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Oak Mill Bakery - Croissant Quest 2010

Posted by Tammy at 7:00 am

Aug 192010

Spinach Croissant

Sitting in Oak Mill Bakery, I had a very earnest conversation with my friend Karen over the essential qualities of croissants. It’s good to revisit the topic and to see someone else apply their croissant judging skillz. I usually go for the plain croissants, but Karen had one of the spinach and feta-filled. According to her, it was very tasty with a strong, robust feta. The pastry, on the other hand, was a tad dense & chewy — perhaps necessary to support the filling. I had the plain, butter croissant, but it was unremarkable. While light and flaky, it was also very dry and didn’t have any distinctive butteriness.

Croissant

I liked Oak Mill. It’s a smallish, comfortable space with warm light. The staff didn’t mind us lingering over our baked goods even though we were there a while. Pictures of their specialty cakes are posted on the walls and there’s a huge book to browse through more. It’s their main line of business, and I’ll definitely keep them in mind if I need a cake made. I just wish their croissants were more impressive.

Inside Oak Mill Bakery

Plain croissant $1.25
Spinach croissant $1.95
Ham & cheese croissant $2.25

Oak Mill Bakery
2204 W. North Avenue
Chicago IL 60647
(773) 252-4400

Croissant Quest 2010 Establishments (in order of preference):

See the photo gallery of Croissant Quest 2010 bakeries.

Cafe Selmarie - Croissant Quest 2010

Posted by Tammy at 3:00 pm

Jul 302010

Croissant ala Cafe Selmarie.

Cafe Selmarie is a lovely restaurant and bakery in Lincoln Square and the tenth stop on Croissant Quest 2010. I tried a couple of times, but was never early enough to snag a chocolate or almond croissant. The fact that they’re always out of them should be a big hint for me to get there earlier. Oh, well. The run out of their plain croissants too, but I managed one morning to get one.

I have to say this is the most reasonably priced croissant for the quality on the Quest. $1.85? Yeah, I wish I’d picked up a couple of more. Cafe Selmarie’s croissants are light and buttery and are definitely in the top-half of spots. A side-effect of having such tasty treats is that the bakery is always crowded and it’s difficult to get a seat at the counter. Fortunately, you can take your baked goods to the square next door and eat them on a park bench.

Cafe Selmarie in Lincoln Square.

Cafe Selmarie
4729 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-2009
(773) 989-5595

Plain croissants are $1.85.

Croissant Quest 2010 Establishments (in order of preference):

See the photo gallery of Croissant Quest 2010 bakeries.

Bonjour Cafe Bakery - Croissant Quest 2010

Posted by Tammy at 7:00 am

Jul 202010

The croissants at Bonjour are elongated.

Tucked behind a Treasure Island in a Hyde Park shopping mall courtyard is Bonjour Cafe Bakery — the latest stop on Croissant Quest 2010. The recommendation came from one of our wonderful Facebook followers, and we’re glad we took the suggestion to trek South.

Slightly sweet, flaky, buttery but not oily, these croissants are definitely contenders for tops in the city. They come in the widest range of flavors I’ve seen thus far: strawberry cream, chocolate, spinach feta, multi-grain, ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, and plain. I also tried the spinach-feta, and thought the filling was perfectly balanced with the pastry.

The seating in the bakery is a little tight, but there’s a shady courtyard and seating for customer. A jazz quartet was playing in the courtyard when we were there, and that provided the perfect backdrop to enjoy these delicious pastries. If you head down there to try the croissant, bring your bills. Bonjour is cash only.