Two More Cronut Copycats Are on the Scene

Word of the arrival of Posh Bakery's take on the cronut sent the Bay Area food scene into a tizzy, and now, intrepid cronut reporters have dug up two more local spots that are knocking off Dominique Ansel's headline-making treat. First up is Paris Baguette in Palo Alto, which, despite its French-sounding name, is a chain owned by the same company that owns Dunkin' Donuts in Korea. Their "NYC Croissant Donut" ($3) was, we're guessing, a brainchild of the same exec who introduced Dunkin's "New York Pie Donut" over in Seoul. SFist correspondent Cedric Westpal discovered the faux-cronut at Paris Baguette's location in Palo Alto, but didn't think much of it: "The one I got was fresh out of the fryer and tasted of frying oil with a nice crunchy texture. But too oily, in the end; I was disappointed."

Meanwhile, in Mill Valley, tiny bakery Beth's Community Kitchen has been quietly churning out their personal take on the cronut, available in regular ($3.50) or custard-filled ($5) versions. Bay Area Bites' Kelly O'Mara, who found them via a Twitter tip, had good things to say: "The Beth's cronuts are more croissant-like than donut. The pastries are flaky and light, tasting like a chewy croissant that simply has a cinnamon-sugar shell." Don't expect traditional custard filling, though: "The cream in the cream-filled cronut from Beth's was similar to icing, sweet and slightly lemon-flavored."

As for Posh Bakery's version, reviews haven't been great. The crew at San Francisco magazine found it far too sweet, and O'Mara concurs: "The strawberry-frosted [Posh] cronot was by far the sweetest of the five — and bore only a passing resemblance to the breakfast meal...Eating a strawberry-iced layered cake before 9 a.m. just felt a little rough." Nonetheless, Posh's faux-cronuts have been going at a clip that rivals that of Ansel himself: O'Mara found them sold out at most Lee's Deli locations at the early hour of 7:50 am.

· Cronut-spotting: Palo Alto's NYC Croissant Donut [SFist]
· The San Francisco Cronut (or CroNot) Taste Test [Bay Area Bites]
· The Bay's Cronut Knockoff Has Finally Arrived [~ ESF ~]

[Cronots photo: kaitlynbarclay/Instagram]