Lune Croissanterie - Fitzroy

Lune Croissanterie
119 Rose Street, Fitzroy.

Baked Good: Croissant, Pan au Chocolat, Lemon Curd Cruffin. (don't judge me)
Should you stay or should you go?: FRICKING GO!!!

Before I lived in France, a croissant was just that: flakey buttery goodness. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated it. But living in France you come to understand why you appreciate it. I used to have fresh croissants and pan au chocolat delivered every morning along with baguettes to fill my day.

Today I truly and utterly appreciated every mouth watering bite I had from Lune Croissanterie.

It's a skill. It's a passion. It's an understanding between the baker and the pastry they are working with. And you can feel that very passion when you look inside the Lune building. Every detail wasn't just a side thought. Every detail was made with passion and drive.

The best thing about Lune Croissanterie is, they don't piss-fart around with breads and cakes and your usual bakery stables. They make croissants, each one with absolute perfection.

I'm gushing, let's move on.

The croissant is commonly thought to have originated in France. But as it turns out, the French just made it famous, then completely owned it. It actually started in Vienna 1683. EpicureandCulture.com tell us the story of when Vienna was being attached by the Turks.

Bakeries would often do their cooking below their shop. Being underground they could hear the Turks digging a tunnel and notified the troops and leading the Turks to retreat.

To celebrate the victory bakers made a crescent shaped pastry based on a shape they had seen on the Turks uniform. This was continued every year until around 1770 when an Austrian Princess married King Louis XVI of France and the Croissant became what it is today.

The Pain au Chocolat has evolved from its original recipe. Fellow blogger Klara Seddon of the Five O'clock Teaspoon explains the origins of the Pain au Chocolat with reference to Elizabeth David a British cook, popular in the mid 20s.

Today you will find the beautiful flaky puff pastry, the same used for a croissant with a lining of chocolate. But prior to World War Two, the Pain au Chocolat was just a chocolate bar covered in a bread dough. But let's be honest, I'm sure we'd all still be eating it if it stayed like that. Anything chocolate, I'm in.

By the 1970s the pastry was changed to a lesser quality puff pastry, similar to that of the croissant.

Lune Croissanterie is an old warehouse hidden on a backstreet of Fitzroy. But don't worry, you can't miss it. Chances are there'll be a line around the building as the giveaway to its location.

Inside the warehouse it's basic and simple, no distractions and no gimmicks. Just a glass room in the middle of the building where all the magic happens.

Magic is a perfect word to describe this venue. Because they way it is set up really is that of magic. Strips of light across the roof of the glass room similar to that of when you would move through the stars at an accelerated speed. Simple wooden benches lining the exposed brick walls. And when you finally get to the counter to order (it took me 40 minutes to get to this point), it's a simple concrete bench with a display of each item that hasn't already sold out.

This place was constantly busy, and I got the feeling they were go go go go go since the doors opened. But the service couldn't be faulted. Smiles and cheer the whole time.

And because you are waiting so long to get to the point of ordering, a lovely lady walks up and down the line to get your coffee while you wait. And it was pretty good coffee mind you.

Everything was fresh, so fresh the Pain au Chocolat was still warm.

I started my taste bud sensation tour with the traditional croissant. Perfectly flaky and fluffy and so pleasant to bite into. One thing I hate about buying a croissant is most of the time it's usually full of buttery oil dripping down my hand. But in this case it was just perfect. Not too oily, but that sweet buttery taste was tickling my tastebuds.

Second was the warm Pain au Chocolat. Again perfect amount of flake and fluff. The chocolate was a thick and creamy chocolate, something you could eat right out of a jar. But this has the perfect amount of chocolate so that it doesn't overpower all the taste, or
squeeze out the sides.

And third was the Lemon Curd Cruffin. This is an original creation for Lune, you can't find it anywhere else. Although I'm sure someone is trying.

It is shaped like a muffin but it still has that fluffy and puffy pastry you'd find in a croissant. But its not flaky like a croissant. The hollow shaft down the middle of the cruffin is filled with lemon curd goodness. So each bite was a perfect combo of pastry and curd.

Overall this was the most wonderful experience and despite having to wait 40 minutes in the cold, it was totally worth it. The venue and the service and obviously the food together make it such a pleasure to eat food and be excited to eat it.