Dominique Ansel's French and Taiwanese Bakeries Make One Breakfast Route

The Spring Street bakery makes one Cronut flavor a month, and October pairs pumpkin spiced ganache with dulce de leche ganache. In the shop, the limit is two per person, and the doors open at 8 AM daily, with a line often forming before then. Online preorders open every Monday at 11 AM for pickup two weeks later, at 2 to 12 Cronuts per person per week, and that window has already moved on to November's tiramisu flavor. That leaves the in-store line or a delivery app as the way to try October's version before October 31, at 7.50 dollars before tax.

Papa d'Amour, on University Place between 10th and 11th Streets, is the Ansel bakery built around Asian bread culture, named for what his Taiwanese and French children call him. The October menu lists pretzel salt egg tarts at 5 dollars each alongside a taro mochi lace batter donut at 7.50 dollars, a salt bread bagel at 8.50 dollars and shokupan toast from 11 dollars. Seating is walk-in only, with no reservations, and the doors open at 8 AM daily.

Start in Soho while the Cronut line is still forming, then head north past Washington Square Park to University Place for a second breakfast. A Cronut keeps for only about six to eight hours, and shokupan travels better for anything taken home. Preorder holders can shift the order around their booked pickup time, going straight to the cashier without joining the line, then finishing at Papa d'Amour.