I hope all you Christmas celebrating bun lovers had an appropriately buttery holiday.
Itβs the end of the year, the magical year 2020, and oh what a year. We were all so young and naive and fresh looking last December, wholly unprepared for a year in which a presidential impeachment and a near-war with Iran were just forgotten blips among a litany of other news, but at least
weβve
got
BUN
STUFF
Iβm doing a list, I did not check it twice, of the Best Buns π awards, but since we already talked about the best cinnamon roll weβre going to get creative with the categories. Without further ado, the
Bun Stuff presents: the Best of Buns 2020 Buntastic Beaut Awards
Letβs get things started with what the people care about the most.
Most Instagrammable Bun πΈ
The Most Instagrammable Bun award for 2020 goes to Seitan Risingβs pumpkin cinnamon bun from early September (read the review here).
I honestly think about this bun at least once a week. I donβt always remember what it tasted like (other than p dang good), but I never forgot just how perfect the little toppings were. The colors, beautiful oranges and reds just as the beginning of autumn, with those gold star flakes!!!! Itβs one thing to have a pastry that looks like a really good pastry (Dominique Ansel, Ole & Steen are professionals at that game), but itβs something else to hit that just-so-perfectly-twee aesthetic that gets you 110% of the likes. My photo roll from this year is pretty much 90% pastries, and this one takes the cake, er, bun.
The Juices Are All Creative π§βπ¨
I very much appreciate a well done pastry, but I really love when chefs get creative. Itβs a complaint I have with NY slice pizza (thatβs outside the scope of this newsletter) and most cupcakes - people just donβt get all that creative or interesting with what they do.
One bakery, however, has impressed me week in and week out since I discovered them earlier this year. And the winner, for the Juices Are All Creative award goes to The Doughnut Project.
Part of this is inherently their business model - they focus on partnerships (aka collabs) with a whole host of brands, from Yeti to Marvel to Carnegie Deli to Chandon. So not only are they forced to think of a way to make Four Roses Bourbon fit best in a donut (the answer is derby pie), but they also just go very extra. And not only do they look incredible, they taste incredible. Iβve been there several times the last few months, and have never left disappointed.
Strongly Exceeds Expectations π
At Google, Strongly Exceeds Expectations (SEE) is one of the higher performance ratings on peopleβs performance reviews, indicating that youβre maybe ready for promotion (and at the very least, well, strongly exceed whatβs expected of you). There was one bun I had in particular this year that met these requirements, and that is the cinnamon roll at Ikea.
I had admittedly low expectations going into this. Usually, most of the time, any large chain that serves a pastry itβs only going to be so good (with the exception of Cinnabon, because they have narrowed it on a specific target and scientifically perfected it). And when that chain is most known for their cheap furniture and meatballs?
Again, not high expectations. But as I wrote on Sep 20, this thing was incredible. And only a SINGLE US DOLLAR!! It comes hot and fresh, with strongly flavored cinnamon filling dripping out of every crevice. Just look at that photo! And for that, Ikeaβs cinnamon roll gets SEE and should start thinking about a promotion!
ππ Purplest Pastry ππ
Easy winner here: Camari Mickβs ube bun served at the Musket Room.
I sincerely want to eat that ube filling by the pint. Itβs smooth and nutty, and almost like a custard but not quite, plus itβs purple!!! π
Most Appropriate Name for This Newsletter π
Thereβs a small Latin-influenced bakery in Chelsea where you can find not only a pretty good cinnamon roll, but also arepas de choclo (sweet corn arepas, my favorite Colombian street food), empanadas, cookies, a whole host of things. And that bakery is: Big Booty Bread Company.
You want the big bun stuff, head to Big Booty. When I went in January, I was lucky enough to get a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven, which comes with or without glaze. The dough is incredibly light and airy, and just a touch flakey. The icing was fairly standard, but there was a hint of citrus or orange in the overall flavor. Possibly due to the freshness, the dough on the inside was a bit gooey and not entirely cooked through (amazing!). Overall it was really well balanced and a good mix of buttery and sweet with a unique and tasty dough. And thatβs just the cinnamon rollβ¦
Best Pro-Am Bun Baker π§βπ³
This yearβs best pro-am bun baker award goes to none other than Emilie H! Iβve written about her three times, and sheβs baked a whole host of pastries for me this year, and every single one has been a smashing success.
My first tasting was cinnamon rolls she made over Memorial Day weekend, where we met up in Prospect Park for the first social distant friend hang since the pandemic started. Those cinnamon rolls, at the time, ranked #4 overall in the city (and have since only moved down a couple places). They are phenomenally good, as is anything she makes. Thank you Emilie!
Congrats to the winners!
I have no idea if theyβre reading this. What categories did I miss? What buns did you have that deserved an award?
Small Bites
Holiday Treats
My mom, my sweet dear mother, the lovely woman who brought me into this world and only a few times threatened to take me out of it, sends me a lovely care package every year at Christmas with the following:
(clockwise from top left)
peanut brittle
βgreekβ cookies (new this year - the recipe she used calls it greek, but my greek brother in law has never heard of it)
spritz cookies
chex mix
What kind of treats did you bake or send or receive this year?
GTFO 2020!
Thereβs no more bun stuff in 2020, the next one will be fresh with a 2021 send date. The future bun babies, weβll be there. Living it. A whole new year, a new fantastic point of view, no one to tell us no, or where to go, or say weβre only dreaming of delicious pastries for every meal. See you then beauties βπ»