Dao Son is one of those places that I feel guilty giving a middling review because the people who work there seem so nice. Plus Dao Son fills a greatly needed niche in the metro area; if you want casual, but not too casual Asian food in the metro area, your options are limited.
...but... I just don't love their food. The menu is hodgepodge of selections from East and Southeast Asia. That's usually a tell-tale sign that the food won't be authentic, and it seems to hold at Dao Son.
The bun (a Vietnamese noodle salad) was not like others I've had in Vietnamese restaurants. Instead of simple char-grilled meat, they topped the noodles with a generic stir-fry, and the noodles were quite mushy. The clean, bright flavors of this Vietnamese classic weren't evident in Dao Son's version.
Dao Son also serves a large selection of stir-fried dishes. They aren't unpleasant, but they have the feel of generic, Westernized Asian food. They basically end up all tasting the same to me. And sometimes the meats are overcooked. It also doesn't help that the rice served with it is often severely mushy (a pet peeve of mine).
Still if you're in the mood for Asian food, and you're too lazy to go to Kearny Mesa, City Heights, National City, etc, Dao Son is a good choice.
Pacific Whey is one of those places that I'm almost glad that I don't have near me because otherwise I would probably get fat stuffing my face with their food every day.
They specialize in a variety of breakfast pastries. My personal favorite is their Cinnamon Custard Danish - flaky pastry topped with a light, sweet custard and dusted with cinnamon. This danish is beyond addictive, and has become my default breakfast on my trips to Orange County.
Pacific Whey does a lot of pastries quite well. I also love their Almond Frangipane Danish with its pillowy texture and sweet almond filling. The Chocolate Almond Rugalach is a nice pick for chocolate lovers.
I even like their fat-free muffin. Most fat-free muffins are either dry, tasteless pucks or suffer from a pasty interior, but Pacific Whey's version tastes like an actual muffin - less oily than a normal muffin, but with a moist, cakey texture and full flavor.
Pacific Whey also serves breakfast items like eggs and pancakes, as well as an array of tasty sandwiches and salads. Nothing fancy, just simple food, well-prepared. This is exactly the sort of place every neighborhood needs, but is sadly quite hard to find.
Wow, these yogurt places keep popping up faster than I can keep up with them. This is the fifth tart frozen yogurt place that I've tried in San Diego so far, and it's also my least favorite.
My main problem with Dolce Freddo is the yogurt itself. It's neither tart enough or sweet enough for me. The plain yogurt had almost no taste at all. I know that sounds funny for a plain anything, but plain yogurt should taste like yogurt, and this tasted like nothing. Shoveling this cold, unflavored mass into my mouth quickly became a chore.
I also tried the green tea flavor, and while I could taste the green tea, the lack of sweetness still threw me off.
It's not all bad. The selection of toppings is pretty good. It's not as exhaustive as Redberry's, but you'll probably be able to find something to put on your yogurt. And the store itself is clean, pleasant, and comfortable. I just wish I liked the yogurt here.
Peking Restaurant is an old school Orange County restaurant, specializing in Northern Chinese cuisine. Apparently it's been around for decades. My parents told me that they used to go here regularly in the 70's when it was one of the only Chinese restaurants in town. We recently visited when we found ourselves cruising around Westminster looking for a place to eat.
My favorite dish was the Chicken Wrapped in Scallion Pancakes. The scallion pancakes would have been good enough just on their own - crispy, chewy, and savory. But take these pancakes and stuff them with chicken and hoisin sauce and you've got something addictively delicious.
Another favorite was a mung bean noodle with a sesame-mustard sauce. Wide, flat, slippery noodles mixed with chicken, cucumber, and nutty sesame sauce with a nice kick from the mustard. I haven't seen this dish on any menus in So Cal, though maybe I just didn't know to look.
Peking Restaurant is famous for their dumplings, though which type I'm not sure. We ordered the Xiao Long Bao, and it was good though not great. The flavor was good and balanced, but the meat could have been more delicate, and the dumpling could have used more soup.
I also really liked their Mu Shu Vegetable dish. This Chinese burrito was chock full of mushrooms. We also tried Salt Pepper Pork Chops, and it wasn't quite how I liked it -- too much soy sauce, and a little tough.
It's too bad that my parents didn't bring me here more often when I was growing up in OC because Peking Restaurant has some delicious and unique dishes that I could have been enjoying for years.
This new North Park newcomer bills itself as a late-night diner. It's certainly nice to have a place in the neighborhood to grab a meal after 9pm besides Jack-In-The-Box.
The menu is fairly small, consisting mostly of burgers, hog dogs, fries, and baked potatoes. I kind of wish they had branched out more since that's more or less what you can get at the aforementioned Jack-In-The-Box.
I stopped by a couple of weeks ago and tried a couple of their sliders (mini-cheeseburgers) and also their Mac & Cheese. The sliders were tasty, but their were a couple of little hard nuggets of something in the meat, which is a little disconcerting. I hear they get their beef from Brandt Farms, a respected local provider, so maybe I just got unlucky.
I was less impressed with their bland Mac & Cheese. Mac & Cheese above all should be cheesy, and I just didn't get that. I felt like I was eating plain, overcooked, unsalted pasta with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top.
I went back a week later to try a cheeseburger and fries, and it was better. The cheeseburger was simple and flavorful, though the meat patty felt just a little rubbery like it had been packed down too much. The fries looked fresh-cut and golden - very promising. The medium-thick fries looked like a classic Belgian pommes frites. But as I picked one up, I realized that they were all a bit limp. It's a shame; if they had just crisped them up a bit more, they would have been perfect.
