait, which can only be described as a subtle rice pudding.
Well, I was permanently spoiled by Parisian croissants, especially the buttery, flaky, come-apart-in-your-hands variety. Needs a towellete after eating. The best ones I’ve had recently were in SF in a Vietnamese bakery on Haight Street. Croissants sans tons of butter=bad bread substitute.