At his first new NYC bakery in six years, Dominique Ansel, the inventor of such Willy Wonka-y wonders as Cookie Shots, What-a-Melon Soft Serve sandwiches, and, most famously, the Cronut, is sticking to the basics. "The focus of the new shop is croissants," Ansel said in a press release. "And more specifically that beautiful process of lamination where layers of butter go between dough and give you this beautiful flakiness. For me, that's the ultimate treat."
Plenty of his fans seem to agree, and on opening day last Friday the line for Dominique Ansel Workshop stretched around the block. Things had calmed down slightly by Sunday morning when I finally made it over to East 27th Street, but there was still plenty of enthusiasm in the air and lots of different sorts of croissants and other viennoiseries that needed to be eaten. By me.
There are seven types of croissants from which to choose, starting with a "plain," which is anything but. Ansel only uses the legendary Beurre d'Isigny in these beauties, and Les Grands Moulins de Paris flour, and the levain starter is from the same batch he started 10 years ago in his first SoHo shop. It eats like a soft, buttery dream come true. Also extremely good: the Olive Oil Croissant, which arrives with a hint of rosemary and garlic and would be perfect for Ansel's Le Breakfast Sandwich, stuffed with a French omelet and Boursin cheese.
There's a Ham and Cheese Croissant with Gruyère, a Multigrain (wheat, quinoa, barley malt, chia seeds, oatmeal, sesame seeds, rye), a gooey Almond Croissant, and a Pain au Chocolat, which conceals three batons of chocolate rather than the usual two. Finally in this section, you'll find the Brown Sugar DKA (Dominique's Kouign Amann), a "caramelized croissant" and rightly celebrated as one of his greatest creations.
Several rows of desserts (which I ate for breakfast) are in the pastry case as well. The Honey-Roasted Peach Danish looks lovely and tastes even better, the striking, egg-yolk-yellow fruit sitting on a bed of creamy almond frangipane and nestled neatly in a flaky crust. Ansel's ingenuity is given a showcase in the Huckleberry & Vanilla Riz Au Lait Cube, a laminated brioche that somehow houses multiple layers of rice pudding and smears of tart jam without falling apart.
Other sweets include a Hazelnut Praliné Coffee Triangle, a Honeycrisp Apple Rosette, and a Brioche Bressane plump with crème fraîche and finished with orange blossom water, star anise powder, and crunchy pearl sugar. For something savory, there's the egg and Boursin sandwich mentioned above, Quiche Lorraine with lardon, a Tomato Tart Tatin, and some warm cheesy balls of joy called Crispy Molten Comté Gougère. A full coffee program provides ample amounts of caffeine if you're so inclined.
The Workshop space takes over the whole front section of Ansel's central pastry production kitchen in the Flatiron District, which you can see through the large windows behind the ordering counter. The pastry case up here lays out all the day's goodies, a Test Kitchen area will soon start hosting classes and collabs, retail-type shelving hawks Ansel's two cookbooks, and there's a narrow selfie-set of sorts made from the Workshop's shiny orange boxes.
There's no seating inside, just a few yellow tables out on the sidewalk for those of us who want to dive in immediately. Madison Square Park, located a block away, makes for an excellent picnic spot as well. And although it's not a traditional storefront, the place itself is easy to find; just look for the enormous floral wreaths surrounding the front door and all four windows.
Dominque Ansel Workshop is located at 17 East 27th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues, and is currently open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (212-901-1015; dominiqueanselworkshop.com)
