Those who are happy that kouign amanns are relatively scarce, as a constraint on how many they can get and consume, aren't going to be happy about this one.

You can find kouign amanns at... wait for it... Panera Bread. As they do with some of their other products, they make up their own cutesy name for them. They don't call it a kouign amann; they call it a "brittany", which makes perfect sense since that's the French province where the kouign amann originated. This morning at their location at Golf Mill, they had two kinds, one with a cream cheese topping and the other with a cherry topping. I didn't even realize it was a kouign amann until I bit into it (hence the photo), but one bite and there was no doubt, it's the real thing.

I was happy to see that Sunset Foods is starting to carry some of Hewn's bakery products on weekends.

shorty wrote:I was happy to see that Sunset Foods is starting to carry some of Hewn's bakery products on weekends.

Beautiful!

=R=

Lost Larson has a fantastic Kouign-amann that I didn't see mentioned outright in the Lost Larson thread. Ranks up there with the best I've had (b. patisserie in SF makes really great ones!).

Good Ambler in Fulton Market makes them - 216 N Peoria St. More or less around the corner from Publican, Next, Roister, etc.

Lost Larson which now is also in Wicker Park. Also Floriole. I don't know if they are still open.

toria wrote:Also Floriole. I don't know if they are still open.

Floriole is still open. You can't go inside, but you can order ahead online and pick up Wednesdays through Sundays.

marothisu wrote:Good Ambler in Fulton Market makes them - 216 N Peoria St. More or less around the corner from Publican, Next, Roister, etc.

Yes they do. And theirs are absolutely outstanding.

Good Ambler
Café, bakery, and chocolatier in Fulton Market
216 N Peoria
Chicago, IL 60607
312-872-7165

nsxtasy wrote:

marothisu wrote:Good Ambler in Fulton Market makes them - 216 N Peoria St. More or less around the corner from Publican, Next, Roister, etc.

Yes they do. And theirs are absolutely outstanding.

Good Ambler
Café, bakery, and chocolatier in Fulton Market
216 N Peoria
Chicago, IL 60607
312-872-7165

I got more kouign amanns at Good Ambler this morning. They are still absolutely outstanding! It's also worth noting their ample supply; they had 8-10 of them at 11:30 this morning.

According to the website for Aya Pastry on West Grand, you can order kouign amann from them. Anybody try theirs yet?

see the photo of theirs on their website

Aya Pastry
1332 W Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60642
Between Elizabeth and Ada Street
312.846.6186

Another place that has them on the menu is Publican Quality Bread at 1759 W. Grand. Anybody try theirs yet?

nsxtasy wrote:Another place that has them on the menu is Publican Quality Bread at 1759 W. Grand. Anybody try theirs yet?

I haven't been to the new location, but the Publican kouign amann are carried at Bucktown Marketplace on Western and we buy them regularly, including this week. The flavor profile varies a little bit from time to time - sometimes more cardamom-y, sometimes tiny flecks of chocolate, sometimes more rye-y. So they don't necessarily feel like the pure caramel you get in the more classic version at like Floriole, but the texture is very good.

nsxtasy wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:

marothisu wrote:Good Ambler in Fulton Market makes them - 216 N Peoria St. More or less around the corner from Publican, Next, Roister, etc.

Yes they do. And theirs are absolutely outstanding.

Good Ambler
Café, bakery, and chocolatier in Fulton Market
216 N Peoria
Chicago, IL 60607
312-872-7165

I got more kouign amanns at Good Ambler this morning. They are still absolutely outstanding! It's also worth noting their ample supply; they had 8-10 of them at 11:30 this morning.

They had plenty of kouign amanns at about the same time today. They also had some very nice almond bostock. And they had "cruffins"; for a cruffin, they bake croissant dough in the shape of a muffin (in a muffin tin, I presume) and then they fill it with vanilla pastry cream. It looks like this:

Yesterday I went around kouign amann tasting.

I went to Publican Quality Breads. Their approach is the crème brulee of kouign amanns. The body of their kouign amann is savory, not at all sweet, but it comes with a layer of crunchy bruleed sugar, as shown in the photo below. It was also redolent of coffee; I don't know whether they actually use any as an ingredient, or if the ones I tried were just located next to the coffee bar long enough to pick up the scent. I wasn't particularly fond of theirs (although their croissants were excellent).


I also went to Aya Pastry. Theirs is a more conventional approach, with the consistency of a sticky bun. It was okay (but Good Ambler is still the best in town for my money).


Both of these places are on Grand Avenue. If you go there by car, be aware that there is major construction on Grand, and it's down to one lane, eastbound only.