Cronut Mania: Milkshakes, Cat Scalpers, and Bad Omens

One month in and the Cronut craze is still chugging right along, although some backlash may be brewing. But for now the lines still curl around the block, the scalpers still abound, and Dominique Ansel is still ramping up production. Here are some recent highlights from the croissant-doughnut mania that has captivated the nation:

· Outside of New York, impostors and more impostors just keep popping up. And since Dominique Ansel has trademarked the name Cronut, new names for the magical pastry chimera keep popping up too, from the popular "doissant," to "crobar" and "fauxnut."

· One chef in Dallas is taking a slightly different tack from these copycats, and claiming she invented the Cronut. But upon further investigation, it's not clear how Najat Kaanache even came up with the name Cronuts for her sometimes sweet, sometimes savory, sometimes crawfish-flavored fritters.

· Meanwhile, back in New York, Silvia Killingsworth writes on the New Yorker blog about what it's like to actually buy a Cronut from a scalper.

· For anyone looking to get their own black market Cronut, this wealthy cat is offering them for 20 bucks a pop on Craigslist, unless you live in the Bronx or Staten Island.

· And if just eating a Cronut isn't enough, some workers at The Guardian have a video on how to make a cronut-bourbon milkshake. "Yup, there are cronut chunks in there."

· But all this madness over fried croissants is starting to make some people uneasy. Alex Balk posts on the Awl this morning: "Am I the only one who thinks that the constant drumbeat about "cronuts" is exactly the kind of celebration that happens around a non-story right before something serious and terrible actually occurs? It feels like one more article and we're due."
· All Coverage of Cronuts [~ENY~]

[photo: Dominique Ansel]