A good pain (au chocolat) is hard to find.
The disappearance of most of the city’s French patisseries and the dwindling of the Vie de France bakery chain to one suburban location made it tough to track down a nice flaky version of the classic French treat.
First stop: Rolf’s Patisserie (4343 W. Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood; 847-982-9400). The relatively cheap (95 cents) pain au chocolat come with chocolate stripes across them. Sadly, the pastries, at least by 9:30 a.m., are leaden, flakeless affairs filled with characterless chocolate.
Next stop was Red Hen Bread (1623 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-342-6823), a favorite of local restaurateurs and the bread loving public. There we found a plump, stripeless version of the patisserie staple ($1.75), but we found them heavy and, like Rolf’s, with little flakiness. What’s more, the creamy filling was more like chocolate frosting than a bar of good dark or bittersweet chocolate.
We had almost given up our quest for the real thing when we noticed that Michel Sendra Cafe (277 E. Ontario St.; 312-951-7348) had just opened downtown. This pretty little French-run cafe and bakery claims to bring in most of its ingredients from France ,and they bake everything daily on the premises. This care is reflected in products that posses a certain je ne sais quoi, along with some fairly steep prices (one skinny baguette costs $2.99 and a tiny leek quiche goes for $4.75). Still, when we bit into their “choco croissant” (they don’t call it a pain au chocolat) and our plate was showered with flaky bits of pastry, we closed our eyes in ecstasy. At last. This is what a pain au chocolat should taste like. The still warm pastry ($2.05) is shaped like a regular croissant (rather than the traditional rectangle) and contains two bars of outstanding, bittersweet house made chocolate.
While on a research trip to Fox & Obel (401 E. Illinois St.; 312-410-7301) in search of pain au chocolat (which they do not make), we stumbled upon chocolate bread, a wonderful discovery that is a perfect American answer to the French pain au chocolat. Not quite sure we would like this sourdough bread infused with cocoa and studded with Vahlrona chocolate chunks, we opted for a single bun (79 cents) rather than the big round loaf for $4.99. But by the time we sank our teeth into this chewy, chocolaty treat, we realized we had made a mistake.
We haven’t tried it yet, but we learned that Red Hen also sells loaves of sourdough chocolate bread ($5.99). Like Fox & Obel, they only sell it on the weekends. Vive le chocolat!
Pain au chocolat
What is it: A croissant with chocolate inside
Where’s it from: France
Price: 95 cents to $2.05
Thank you in French: Merci