You'll No Longer Be Able To Get Cronuts In LA. Here's Why
The late, great Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold once called Dominique Ansel's cronut "the Frankenstinian love child of a croissant and a doughnut, whose limited daily run inspires endless early morning queues." And for a time, Los Angeles could celebrate that at last, it had a chance to sample Ansel's creation, which was born in May 2013 in New York (via The New York Times). It spawned a countless number of copycat creations around the world, including one by Dunkin' called the Croissant Donut and a South Korean homage called the New York Pie Donut.
Thanks to the pandemic, LA is losing its Ansel restaurant- 189 at The Grove – and as a result, Angelinos won't have the chance to get their hands on (fresh) original cronuts anymore (though they might be able to convince friends in New York to ship them over). Ansel made the announcement on Instagram, saying: "During the pandemic, we've had to make some tough choices and also had to make peace with not having a choice sometimes... We now join the list of [COVID] casualties, alongside our well-respected peers in the industry. It's ironic to close when our last memories were of the lines every weekend and nights full of proposals, tree lightings, and blow out finale parties."
Ansel didn't rule out that possibility that he would return to LA once things settled down. "Stay safe, LA. And let's leave it as 'see you again soon,'" he said on social media.
London is also losing its Ansel bakeries
Los Angeles isn't the only city that will lose its original cronuts and the kitchens that crafted them. In the same Instagram post, Ansel also bid goodbye to his London restaurants, The Dominique Ansel Treehouse in Covent Garden and the Dominique Ansel Bakery in Belgravia. "London has been so wonderful and so supportive to us. Unfortunately, our licenser has told us that, in the light of the ongoing restrictions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, they do not think it will be possible to continue operating either location profitably," Ansel told Metro. Those restaurant closures were also triggered by a steep decline in customers, which Ansel said made it difficult for his licensee to continue operating the outlets.
Metro marked the demise of Ansel's restaurants by describing three original creations that Ansel produced for his London restaurants – and which would never be seen again: the Welsh Rarebit Croissant (filled with Guinness Worcestershire cheddar bechamel, whole grain mustard, and topped with melted fontina cheese); Liquid Caramel Peanut Butter Mousse Cake; and After The Rain, a jasmine mousse, pear and ginger gelee. The London restaurants operated until the end of August.