The flavors change throughout the year, with seasonal fruits and vegetables serving as muse, with early summer ushering in strawberries and cream croissant cubes and grilled asparagus- and ricotta-laden croissants, or Best Dish-worthy blueberry tarts. The flavors zigzag back and forth between sweet and savory, with the croissant (essentially) serving as a canvas. It’s not all laminated products, as visitors can also see Armar’s baking skills in the cookies, caneles, Basque cheesecake, and more, with a well-considered drinks menu to boot.
Parachute, like Arquet, is swatched in similar cream colors, with well-lit shelves, and an exposed kitchen of sorts (you can’t see much of the pastry production, but visitors can clearly see the vertical ovens, where the pastries are baked). Thanks to windows on the east side of the shop, visitors to Parachute also get views into Arquet, while sunlight from the pier-side of the building comes streaming in. There are a small handful of seats to enjoy pastries and drinks, if you choose.
Peruse the merch and it’s a highly curated selection of products, including sweaters, T-shirts, and hats decorated with an illustrated, many-layered croissant; coffee; tea; bread and butter pickles; raw honey; cookbooks; greeting cards; and candles, in scents like tomato leaf, bergamot, and roasted pine. The bakery also has packaged specialty goods, such as candied pecans, granola, and “Little Bites,” caramelized croissant dough flavored with Madagascar vanilla bean and Okinawa brown sugar.
Armar had a hand in some of the drink offerings, and I was able to take a sip of the Cookies & Cream latte ($7.50), which comes with a shot of espresso and is made with crushed homemade Oreos. If it hadn’t been the afternoon, I probably would have ordered one to-go, so if you’d like some caffeination with your pastries, go earlier, as there’s an entire selection of coffee drinks to choose from. From the specialty drinks, on my next visit I’m eyeing the banana salted cream einspanner ($9.50) or the soba cha shakerato ($8) made with Indian filter kaapi and a soba cha cream cloud. There are also fresh-squeezed juices, a super greens juice, and a seasonal smoothie (which was blueberry-based for my visit).
The lines have mostly calmed down since Parachute’s early days, but if you want to guarantee certain items for your visit, the Parachute Bakery website has a pre-order form available. Orders should be made at least 48 hours in advance.