I’m complaining. Actually I think I’ll back up and talk about Mondays and my daughter, well, one of my daughters, and then I’ll get to the pain au chocolat.
I love Mondays. I never suffer those Monday morning blues because Monday is my catch up day. After hubby has been home for three days in a row- he’s very distracting - and after we’ve had a busy weekend like this past weekend, Mondays are pure pleasure.
This morning Jake got himself invited to a going away party. One of his girlfriends, Olivia, is moving away, so all the dogs in her play group received a phone call to come play on Olivia’s last day. Oh so sad!
After I dropped Jake off, who was quite excited to see his girls, I stopped at a nearby primo bakery to pick up a pain au chocolat. There’s nothing better than a fresh buttery chocolaty pain au chocolat. And I don’t eat them often, like maybe once a year if that, but I’d stopped in the bakery last week with my daughter and I thought the chocolate croissants looked good so I wanted to try one.
Imagine… Monday morning, 9 a.m. The pain au chocolat oughta be fresh, right? Delectable. Tasty.
No. Damn it. First clue: I reached into the bag and attempted to tear the pain au chocolat in half, it didn’t tear. Had to wait until I parked so I could use both hands to pull it apart.
Here’s what’s wonderful about a chocolate croissant - a good chocolate croissant is delicate, tender, flaky, buttery but not greasy, it’s not sweet but it should contain enough chocolate to provide a nice contrast to the savory pastry. Tender really is the operative word here.
This particular pain au chocolat was dry and crispy, the first taste coated the roof of my mouth with a greasy film, and I noted that it contained very little chocolate. I ate a couple small test bites and then found a flock of crows… wait, that would be a murder of crows… ripped the thing apart and tossed it to them. I’m sure they enjoyed it. Be warned - birds should not eat chocolate. However there was so little chocolate involved I wasn’t particularly worried.
I know a stale croissant when I taste one because in one of my professional incarnations I was a pastry chef. And anyway I have a really sensitive palate so if I hadn’t been a pastry chef I would still have cried foul, or fowl if I was a murder of crows.
Pissed me off. $3.75 for crow food. The upshot? Won’t stop at that bakery again because I learned the following- on a Monday morning, when most people visiting a bakery are looking for a nice treat, I got stuck with a stale pain au chocolat. Obviously the bakery had some left over from the weekend and somebody in charge decided to foist them off on the public. I feel so disrespected.
Is there a point to my rant? Your guess is as good as mine. Now I have to make my own pain au chocolat. Yeah… yeah… I’ll let you know how it turns out. Oh, maybe the take home message is don’t foist stale crap on the public.
Oh, my daughter? You’ll have to wait for another day.
Good God! stale ‘pain au chocolate and you only have one or two a year. My old bird has 3 yes THREE almost every morning, except this Monday morning (yesterday) as I got her some tattie scones!! And still she doesn’t put any weight on ……
Glad you got the ‘murder’ correct it would have been terrible if Juliapedia had had to issue a correction; you should have gone back and murdered the bakery person for selling stale food, what a ‘pain’ get it pain as in pain au…. oh never mind
You’d think being Scottish and fat these would appeal to me, but never had one, chocolate inside a croissant that is, always preferred plain one’s….
Oh! did I say I think you people are nuts, (but still Lurv you of course) parties for pets, hey sous… nuts I say, nuts…..
Well that just sucks. My first job was in a bakery. The owners wouldn’t consider keeping food after the day was over.
My catch up day is Wednesday..when I’m home with just the three dogs.
That stinks Julia! I’m sorry to hear that. Nothing is worse than chocolate disappointment.
My kids love those pastries. But they are very picky. They don’t like the ones from Whole Foods….I have to go to this totally amazing shop called Russo’s in Watertown and get them there. Since those aren’t on the “heart healthy” diet I eat oatmeal and watch the kids enjoy them. *grumble*
Left over pastry = crap. Monday…well, dear, my spousal unit is here EVERY day. Yes, EVERY day. Say no more… it’s a miracle I get anything written.
Ok that super sucks…Now you made me want one too by the way.
Makes me feel like baking my own, Savannah!
It is a miracle you get anything done, Anny. While I concentrate best against noise… not his. Yes, leftover pastry = crap!
Penny, I agree with your kids and they’re right, the pastries from WF suck.
That’s right, Casey - chocolate disappointment and it’s hard to disappoint with chocolate!
Oh, Amber, three dogs would be great - I know what you mean! I’ve worked in many restaurants and bakeries. Don’t serve stale stuff. Either give it to a homeless shelter or save it for bread pudding.
LOL, Tom! Birds don’t get fat! My sister’s bird loves them too! I’m so picky and such a control freak that I don’t allow myself to eat more than one or two a year. If I was in France… maybe.
Puppy camp had the party for Olivia. She’s part of the socialization group Jake entered with and yes, we are nuts. No question about it.
Speaking of nuts, I do love a grilled croissant with peanut butter, banana and honey. And if you toss some crispy bacon on it, it’s even better. Of course that is once a year!
You should have stayed at Jake’s girlfriend’s “Bye,Bye, Olivia” party, Julia. No chocolate there, so nothing to disappoint.
If you’d had less patience, you’d have torn into it before you reached the bakery door and traded it for a fresh, tender one. Self-restraint isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, not with anything chocolate.
You know, Marylin, I shoulda - either! If I’d touched it before she bagged it I would have known instantly. But… live and learn. Making my own from now on!