THE NAPOLEON COMPLEX

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is eating a Napoleon" - Napoleon Bonaparte

This began innocently enough prior to my weekly sojourn to Tasty Pastry with Christina. I usually put a little forethought into my Cake of choice earlier in the day so as not to stand before the riches of their assortment gaping and drooling like a man insane with his synapses firing away like a violently shaken bottle of soda water and decided on The Napoleon. I have only had maybe half a dozen in my life but had a clear idea of what to expect and perhaps happily got more than I bargained for.

2/3/16 - Tasty Pastry - This will be a hard one to beat at least from an Italian Bakery (the Napoleon being a French Pastry) as Tasty Pastry is one of the more Outstanding dealers in decadent confectionary delicacies. 

I have no details here as this entry was written as an afterthought after the satisfaction achieved, the only remedy is to get another in the future and write about that one.

2/8/16 - West End Bakery - While this Bakery does not have the best reputation I was very pleased to find the Napoleon ($2.75) featured in its Pastry display case and this was my first stop after deciding I needed another (Napoleon that is) and to compose a comparison.

They got the Cake and Icing right, actually its probably difficult to screw up the Icing and something tells me the Napoleon's around town are being outsourced from another Bakery but only time will tell on that point. The Cream is Cake Cream or Whipped Cream and this might be my only bone of contention* but I am still a newbie at this. Loads of Cream in this one, a bit messy to eat but as I said earlier today "Messy Is Good".

This has prompted me to make a second pot of Coffee.

2/21/16 - Leske's Bakery - This has a lot riding on it as Leske's Scandinavian Bakery has an historic reputation dating from 1961 yet I am not a Napoleon connoisseur in the least but am enjoying Eating my way through the learning process.

Chewy Flaky Crust with an inlaid Syrupy overtone, This is Heaven. Grand Icing and Sweet Cake Cream. Literally mouth watering.

3/2/16 - I was hunting Napoleon's and had some spare time on 13th avenue within proximity of a few bakeries. Gold Star Bakery does not produce Napoleon's but Grandma's and Mona Lisa sure do.

Mona Lisa - OK they only had a baby Napoleon ($1.45) and it was of standard fare, standard fare still being Delicious but this had an aftertaste probably due to retainment and storage and was 2-3 bites worth and gone, well it was a "baby".

Grandma's Bakery - Just when I had almost given up waving my hands in the air for fear that all of the local Napoleon's were "sourced out" and alike I came across this slightest anomaly to keep the fires burning. Perhaps I am being a bit dramatic here but the Grandma's slice  ($2.25) features a minimally crumbly crust in its folded layers of Cake of an almost Graham Cracker consistency but retaining the layered and moist "Filo" style inherent to this Pastry. 

Quite a joy.

Villabate Alba Pasticceria - With two Napoleons on offer (French & Italian) I was quite excited about the Italian one but still preferred the French Mille-Feullie.

(top) French - I expected this to reign supreme as Villabate has quite the reputation that precedes it and it was quite formidable and almost perfect but thus far Grandma's is the ruler of the roost.

(bottom) Italian - Dusted in Brown Sugar with the Creamy innards very much like an Italian Cheesecake which for those not in the know has a grainy consistency as the "base" cheese is Ricotta as opposed to Cream Cheese.

4/15/16 - 18th Avenue Bakery/Lydia's -  Another fantastic bakery with a track record but this Napoleon was just good compared to the Apple Coffee Cake Crumble that I had purchased alongside it. Nothing wrong with this Napoleon but nothing outstanding either, still an impressive 7/10.

5/10/16 - Kaff Bake Shoppe (kosher) - This was quite different as the icing was "inside out" as it were but just a standard Napoleon, Cake was a bit dry but this was served pre sliced in a plastic container so who knows,...

Good View Bakery corps (my local pork bun place) 6/26/16 - The only thing they got right here and barely was the Flaky Cake,which was dry so I suppose they did not get it right. As advertised its a Cheese Napoleon meaning a fake kind of tangy Cheesecake of which they did not get the Cheesecake right as it was dry.

* - Since reading the entry on Wikipedia I have learned that there is no "proper" filling for a Mille-Feullie but a wide variety the world over.

MILLE-FEULLIE (NAPOLEON) ON WIKIPEDIA