Croissant Du Jour

The Park Square building at 31 St. James Ave. has a concourse of shops that reminds me very much of what remains of the Reynolds Arcade in Rochester, New York. In true Rochester fashion, of course, what's left is a bit run-down and mostly abandoned, but it has the same gilded decor and architecture of the shiny, highly trafficked Park Square building hall of shops. (As of two years ago, the Reynolds Arcade had a surprisingly good pizza place, a shoe shine, and a couple other random stores and offices.)

The Park Square shops include a Souper Salad, Fire + Ice, Subway, a Hallmark store, a mattress store, a couple other places, and...Croissant Du Jour. I experienced the lunch rush one day a couple weeks ago, but despite the line winding out the door, the cashiers and chefs were friendly and relaxed. They recognized their regulars, remembering their orders, and it was apparent why people would choose Croissant Du Jour over the Subway a few storefronts down. I got The Margherita: "perfection on a baguette - fresh cut basil, fresh mozzarella, roma tomatoes, olive oil, oregano" - $6. It was a bit bland, but the size was good for the price, and I was mostly satisfied.

I returned this morning for breakfast because I had been intrigued by something I saw on the menu the first time around, The 'Nana 'Nini: sliced banana and Nutella pressed on a croissant - $3. I don't eat Nutella often because, despite its deliciousness, it contains a whole lot of palm oil. The production of palm oil needs a giant overhaul; as it is now, it's completely unsustainable and is contributing to vast destruction of rain forests. I'll expand on this point in a future post.

The 'Nana 'Nini

The 'Nana 'Nini is a fun breakfast treat (actually, it's available all day, as are all the breakfasts at Croissant Du Jour): fun to say to the cashier, fun to unwrap, and fun to lick off your hands. Ok, maybe this wasn't the best choice of breakfast to eat at my desk. Fortunately, the oozing Nutella remained within the paper wrap. Gooey, crispy, sweet, and chocolatey, this is well worth $3, but it's probably not a good weekday choice. I feel a major sugar crash coming on, and my stomach is feeling a bit achy. Unfortunately Croissant Du Jour belongs to the frustrating class of restaurants open only from morning 'til afternoon and only on weekdays, little gems to be discovered only by nearby employees. Otherwise, I'd suggest grabbing this on a nice sunny weekend morning and then going for a long walk along the Public Garden.

Croissant Du Jour is definitely a sandwich place worth checking out, though, if you work in the neighborhood.