Ceci-Cela
Jen Carlson picked the chocolate-almond croissant at this Delancey Street counter for Gothamist. She says the hybrid looks like a flattened danish.1
Why go
The croissant list runs three separate almond builds. There is an almond croissant, an almond pain au chocolat and an almond croissant parisien.3 That is a shop making the same argument three ways, and Carlson's pick is the middle one.1
Serious Eats ran a croissant taste-off in 2010 and put Ceci-Cela first, which Rebecca Marx reported in The Village Voice.2 The shop it named was the SoHo one, so read that as the bakery's reputation and not as this counter's.2 The cafe bills itself as authentic patisserie and names Laurent Dupal as its founder.4
Order this / avoid
- Order: the chocolate-almond croissant.1
- Order: the ham and cheese croissant if you want it to be lunch.3
- Avoid: the Newark address if you want the cafe. That door is the bakery and the wholesale end.3
What locals & experts say
- Jen Carlson, in Gothamist, on the hybrid:
Can the almond croissant be improved upon? We had our doubts, but Ceci Cela created a hybrid almond-chocolate croissant that will make your mouth water.
1 - The tasters Serious Eats put on it in 2010, quoted by The Village Voice:
Great butter flavor!
Perfect flaky shatter!
Pull-apart layers!
2
Good to know
- Which door: 14 Delancey Street is the cafe. Newark is the bakery.3
- Beyond the croissants: danishes in apricot, cherry, apple cinnamon, peach and pear, and a savory list of quiches and sandwiches.3
Verdict
could-visit — The almond half of the case is what this shop is actually for; the rest of it is a French bakery like any other. Walk out with two and eat them on the street.