The amount of press that the Brooklyn Heights' bakery L'Appartement 4F has garnered has been undeniably significant. And, lines of people waiting for their wares have been undeniably significant too.
The big thing at the bakery? Croissants.
Yes, they even sell itty-bitty Croissants packaged as cereal -- but it is the full-size Croissants that locals are clamoring for.
In the bakery's first few months, I tried a few times to snag one. I refused to line up and quickly learned that arriving at 11am was way too late to snag anything except their Tahini-Chocolate Chip Cookies.
While I am sure the cookies are mighty fine, I bake a mighty fine version myself, so that was a hard pass.
The other day the stars aligned. I had an early morning appointment on a late August weekday near Montague Street. I walked by the bakery. Three people in line and I spied Croissants still in the case.
I was going to do it!
I purchased a Croissant of the Raspberry-Almond variety. Pictured above, it has a lot going on. A split, twice-baked lovely, it had the requisite layered, buttery crackle I require in a good Croissant. The raspberry jam filling was sweet, but not a bit cloying. The almond was present, but didn't overtake the jam. The topping was a little much in my book - the dried raspberry bits in particular. That said, it was yummy. Definitely yummy. Stand-in-a-long-line yummy? Nope.
So, there you have it. My review of the Croissant-of-the-moment. Is it my new favorite? Nope again. The location of my favorite Croissant in New York City is only given to a handful of friends that I can trust with that closely-guarded intelligence. I don't want to see L'Appartement 4F-type lines there. I need access. Croissant-access is some of the very best access to have!
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