Cannoli Watch: Masa

I had heard so much about the chocolate croissant bread pudding at Masa that I was determined to have it. However, after consuming lots of cuban rolls and a couple slices of the Chicago-style pizza (see Must Try), I couldn't even bear to think about having more bread. But, me being me, I still wanted to have a sweet cap to my meal, especially since the other dessert on the menu was a chocolate chip cannoli (!):

This cannoli was no bijou reimaging; it was 5-6 inches of the real deal. The ricotta filling was very good and not too heavy (for ricotta), and while I wish there were more chocolate chips to add a little texture and more interest to the filling, chocolate was fully represented in the generous glazing. I really liked this and it definitely whets my appetite for Masa's hallowed bread pudding.

Hike #7: Echo Mountain via the Sam Merrill Trail

Two weekends ago, I (along with TB) went on the toughest hike yet (at least, for me): Echo Mountain via the Sam Merrill Trail in Altadena. This hike is about 2.5 miles one-way up a sunny and switchback-heavy trail with a total elevation gain of about 1,400 feet:

When you get to the top of Echo Mountain, you can explore the ruins of a turn of the century (1900s) resort:

...and the railway that took guests up to it:

Before descending or continuing the three miles further to the top of Mount Lowe, you can read both the historic and intepretive signs scattered around the site and relax in several shady picnic areas:

My favorite part was this:


It's not everyday that you get to hear your own yodeling echoing throughout the San Gabriel Mountains:

One of the best things about doing a strenuous hike is that you really have carte blanche to eat as much as you want for lunch. We did just that at the plain-looking Pie 'N Burger, a Pasadena institution. I had been meaning to go there for quite a while since I found out that they did turkey burgers (I don't eat regular burgers) and that it was mostly counter seating (I love eating at counters!)

After 3 hours of hiking, my burger definitely hit the spot. TB said the burger reminded him of a Big Mac, but better. (I don't think I can even remember what a Big Mac tastes like, but I'm assuming that they would be similar because of the Thousand Island dressing.) Anyway, the showstopper (and possible heartstopper) was the Dutch Apple Pie: crumbly cinammon topping, warm and not too sweet apple filling, buttery crust and generous scoops of French Vanilla ice cream. (TB got the rhubarb pie.) In any event, they have more than a dozen kinds of pie (depending on what's in season) at Pie 'N Burger, and I can't wait to try every single one.

Happy Holidays!

Mini pumpkin bundt cakes, chocolate peppermint cupcake, carrot cake cupcake & mini snowman vanilla chocolate cupcake from Akasha. I'm so going to explode this holiday season!

L.A. Macaron Matchup Part 3: Cafe du Village

The macarons I bought from Cafe du Village on Larchmont are supposedly from some place called Le Dore de Stephane in France, but I have my doubts since they taste so fresh and amazing and I just can't believe that they survived the shipping. In any event, these 100% natural (note the lack of artificial colors) macarons are very different than the ones I've tried so far. First of all, they need to be refrigerated due to the mousse-like filling. Second, the natural-colored cookie part was light and airy without any hint of chewiness. Third, these are more like miniature pastry than cookie.

They come in boxes of 6 with two of each of the featured flavors for the day. Today, they were strawberry, coffee and lime. At first, I was disappointed by the flavor selection since I really wanted a chocolate one, but when I bit into the strawberry, any disappointment was replaced by delight. The filling was exactly like strawberry cheesecake mousse, and while I love chocolate, you all should probably know that my favorite single ice cream flavor is strawberry. (I actually love neapolitan, but most people consider that a cop-out.) Anyway, the strawberry is amazing, the coffee was good (though I realize now that I don't like coffee-flavored things), and the lime was refreshing and tart.

These for me stand apart from the other two in execution, taste and just overall deliciousness. I only wish that I had a choice in what I get. I don't really want to pay for flavors I don't like (especially since these were the most expensive) and I do want a chocolate one. I was going to do a ranking of all the macarons I've had so far, but I think I'm going to try Boule's before I do that.

L.A. Macaron Matchup Part 2: La Maison Du Pain

I've read that La Maison Du Pain prides itself on interpreting French baking faithfully, so I thought it would be perfect for my macaron tasting crawl. In terms of presentation, when I walked in, I didn't notice the macarons at first since they were in bowls on top of the counter all mixed together. That makes sense, since they aren't the featured offering there. (I did notice the huge pain au chocolat* in the display case, though, and proceeded to make that my lunch.) Along with the pain au chocolat, I left with chocolate, coffee, pistachio and lemon macarons. (Sorry no pictures... I eat them too fast!)

Compared to the ones at Paulette, these macarons were more subtle in flavor, but more substantial in texture. The cookie part had more of the traditional almond flavor and wasn't as doughy (I'm thinking now that Paulette's might have been slightly underbaked), and the ganache wasn't overly sweet. The chocolate flavor was solid and the lemon flavor was just right, but I really didn't like the coffee flavor because I didn't think it was sweet enough. (Then again, I put tons of sugar in my coffee.) My favorite flavor was the pistachio, which I loved for the same reason I liked the marzipan of Paulette's Sweet Wedding Almond... it just seems to fit perfectly with the idea of an 18th century tea cookie.

So far, I prefer the execution of the La Maison du Pain macarons, but I do like the creativity and presentation of the Paulette ones. I'll give a full ranking after the third stop.

