Cronuts In San Francisco

Cronut-curious San Franciscans, rejoice! You no longer have to ponder the travel pains of flying to Manhattan to get your hands on one of pastry chef Dominique Ansel’s trademarked custard-filled desserts. Sure, you could purchase a Doissant in Washington D.C. or a Frissant in Vancouver, but who wants to do that when you can grab a deep-fried treat in our own ‘hood? Yes, you read that right: There are currently five phyllo powerhouses in the Bay offering donut-croissant spinoffs, and we've listed them below. We can taste the sweet flakes now!

CroNots at Posh Bakery, $2.50

This South Bay wholesale bakery was one of the first known providers of the nom-worthy hybrid — early sightings of what it was calling the CroNot were reported nearly a month ago (they’ve since thrown legal caution to the wind and started calling it a cronut). Keep in mind that they only sell to merchants, though, so bring a pal that owns a business.

The Posh Bakery, 445 Nelo Street, Santa Clara; 408-980-8451.

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CroNots at Lee's Deli’s, $2.50

Can’t make it down south to Posh’s to place a wholesale order? Fret not, there are four Lee’s Deli locations receiving daily deliveries straight from the sweet factory. Pick from chocolate, glazed, strawberry, and cinnamon sugar, and if you want to go all out, fill ‘em with custard.

Lee’s Deli, 222 Front Street (at Halleck Street); 415-433-3222; 170 Spear Street (between Mission and Howard streets); 415-284-9170; 75 Battery Street (between Pine and Bush streets); 415-788-7575; 235 Montgomery Street (between Pine and Bush streets); 415-593-2350; Java Trading Company, 100 5th Street (at Mission Street); 415-243-9723.

NYC Croissant Donut at Paris Baguette, $3.50

This Palo Alto outpost may have taken cues from its parent company (sibling Dunkin' Donuts in Korea just added a New York Pie Donut to its menu), because it, too, has changed up its bill of fare. This joint serves a crunchy NYC Croissant Donut that is loaded with a heavy cream and topped with a citrus-flavored swirl. We’ll take two, please.

Paris Baguette, 383 University Avenue (between Florence and Waverly streets), Palo Alto; 650-838-0404.

Croissant Crème Donut at Beth’s Community Kitchen, $3.50 and $5.00

Headed up by owner and pastry chef Beth Setrakian, this boutique-style bakery put a flakier twist on the decadent dessert. Deep fried then dusted in cinnamon and sugar, the Croissant Crème Donut can also be injected with vanilla cream if you want. These are the tough decisions in life.

Beth’s Community Kitchen, 34 Miller Avenue (at Sunnyside Avenue), Mill Valley; 415-383-3991.

Kronuts at Fillmore Bakeshop, $2.75

The latest purveyor to jump on the flaky-layered bandwagon is this cute little shop in Pacific Heights. Its deep-fried kronuts are only available on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. and are offered in single-flavor batches of six. On this weekend’s menu: Cinnamon and Sugar.

Fillmore Bakeshop, 1890 Fillmore Street (between Bush and Sutter streets); 415-923-0711.

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