I am a fan of Dominique Ansel Bakery, and I have visited Dominuque Ansel Kitchen twice (you can read about them here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/dominique-ansel-kitchen/  and  http://www.foodlovergirl.com/dominique-ansel-kitchen-2/ ). I even visited the ones in Japan (you can read about them here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/dominique-ansel-bakery-omotesando/  and   http://www.foodlovergirl.com/dominique-ansel-bakery-ginza/ ). But yet, I still haven’t visited Dominique Ansel Bakery in NYC…until now. With its crazy popularity, I have been avoiding them…Dominique Ansel Kitchen is less crowded, and therefore easier to get their wonderful sweets from there. One weekday when I was taking a day off from work, I decided to go, thinking it will be less crowded.

When we walked in, there were some lines, but it didn’t look too long…until we were instructed to move to the end of the line, which was on the other side. The front of the line is under the sign that says “Order Here” which is at the front, near the entrance. To get to the end of the line, we had to go away from the entrance, towards the back. The line was still not too bad.

Along the line, we got to see some of their offerings on the wall and inside the refrigerated showcase window. On the wall, they had some granola, popcorn, and colorful mini meringues among some other items. It is a good place to pick up some nice little gift, even if you are coming here to have desserts.

Then there are all the beautiful goodies, from cakes, tarts, and all other special dessert creations… We went during the Thanksgiving season, so the decoration was all bright orange and yellow to set the Autumn mood. I love the seasonal cream puffs, and it was a super cute owl for this day.

As for seating, they have a small seating space right by the entrance. This space is most intimate and cozy, with a nice view of this shop. We were super lucky to snatch up a table right here! Yes, visiting DAB on a weekday really is working out well…

At the back of the ordering counter, they have a seating along the narrow hallway. This is the least comfortable seating space in my opinion… It is better to check the seating area in the back before you decide to sit at one of these tables, if there is a choice.

Why? Because there is a large, open, bright seating space in the back! Half of which is in the indoor, and the other half is outdoor. It was a very cold day, so there was no one sitting outside. On a warm day, it would be a really nice spot to have desserts. A little oasis in a busy NYC streets.

Let’s go back inside where it is nice and warm… Near the ordering counter, they have a complimentary water, as all of their cafes have. They also have plastic utensils, napkins, straws and whatever else you might need right there. I always appreciate the complimentary water! You can’t have so much sweets without being able to clean out all that sugar in between.

And now it is time for some sweets! We were on a mission, with getting some very specific items. The first one was Madeleines ($6). This order comes with 10pc of Madeleines per order. If you want more, you can get 20pcs for $11. They are made to order, so they come nice and warm.

If you are thinking “Wow that is cheap!” don’t let them fool you… They are more of a “mini” Madeleines, not regular-sized Madeleines. They are cute and adorable, dusted with powder sugar on the top. Very fluffy, moist and sweet without being overly sweet. It was addictive and filling, even though they were small. I still think it is a good value for the amount and quality that you receive.

Next up was Frozen S’mores ($7). It is one of their signature items. It is quite interesting, and they start torching it when you order it. Kind of fun to watch them torch up your food!

So what makes this “Frozen”? Well, it has a honey marshmallow wrapped around a Tahitian vanilla ice cream with chocolate wafer crisps. Yes, ice cream in the middle, surrounded by torched marshmallow! How awesome is that? It is served on a smoked willow wood branch. It was pretty interesting indeed. To bite into a warm, soft, gooey marshmallow, then hit this super cold, firm, crunchy chocolate-covered ice cream. It was tasty, BUT, it was sooooo sweet, overly sweet for me. However, when you are combining marshmallow, chocolate and ice cream, I guess you can’t really control its sweetness…

Then the popular Blossoming Hot Chocolate ($7). It is a marshmallow flower that “blooms” inside a cup of their homemade Chef’s Hot Chocolate. The staff calls you before she/he puts the marshmallow flower, as they know that we all wants to watch it bloom, and also most of us want photo or video of it.

I asked if I can just have the marshmallow and put it in the cup myself at my table, but that is simply not allowed… I am not sure the reason why, but the staff has to do it. The female who put my marshmallow in my cup was really nice and sweet though. She asked me if I was ready (with my phone camera) before she carefully put it in the cup. Then the marshmallow flower slowly oped up as it melts down, right before my eyes.

The flower covered the whole top, and there were three little pearls in the middle, which were actually chocolate bonbons! The price tag is kind of high, but the cup is really large. I mean, really large. Unfortunately, there is no options for size when it comes to this particular drink item. And you can imagine, hot chocolate with large marshmallow on top is going to be sweet. Super sweet. It was too much sugar… a smaller size cup, like half the size or even smaller would be really good. The first few sips were really great though, before the sugar rush floods in.

But even with the sugar rush, we still had a few more things we had to get this day. We got another one of their signature item, DKA ($5.50). The name DKA stands for “Dominique’s Kouign Amann”and is a flaky and tender
bread with caramelized layers. It looks like an upside down short, fat muffin. We actually took this home and had it later. It was still nice and flaky. light and airy. It had nice caramel flavor and crunchy exterior, with a soft, moist layers of goodness.

The last but not least, their most famous item, Cronut ($6). This month, It was Hazelnut Ganache and Caramelized Banana Jam. They got put inside this bright package specialized to carry their cronut.

The cronut is a pretty good size, big and heavy. very, very filling. Even thought it is a baby with croissant and doughnut for mom and dad, I say the genes from doughnut is stronger than that of croissant. It is more doughy and chewly than flaky.

The banana flavor was nice, with very sweet caramel flavor was very dominant. Hazelnut went really nice with the caramelized banana jam, but overall, it was way to sweet. Maybe it was because we were already having other super sweet items, and that we were maxed out on sugar… But still, I think it is a bit too sweet. Other than that, yes it was tasty.

I waited for so long to visit this popular spot, and it was indeed filled with tourists… The cashier was not friendly, but rather cold… She was still polite (well, borderline…) but no smile, no warmth coming out of her. All the other locations that we visited had very nice and friendly staffs, so this was kind of sad. Again, the staff who prepared my booming hot chocolate was really nice, but that was about it… The store is clean, organized and I like how they have a good amount of seating in the back. I still haven’t tried their another signature item (I know, they have a lot of signature items), Chocolate Chip Cookie Shot. I need to go back one of these days to get this one… Then, our mission will be complete! Wait for me little cookie shot!

Dominique Ansel Bakery – 189 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012