Wait List, July 28th

Living in New York City, arguably the commercial center of the universe, I see a lot of lines. Screaming face painted fans are sprawled out near Madison Square Garden during the playoffs. Crazy taxi queues pepper the entrances to most Midtown hotels. Hundreds of antsy out-of-towners idle on West 45th Street clamoring to see various Broadway shows. Hordes of folks stand between the velvet people stoppers ready to visit the Statue of Liberty.

Decked out deep pocketed plebeians anxious to enter the Fifth Avenue flagship of Louis Vuitton tap their well-heeled shoes until the line moves. And the majority of our collective caffeinated community stacks up at every Starbucks from here to Haverstraw. The literal “wait list” is endless.

But the lines I like least are when fanatical foodies and determined visitors all ceremoniously swarm to try the latest and greatest food fad. Dō in Greenwich Village had a line three blocks long for months with people dying to sample their edible cookie dough creations. By the way, yours truly walked by recently and there was not a human in store or outside. So if you’re still wanting to check that box, I’d go now before they go out of business.

I heard that Black Tap had to hire security to manage their line of impatient patrons desperate for a crazy over the top milkshake and a burger.

The newest food fad sweeping the City now is the “croissant” from Lafayette Grand Bakery downtown. I used the air quotes because these pastry monsters look nothing like traditional crescent shaped croissants. Instead they are round mounds of glazed goodness with some sort of fun topping and a creamy coordinated filling. Of course they arrive in limited edition flavors and Lafayette purposely makes just a small batch per day. So when they are sold out, it’s game over, regardless of the line.

In fairness, I had no idea how popular they were. So I buzzed by midafternoon on a random Sunday but alas they were completely sold out. So I took the opportunity to chat with one of the managers and he gave me the scoop. Apparently they make the croissants for an 8am breakfast rush and again at 11:45am for a second wave. Aha! I found the edge… I was guessing not everyone knew about round two.

So I strategically planned a noon lunch at Lafayette on a quiet Monday and walked in early at 11:40 to hit up in the bakery section. My heart dropped to my (empty) stomach when I saw the gaggle of gals ahead of me! (Are croissants chick food??) I was in serious jeopardy of an unexpected shutout. Apparently the secret was not well kept.

As luck would have it at 11:43am, two ladies walked carefully from the back and delivered the trays of croissants to the front bakery section. The flavors of the day were Rose Berry Spritz and Pain au Chocolat. The photo snapping frenzy began. I was indeed part of the madness.

When I checked the line and my chances, I wasn’t feeling all that confident. Then I overhead a shutterbug in front of me complain that they only sell one of each flavor per customer. Psych! When it was finally my turn I was able to score a Rose and a Chocolat, leaving just one lonely croissant for the chick behind me. I had the duo packaged in individual secure takeout boxes and skipped on over to my table to enjoy lunch. Total wait time: nine minutes, Insta bitches!

When I finally arrived home, thankful that my business lunch chose to be carb free on weekdays (yay), I couldn’t wait to dig in! They looked in credibly sinful.

I sliced through the Rose Berry Spritz first. The filling was mild, smooth, and fruity and perfectly complemented the sweet flaky layers. I had a few bites before I abandoned ship and bit right into the Chocoat. I have no pictures because my hands were a mess from the chocolate filling that oozed everywhere! (Occupational hazard.)

I didn’t finish either of them but I can say that I definitely made a dent. They aren’t heavy treats, but they are rich and the layers pull apart in a fun to eat sort of way. The filling is only piped into the top third of the croissant so I found myself dipping naked pastry parts from the bottom of each into the gooey cream on top to balance out each bite. Both flavors were obscenely good.