National Croissant Day, Pandemic Style

1/30/21 An urban sketch and a pastry for a national observance

In front of the croissant is a macaroon, which Honore Bakery also offers. Gluten-free Greg is very happy.

The first year that I observed National Croissant Day, I didn’t find out about it until it was too late to organize anything, so I celebrated by myself at Starbucks. It was not the best croissant, but the people there were fun to sketch.

Last year I was prepared, so Nilda and I celebrated together at Honore Bakery, which makes some of the best croissants I’ve ever had, right in my own neighborhood.

That was all in the Before Times, of course. This year, I was well-prepared and invited more sketchers to join me – sadly, on Zoom. Still, it was a fun afternoon of sketching decadent pastries (not all of which were croissants, but I like to think of myself as tolerant of all religious beliefs).  

My ginormous almond croissant came from Honore again. After picking it up that rainy morning, I sketched the bakery’s backside from the parking lot. (The front would have been more attractive, but sketching it would have required standing in the middle of busy Lake City Way.) If I had planned my sketch as well as I had planned the socializing, I would have brought my large Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook with me to Honore so that I could have sketched the building in it. But I hadn’t thought that far ahead, so the sketch was in my red Field Notes. Conveniently, it has perforated pages, so I tore it out and glued it right in.

Edited: I just learned that St. Honore is the patron saint of pastry chefs!

Honore Bakery

1/16/20 Honore Bakery

Natalie invited me to sketch with her at a new French bakery she had discovered, but I was way ahead of her – at least in terms of discovery. Another friend and I had scarfed down a few calories a while back, and Greg bought my birthday cake there in November. I hadn’t sketched there yet though, so I heartily agreed to join her at Honore.

1/16/20 Raspberry tart and chocolate cake!

First I made her wait until we had sketched the treats before we put them away. Both jobs done, we then sketched the café’s charming interior with fun décor and, of course, cases of cakes, tarts and croissants. I realized that I most often go after human victims when I sketch in cafés, and I rarely tackle the interior view. It was a delectable challenge to capture the interior without getting caught up in each strawberry or raisin.

It was also the first time since I started this year’s challenge that I regretted my minimal palette. . . I couldn’t get the rich brown of that chocolate cake (decorated with a marzipan bee!) with the colors I had.

Huge, Flaky and Buttery

1/30/20 National Croissant Day

How did you celebrate National Croissant Day? Last year I had to resort to Starbucks for my pastry fix because I didn’t plan the day well. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. This time, Nilda and I met at Honore Bakery, where the croissants are available both savory and sweet. I opted for a classic croissant with raspberry jam.

You know me – I rarely get around to sketching my food because I’m more likely to devour it immediately. Obviously, on this special day, I restrained myself long enough to sketch it. Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph it before I ripped it apart. 

The last time I was at Honore, the chocolate cake I sketched was decorated with a marzipan bee. I didn’t understand the significance of the bee until I picked up Honore’s card and saw that the bee is part of the bakery’s logo.

Mmmm.... yes, it was as good as it looks.