*La Maison du Pain's pain au chocolat is now one of my favorites... not too crunchy, but very flaky and buttery. I ate it in my car and it didn't make too much of a mess. The only thing I wasn't completely on board with is the use of chocolate chips. I normally prefer a piece of dark Callebaut or Valhrona chocolate inside, but the chocolate chips they used were good. I'm sure that it's much easier to get a more even distribution of chocolate throughout the pastry with chocolate chips.

L.A. Macaron Matchup Part 1: Paulette

While researching patisseries for my Paris trip, I noticed that macarons were mentioned quite often and so I decided to try some in L.A. in order to have a point of comparison when I visit Laduree, which is where they were created. Up until yesterday (Friday), I had never actually had a French macaron*, despite seeing them in Boule many times. I guess they just didn't look appealing to me, mainly because I thought they were like hard Italian cookies. Thank goodness I found out otherwise at the first place I tried: Paulette.

Paulette is probably the only place in the L.A. area that exclusively serves macarons. Located in Beverly Hills, the space is very sleek in glossy architectural white, and it's very obvious that they are trying to be the Sprinkles of macarons, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Regarding my order, since I was a newbie, I decided to get a range of flavors: Chocolate Coconut, Caribbean Chocolate, Strawberry, Sweet Wedding Almond, New Orleans Praline, and Violet Cassis. I normally don't like fruity cookies, but I thought that there was a possibility that fruit might excel in this presentation style.

I tried the Caribbean Chocolate first to be safe since I didn't want a bad flavor to prejudice me against the macaron forever. It was light in texture, slighty chewy and doughy and very rich tasting. I could have eaten ten of these. That first experience spurred me on to practically inhale three more: Chocolate Coconut, New Orleans Praline and Violet Cassis. I really liked the praline but wished the chocolate coconut was more chocolatey and I have to admit it was a bit hard for me to swallow the cassis. It was like trying to eat black currant preserves straight from the jar -- too strong and jammy a flavor for the delicate texture of the macaron. The Strawberry flavor was a much more subdued fruit flavor and I thought worked much better, though still a little too fruity for my taste. The light rose-colored Sweet Wedding Almond, to me, was the best fit. The macaron is such an elegant pastry and almost belongs to another time, and marzipan is very much an Old World flavor.

While I have nothing to compare these with yet, I'd have to say that I definitely love the whole macaron concept. We'll see how Paulette's execution holds up as I sample more versions both in L.A. and in Paris. This weekend, I'm going to try two other places: Cafe du Village, which imports theirs straight from France, and possibly La Maison Du Pain, which doesn't necessarily have them all the time, but I'll take any excuse to visit there for the first time.

*French macarons are not the coconut clusters that they share a name with. Instead, they are like super fancy cookie sandwiches, consisting of two domed meringue-like halves and a sweet ganache filling, with endless flavor possibilities.

Medialunas & Alfahores

Recently, I got an e-mail from someone who wanted more information about the Spanish and Tango program I completed in Buenos Aires. (I had totally forgotten that I had left a review on my school's Web site with my contact information.) Anyway, corresponding with this person brought back a lot of memories from my trip. And since I've had sweet things on the brain for awhile (didn't ya notice?), I particularly remember all the yummy stuff I ate, specifically the medialunas I ate every morning and the alfahores I snacked on whenever I could.

Medialunas (or half moons) are basically little croissants that are either glazed with butter or with sugar. Before Spanish class every day, I went to this little bakery across the street from the school and bought several medialunas and other pastries and then ate them while sipping some yerba mate or tea in class. This little routine is one of the things I am most nostalgic for. However, if I ate like that all the time, it wouldn't be pretty, especially since I certainly wouldn't be walking all over L.A. I guess that is the beauty of walking city vacations: you're basically in a constant cycle of eating and expending calories in equal amounts. I can't wait to have a pasta and gelato orgy the next time I'm in Italy and as mentioned before, pain au chocolat and la creme the first time I'm in Paris.

Alfahores are soft-baked cookie sandwiches that have dulce de leche in the center and are dipped in chocolate or meringue. Very rich and decadent and definitely not going to win you points with your cardiologist. In my opinion, the best brand of alfahores is Havanna. I tried some others both in L.A. and BsAs, and Havannas are still the yummiest. When I was leaving BsAs, I packed my extra suitcase with several boxes of them to give away and almost bought more at the airport. (It's their equivalent of Hawaii's chocolate-covered macadamias.) Anyway, I had trouble finding them in L.A. until a month ago, when I met a native portena at a cupcake meetup who told me about an Argentinian market in Van Nuys that stocks them. I still haven't gone (I'm waiting for Girl Scout cookie season to subside), but I will definitely find my way there.

My little cannoli

I've been craving a cannoli for several months, and so when I went to sample this little Italian deli in Silver Lake and saw that they had cannolis, I had to try one:

The verdict: Pretty good and not overly sweet. Most of all, I love that I can order a little itty bitty one (about 3"), since I can't take too much of the filling (or too much of the calories.) I also find it mildly amusing that the menu says that the freshly made cream is "stuffed by experts." I wonder if I can take a class in cannoli cream stuffing.

Update: Cardone's Deli (where I got this cannoli) has shut its doors. I guess the cannoli-stuffing experts will have to find a new place to practice their craft.