Anyone who loves sweets have heard of Dominique Ansel Bakery, when they became super popular when their Cronut hit their shelves. Now, the bakery has a twin sister, Dominique Ansel Kitchen. They call this one more of a “tomboy” version. So, whats the difference between the two? Here at the “Kitchen,” they combined bakery with a restaurant service kitchen, allowing them to prepare more than 70% of the menu when you order them. Sounds good to me! We got there late, so there was almost no one there.
The inside is roomy and bright, with staircase benches on the right, and their kitchen to the left. The staircase benches had round cushions and square wood crate container as mini side tables. How considerate! They do have table seating as well, but just one large metal table, with around 6-7 bar stools around it.
There is a display of good in the middle of the floor, and bright show window in fron of their kitchen. I looked like a good size cafe, when it is nearly empty, but I can see it gets packed during busy hours.
And this place has all the beautiful, yummy treats, it will keep bringing more and more customers in. On the counter top, they have baked goods. Everything from croissants, beignets, brownies, cookies and many more. If these beauties were not enough to be attractive on its own (and they totally were), they also decorated the counter top with fall leaves for Autumn season.
Inside the refrigerated show window are elegant cakes and tarts. They all looked super amazingly gorgeous, I wanted to order every single one of them… But, I am not ready to buy bigger sized clothes or empty out my wallet. So, we decided to order just two items.
And they have few other things that are really considerate throughout the cafe. No one needs to wonder what their offerings are, and description for each items. They have photos with names and descriptions of their offerings above the refrigerated show windows. Very helpful. And even though they offer coffee and other beverages, for those who wants water, they have complimentary water with cups buy the metal table. Very cool.
The first item we ordered was Cloud Puff ($6.75), the white, fluffy cloud was calling me… It is a light airy cream puff filled with lemon orange blossom curd, with a kick of citrus marmalade. I chose this without reading the description, it just looked that good. It was a good size, enough to share between the two of us.
It was when I cut it into half that I realized it is a cream puff, filled with generous amount of decadent cream. It had a nice gradation of colors, from the custard to pinkish to white. The pastry puff was light but strong, holding all the cream in its place, without breaking or becoming soggy. It was kind of like pie and cookie got married and made this puff pastry. The cream had vanilla bean, and had great orange flavor without being too overpowering. Velvety, decadent, super delicious!
The second item we ordered was mini matcha beignets ($6.50/6 pcs). This is one of the items that are made to order. We originally ordered this to go, so they put them in a box. But, they were piping hot, right out of the oven. And you know they are the best when eaten right when they are still hot. So, we decided to eat one of them right there before taking the rest of them home.
The little bit of the macha powdered sugar got taken off by the top of the box, but they still looked good. And they were piping hot, pillowy-soft, just heavenly. They were lightly fried, so it was not greasy at all. And having one fluffy beignet, it was just a matter of time before all of them just disappeared… Yes, we scarfed them down, could not resist those cute little delightful things.
So, what I learned from this trip was that I need to go back again and again, until I get to try them all. And I hear they make some seasonal items as well, so my trip to Dominique Ansel Kitchen might never end… The staffs were nice and polite, friendly and welcoming.
Dominique Ansel Kitchen – 137 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014