INWOOD — The "Cronut" is delighting tastebuds uptown.
The pastry craze of the summer is debuting at Inwood's Twin Donut coffee shop on 218th Street — and the store's version is selling under the trademarked name, despite having no connection with Dominique Ansel's SoHo bakery that devised the croissant and doughnut hybrid.
The desserts became an international hit after Ansel first produced them on May 10, drawing curious foodies from around the world. Would be-snackers lined up for hours to get a taste of the treat, driving scalpers to hawk the desserts on Craigslist and spawning countless knock-offs and imitations.
Their popularity was so high that it led Ansel to trademark the term. Even so, Twin Donut refers to its version as a "Cronut" — at least for now.
Attempts to talk to the store's manager about his use of the name were not successful.
Twin Donut customers can get their treats — without long lines — in either chocolate or caramel flavor. The pastries are sold for $2.50, half the price of those at Ansel's bakery and a far cry from the 40 bucks that scalpers were selling them for over the summer.
The sweet treats are a new offering at Twin Donut, which reopened Tuesday after an almost three-month renovation closure.
Thus far, coffee shop employees said the pastries have been popular with the after-work crowd.
"Not so much in the morning, but they're really popular in the afternoon," said one.
Twin Donut is located at 5099 Broadway at 218th Street.
