I Tried the Croissant From 4 Popular Chains & The Best Was Light, Fluffy, and Delicious

The croissant is as synonymous with France as the Eiffel Tower and berets—but tastier! A perfectly made croissant (which translates to "crescent") takes a true culinary artist to execute. But what about us Americans who want to be transported to the City of Light on our morning commutes or at our home office desks?

Several popular café and bakery chains offer croissants on their menus, so I set out to try them all to determine if any were worth the calories (and let you know if there are any to avoid). The four stops on my croissant journey offered very different iterations of the flaky French-style pastry.

The ideal croissant is a study in fine layers of pastry dough. The best ones are handmade, so right off the bat we can assume that mass-produced ones won't measure up. But any decent croissant should meet some basic requirements. IIt should be golden brown with a slight shine and, of course, crescent-shaped! When done right, this pastry has a mild, buttery sweet taste with a hint of yeast. It m...