Croissants

[Ferhat Yalcin]

The real star is the croissant. I am a bit of a croissant snob, and I absolutely love their croissants, I have not had a better croissant anywhere in Arlington, or DC for that matter. If you are in the area, I strongly suggest you try one of their croissants fresh out of the oven.

You should try the croissant at Best Bun bakery in Shirlington.

[DonRocks]

You should try the croissant at Best Bun bakery in Shirlington.

Exactly what popped into my mind (thanks to you)! A surprisingly good croissant.

[eatdrinkmore]

Well I guess I know what I am doing this weekend.

Do you know of any other good places? Marvelous Market - Terrible. Starbucks - even worse.

[schulju]

~ducks~ Don't laugh! But the frozen croissants at Trader Joe's are really really good. You do have to have some foresight, because you need to let them rise overnight (7-9 hours) before you can bake them. They bake up wonderfully flakey. A hot croissant that you can have without having to change out of your jammies is definitely worth something in my book!

[porcupine]

Well I guess I know what I am doing this weekend.

Do you know of any other good places? Marvelous Market - Terrible. Starbucks - even worse.

Saint Michel in Rockville. Praline in Bethesda.

[dmwine]

~ducks~ Don't laugh! But the frozen croissants at Trader Joe's are really really good. You do have to have some foresight, because you need to let them rise overnight (7-9 hours) before you can bake them. They bake up wonderfully flakey. A hot croissant that you can have without having to change out of your jammies is definitely worth something in my book!

Saint Michel in Rockville. Praline in Bethesda.

I second both of these! The TJ's croissants are surprisingly good. At Saint Michel, be sure to get the croissants made with Charentes butter. They cost all of a few cents more, but it's like a plane ticket to France!

[Chocolatechipkt]

Bonaparte Breads, at the Dupont farmers market on Sunday and the Chevy Chase/Lafayette market on Saturday (and else where, I'm sure ... they're out of Baltimore), has great croissants.

[rothand]

Patisserie Poupon on Wisconsin.

[jndaven]

Do you know of any other good places? Marvelous Market - Terrible. Starbucks - even worse.

Which Marvelous Market? I think they don't bake them in house or source consistently, depending on the branch, so the quality varies. The Mclean Marvelous Market appears to get their pastries from a local bakery named Bread House (or Bread Republic) in Falls Church. At least, the selection, appearance, and taste are the same as Bread House's, though I have not confirmed the source with the vendor. I like Bread House croissants a lot. and prefer then to Bonaparte Breads, both of which can be bought at the Falls Church Farmer's Market if you don't like the crush of Dupont. Bonaparte's almond and chocolate croissant fillings are way too sweet for me and overpowering, and tend to get squashed when purchased at the markets. Bread House croissants are less soggy-buttery, and more crisp-buttery. Their brioche-based pastries, sticky buns and cinnamon buns, are my favorite though! And, not to knock them, I still like a Bonaparte croissant from time to time. The variety of pastries they offer can't be beat.

Starbucks is bad. Definitely! It gets way too dried out in those freezers/fridges all day and is too dry and chewy.

[DonRocks]

The Mclean Marvelous Market appears to get their pastries from a local bakery named Bread House (or Bread Republic) in Falls Church. At least, the selection, appearance, and taste are the same as Bread House's, though I have not confirmed the source with the vendor. I like Bread House croissants a lot. and prefer then to Bonaparte Breads, both of which can be bought at the Falls Church Farmer's Market if you don't like the crush of Dupont. Bonaparte's almond and chocolate croissant fillings are way too sweet for me and overpowering, and tend to get squashed when purchased at the markets. Bread House croissants are less soggy-buttery, and more crisp-buttery. Their brioche-based pastries, sticky buns and cinnamon buns, are my favorite though! And, not to knock them, I still like a Bonaparte croissant from time to time. The variety of pastries they offer can't be beat.

I didn't know this about the McLean Marvelous Market, but regardless, the baker is now called Baguette Republic (used to be called Bread House).

Cheers,

Rocks

[monavano]

Hollin Hall Pastry Shop in Alexandria also sells croissants at the Old Town market on Sat.

Croissants, Pain au Chocolate, and scones are very good.

Bonjour La Parisienne also sells croissants at Old Town market. We've enjoyed their ciabatta (that I've bought for $2) bread that is truly slipper-shaped and excellent for paninis.

[goodeats]

I didn't know this about the McLean Marvelous Market, but regardless, the baker is now called Baguette Republic (used to be called Bread House).

I swore we had a topic about this place, but apparently we don't. Either way, I wanted to report that they are no longer on Route 7/E. Broad Street and is now located in Sterling. The store is empty but I see them at the Falls Church Farmers' Market on Saturdays still.