CRAFTkitchen
Ham & Cheese Kouign Amann
Banana Walnut Nutella Muffin
Blueberry Poptart
Vegan Blood Orange Blueberry Scone
Almond Orange Anise Shortbread
Black & White Cookie
Vegan Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie
Apple Fritter
Two years in and at this point a landmark eatery for the residents of Henderson, each passing day attracting regulars in addition to new folks from across the greater Las Vegas Metro, it was with the promise of fresh Apple Fritters as part of the ever-changing Brunch that a thirty minute drive was made across town to CRAFTkitchen, Jaret and Tami Blinn’s home of “Local. Quality. Eats.” once again pursuing creativity in a city where other places seem content to stand pat.
Only improving since adding former Mothership Pastry-guru Beth Ryan-Small to the team, her time on the Strip and recent history of Gluten-free as well as Vegan baking complimenting an already impressive program, it was minutes prior to 11am that the Restaurant was found brimming with activity, a twenty-minute wait for tables circumvented by a visit to the take-out counter where several new items were selected along with some old favorites.
Happy to see the place so busy, staff still persistently smiling even during a big rush, it was with items carefully boxed and taken elsewhere that a total of eight Pastries were tasted including five new ones, the decision to start out savory finding Jaret’s Ham and Cheese Kouign Amann as flaky and delicious as ever while the dipped Black & White Cookie was lighter than most traditional versions, but still pleasantly moist and fluffy.
Continuing the Cookie theme alongside Coffee, a buttery Shortbread topped with Almonds and faintly flavored like Licorice good on its own but practically made for dunking, it was next that Beth’s Vegan Scone topped with Blueberries and Blood Orange Icing again raised the bar for butterless Pastries, the Blueberry theme continued inside of Chef Blinn’s peerless Poptart that came even more packed with fresh Fruit than usual on this particular morning.
Doubling down on the last three selections, gooey Vegan-friendly and Gluten-free Chocolate Chunk Cookies topped in Caramel almost impossibly delicious despite their dietary restrictions, it was after a bit of rewarming that both the Banana Walnut Nutella Muffin and “overnight” Apple Fritter were divvied up to taste, the former a bit disappointing as Nutella only graced the top instead of forming a core as it did at Sunrise while the latter set a new standard to which other Donut shops should aspire by being crisp yet packed with fruit and fluffy on the inside without a hit of oiliness on the exterior.
FIVE STARS: Never content with relying on past success CRAFTkitchen continues to refine, tweak and invent in 2018, the addition of Chef Ryan-Small to an already impressive team further solidifying the Restaurant’s status as the 702’s best place for Breakfast.
RECOMMENDED: Apple Fritter, Blueberry Poptart, Ham & Cheese Kouign Amann, Vegan Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie.
AVOID: The Banana Walnut Nutella Muffin was fine, but the Chef’s prior “stuffed” version was far better.
TIP: One problem with an “ever-changing” Brunch is that some of these items may not be available next week, in which case it will simply be necessary to try something different – and likely just as delicious.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.craftkitchenlv.com
