Albert T.
Yelp
There are two benchmark pastries I look at whenever I go to a new patisserie - the almond croissant and the kouign amann. At Zary Bakery, they both didn't look that great, with the almond croissant being strangely flat, as if the pastry chef purposefully smashed it down, and the kouign amann sprawling out into a wide disk instead of being more muffin shaped. Just because they look a bit strange doesn't mean they are bad, but I decided instead to purchase some other items that seemed more interesting.
Palmier ($5.40) - This palmier is exceptionally fragrant with the smell of butter wafting into the nose with every bite. It has a fantastically flaky crunch factor on the edges, transitioning to a softer and more chewy section on the interior. This is thicker than most palmiers I've seen, resulting in the interior especially being softer, more buttery, and less sweet. Overall, this pastry isn't as sweet as most palmiers I've had. The sugar glaze isn't applied too thickly, so it doesn't help glue the layers together, resulting in an exceptionally flaky dessert that doesn't gum up the teeth while chewing. (4/5)
Kentucky Butter Cake ($6.35) - I haven't had this cake before, and doing more research, apparently it comes from Missouri rather than Kentucky? At any rate, this mini bundt cake looked delicious in the pictures and quickly became something we had to pick up on our visit. This is essentially a slightly richer version of a prototypical yellow cake, with vanilla flavoring and some warming spices added for oomph. It's not quite to the density or nearly as buttery as a pound cake, but kind of rests in that area between. The crumb is quite moist and the taste isn't too sweet. I read that there's usually a sugar and butter glaze poured on top, but I don't think they incorporate that aspect here at Zary. (4/5)
I also ordered a TGTG bag with day old pastries, which included:
French Butter Croissant ($5.25) - The croissant is buttery, decently flaky, and baked until a lighter golden brown, although due to being day old, there's not really any crust to speak of. It has a great honeycomb structure on the interior, making it well risen, light and airy. The croissant would make a great base for a sandwich and is perfectly enjoyable to eat by itself.
Caramel S'Mores Croissant ($6.50) - Even though this is labeled as a croissant, it's more of a cruffin based on the shape of the pastry. Chocolate dipped caramel pretzel graces the top, adding a salty and sweet crunch. Inside the pastry is a kind of a cream cheese-like sweet and slightly tangy filling. It's a more substantial and richer version of marshmallow fluff with a more complex flavor than just pure sweetness.
M&M and Chocolate Chip Cookie ($3.50) - The cookie is sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, with plenty of chocolate and M&Ms. Since it was day old, it's hardened up a bit, but still easy to eat. I did find a kind of acrid bitter taste in the dough, which reminds me of baking soda. I'm not 100% sure what that flavor is from, but it made the cookie the least enjoyable dessert, at least for me.
Of course, it's not fair to rate a bakery based on the day old items, so I will refrain from factoring these into my rating.
Overall Zary is a pretty solid bakery. They serve some interesting pastries and the wide variety makes repeat visits easy to foresee.
