That’s not the traditional way to make an almond croissant or pain au chocolat.
Ricotta pesto.
It is. Sorry for the confusion. Replied to my post, but maybe I should have edited.
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@robert Do you mean twice-baked? When I was in pastry, almond croissants 
were always twice baked products. Not chocolate, however. Chocolate almond would be twice baked as well.
Traditionally, almond croissants are rolled around frangipane and pain au chocolat around chocolate before they’re baked.
I see recipes for using stale croissants online but I’ve never encountered one. Seems like a thrifty thing to do if you’re not selling out every day. Though the places where I buy viennoiserie always sell out. Usually before I get there.
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Twice baked croissants are on a regular basis found in a number of bakeries
Here is for example one at Noe Valley Bakery (which I would rank pretty high in quality in the bay area)
That’s my problem. The places that are really good sell out fast. And the ones that have pastries left later in the day are usually ones that I do not wish to eat b/c they’re not that good. Bleh.
This was absolutely incredible. 11/10 banger - in my personal top 5. I may even prefer this to Lou’s almond croissant.
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That’s high praise from you.
Heads up for anybody who needs to hear it, Chaumont has soft opened in Santa Monica (very weird location in one of the new developments on Colorado).
2930 COLORADO AVE, SANTA MONICA, CA 90404.
SOFT OPENING 7:30AM – 3:00PM DAILY
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OH.
MY.
GOD.
Thanks for the heads up!
Holy crap
Stopped in to check out the new Santa Monica Chaumont. The new place is gorgeous. Just really stunning. At 8:00am on a Sunday in the first week of a soft open they were comically overstocked and overstaffed.
They’ve combined their trad and vegan operations for the Santa Monica location and it feels like the balance is about 60% vegan to 40% traditional. The vegan flavors run a much wider spectrum (matcha, strawberry, pistachio, orange chocolate…), while the traditional options hue to more conventional flavors.
They had three staff front of house and at least two or three more in the kitchen. I hope they can make it work, because it’s a short walk from my house… but it’s a bizarre place to open up, I don’t know how many folks are going to find it.
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Just picked up some croissants! Good looks.
Utterly bizarre location, but the rent deal must be insane. Lovely little shop though. I was not as happy with my cinnamon twist today but everything else was up to par.
I can post pics of the entrees, if desired, but I’ll just provide the text for now.
I recall having an entree many yrs ago at the original location and not being particularly impressed w/ the non-pastry items.
Salmon croissant sandwich very good (if the croissant is really good and the salmon at least decent, how can you go wrong?). Cubed avocado provided on the side, which is a bit… unusual?
Chicken bowl fine. The chicken itself was actually quite unremarkable (as in, you get similar quality chicken ready to reheat from a package at the store), but the sauce (some sort of soy glaze) was good, as were the fried onions (or shallots?). I liked the short-grain rice but could’ve used more of what I think was supposed to be a cilantro sauce mixed into the rice.
So, for entrees, places like Huckleberry have nothing to worry about.
Side note: I do not recall the plates being the same pink color as the outdoor furniture in previous trips. Eating off a pink plate is… weird. A bit too Pepto-Bismol-y for my mind. 
Croissant was a bit soft (not surprising, given that we were there in the early afternoon). Sweet and buttery flavor was excellent. I singed it a bit upon reheating in the toaster oven. Argh. 
Crisped up nicely, though, and the exterior still has the lovely shatter. I think the interior was just a touch more dense and/or chewy-y than I remember? But still very good.
Pain suisse (under all pastries above) also very tasty and surprisingly chocolate-y. Couldn’t taste much of the custard, which is actually just fine by me.
So I’d still mainly stick the pastries here. Didn’t see any tarts (I’ve actually really enjoyed the few times I’ve gotten tarts at the BH location).
The location is kind of random, but I think they’re likely hoping for a ton of business from the folks in the building (mixed use) and from regulars in the neighborhood (it’s essentially in a residential area w/ lots of multi-family). There are also some large office blgs nearby. Hope they do well!
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Finally tried it:
I have mixed feelings. The top layer or two is fairly shatter-y (the layers were really thin but didn’t truly shatter; however, the croissant had also been a paper bag for a few hrs, so…). The interior is, as @chewchow stated, tender (that’s more diplomatic than I would’ve stated it). Not my preferred croissant texture, TBH.
Also, if a croissant can contain too much chocolate, this would be it. I recall that when I first had pain au chocolate in Paris, I was like, “There’s only 2 small lines of chocolate! That’s not enough!!!”
Actually, 2 small lines are just perfect.
The chocolate texture is also quite thick and the taste is quite intense. I think on its own, I would’ve liked the chocolate flavor (but still would’vde wanted far less of it). With the croissant, it was kind of distracting and just a bit too decadent.
Having said that, it’s still an excellent product and well worth a try. Partner very much liked the chocolate croissant and the ham and cheese. I love a good ham and cheese croissant, so I will likely give that a go next time.
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I think Doubting Thomas’ croissant is outstanding and deserves more attention here. Below is their plain croissant- it’s not Instagram-pretty but has great buttery flavor, texture, etc. It’s also HUGE which justifies the price. I suspect, although have not confirmed, that they’re using some type of whole grain flour in there because the croissant has a beige tinge to it.
I also tried the pistachio croissant that was stuffed with lemon curd which was spectacular.
The restaurant has imaginative pastries and real, interesting food that seems to be made with a lot of integrity and thought without being sanctimonious. Lots of people streaming in and out that gives it a lively vibe. I’ve only been twice but I think this establishment is a real gem with a soul and deserves everyone’s support.
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Pffft w/ being social-media pretty! That looks great (and way too big for one person). Good shatter, I hope?