A friend in St. Louis told me about a chocolate croissant with a name that sounded more like a movie title than a pastry, and I could not stop thinking about it. So one bright morning I drove over to this Missouri spot with an empty stomach and very high hopes.
The bakery sits in a quiet stretch of the neighborhood, close enough to the Botanical Garden that you can make a whole morning out of it. Inside, chandeliers hang from a pressed tin ceiling, mismatched chairs fill the corners, and the smell of butter hits you before the door even shuts.
I ordered the croissant they call The Darkness, found a seat, and understood the hype within about four seconds. The layers shattered with each bite, the chocolate was rich without being cloying, and the flaky crust left crumbs all over the table…