The Cray L.A. Cronut Line at Barney's New York, The Grove. Dominque Ansel Brings the REAL Cronut to the Land of Fakes aka Hollywood.


Dominique Ansel, the Creator of Cronut. Let there be Cronut!

Rumors of Dominique Ansel and real Cronuts —the insanely popular and delicately delicious donut-croissant hybrid— touching down in Los Angeles have been brewing for months. This past Saturday, those rumors transformed into Cronut reality, making a multitude of Cronutjobs joyous beyond belief. It was like Christmas all over again but with Cronuts. That's actually not too bad an analogy, if I do say so myself, because the line that snaked back on itself over and over again, more resembled a line at Walmart's Black Friday in Porter Ranch than a queue for Cronuts.

I got a sample, and it was awesome — flaky, airy, and sublime. However, I likely wouldn't wait up to 4 hours for a taste but, hey, this L.A. Cronut pop-up at Barney's New York, The Grove was entirely for charity. Every penny of the proceeds went to Heart of Los Angeles, so that alone justifies the wait.

I've been asked repeatedly whether I think it's worth the hours long wait. My simple opinion is that Dominique Ansel has created an exceptional pastry that is worth waiting for but exactly how long is up to you. I know Ansel himself never in his wildest dreams believed his Cronut would be such a sensation but now it is, turning him and his deluxe donut into rockstars.

It's been less than a year since the Cronut was unleashed onto the unsuspecting public back in May 10, 2013. And it's still a very big deal. How else can you get Angelenos to come out in monsoon conditions on a Saturday, wait in line for hours, super early in the morning, at The Grove, just for a donut? When it's a Cronut personally brought to you by Dominique Ansel himself, that's how.

If you weren't there Saturday, this is how Cronut's first visit to L.A. went down. And it didn't act like a tourist, more like a superstar.

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