Although it's nice having a place to satisfy the late-night munchies, I thought that the items I had weren't as good as they could be, and cost more than comparable food. It's basically fast food, except it's slower and costs more. I would rather get my burger fix at In-N-Out for less money. And late at night, I would just as well go to Jack-In-The-Box (or more likely my local Roberto's clone).
Quan Hop in Little Saigon is not quite upscale, but it's definitely nicer looking than your average hole-in-the-wall pho joint. Sometimes when you up the decor, you lose out on the authenticity of the cuisine. That might be true to a small extent at Quan Hop, but the food was still delicious.
I had a really nice bowl of bun bo hue there last week. The meat and tendon were very tender, and I loved the spicy, balanced broth. But I didn't see any of the pig knuckle with its luscious skin and meat that is my favorite part of a good bowl of BBH. I didn't get any pork blood either. Still it's hard to complain since what was there was very good.
We also tried some of the sticky rice flour dishes. The banh beo are little dishes with a thin layer of steamed rice flour dough covered with chopped shrimp, green onions, and fried shallots. This was a very nice version of this dish with a strong shrimp flavor.
I really liked the banh it also. It's a blob of sticky rice filled with meat and shrimp on top of blob of deep-fried sticky rice. The deep-fried chewy starch bomb was very decadent.
I thought we were done for the meal, but my mom spotted these intriguing crackers that other diners were eating, and asked the waiter to bring some. It turns out that the crackers were just one component of a salad that included hearts of palm and shrimp. Even though I was stuffed, I took a cracker and piled it with the salad and tried it. It had a tart, light flavor, and would make a great opener.
Quan Hop's one big drawback is that it's more expensive than your average pho place. I guess you're paying for sitting in a nicer environment. It didn't bother me much though since I liked the food and, in the big scheme of things, it's still relatively cheap.
Opera Patisserie is notable for being the only place in San Diego to offer French macarons (as far as I know). French macarons are two light, glossy meringue cookies sandwiching a small amount of filling. The impression is that of a very high-end Oreo cookie, but that's not really doing it justice.
I first tried these little delicacies at The French Laundry. Even though I was stuffed after eating 12 courses, I couldn't resist the charming little treats. They were so light and perfect that I ended up eating three of them.
I decided to head down to Opera to see how their macarons compared to my first time. When I looked in the display case, I saw that they offered a dozen varieties of macarons as well as a small selection of pastries, desserts, and savory lunch items like quiche and French "pizza".
I ordered a French "pizza" with caramalized onions and bacon as well as two boxes of macarons to go. The pizza was a flat bread covered with a creamy, mild white cheese and topped with onions and bacon, and it came with a simple, lightly dressed salad. The pizza was very rich and delicious.
How were the macarons? The texture on the meringue cookies was wonderful - light with a pleasant little chew. I think I sampled every flavor they offered and some were hits and others were misses. I found some of the flavors (like the chocolate and the passion fruit) to be cloying. But others had a subtle flavor that allowed you to enjoy the light texture of the meringue.
On another visit, I went to try out some of their breakfast pastries. When I got there, the young lady behind the counter seemed unprepared, and when more people started lining up, things got a little chaotic with people pressing the counter out of order.
I managed to put in my order for a latte, a scone, and a croissant. I was a bit concerned when she started making my latte because she seemed very hesitant, and actually dumped her first attempt after sniffing it, but I can see that my worry was for nothing.
She produced a lovely latte with a dense, creamy head and a smooth espresso flavor. I can see now she was just looking out for my latte. I was similarly impressed with the pastries. The scone had a perfect texture for a cream scone - halfway between shortbread and biscuit. It might be the best I've had in San Diego (yes, better than Rebecca's, whose scones I consider overrated). The croissant was also light, buttery and flaky as a croissant should be.
So despite some quirks with morning service and some macaron flavors I didn't love, I think Opera is one of San Diego's best and unique bakeries.
When I heard that Takashi Abe, the chef behind Bluefin, had opened an izakaya in Huntington Beach, I was very excited. Bluefin's perfectly executed, and beautifully-presented creations make for my favorite sushi experience in OC. Abe applies the same aesthetic to izakaya-style food, basically Japanese bar food in small tapas-sized portions. The results are simultaneously refined and homey.
We were a little worried when we first stepped inside. Not that the place didn't look nice, it does -- sleek, zen, and modern. It's that it was nearly empty (though it was a Monday night). But all concerns disappeared when they brought us our first plates.
We started with the okonomiyaki, a delicious, savory pancake with octopus topped with a BBQ sauce and bonito shavings. Next up were Fried Shishito Peppers. These peppers have a mellow heat with a nice smoky finish.
The next two dishes were my favorites, Deep-Fried Soft-Shell Crab and Cod with Foie Gras. The crab were lightly battered and fried, and served with a sweet, light, chili sauce. I've never had such a perfectly light piece of crab before. As expected, the Cod with Foie Gras was decadent -- the buttery fish melding with the rich duck liver tempered by a soy-mirin sauce. Heavenly.
The menu features several fusion dishes. We tried an Italian-influenced miniature rack of lamb with a tomato puree and basil. It was a perfect medium rare, and the tomato made a nice counterpoint to the lamb.
For those curious about how it compares to Honda Ya, another excellent izakaya in OC, I would say that most of the dishes that I had at Izakaya Zero were more artfully presented and sharply executed than comparable dishes at Honda Ya. Of course, that comes with a heftier price tag. Honda Ya's big advantage is that it has much bigger variety, and it's homier. Hopefully, Izakaya Zero will find its audience soon; it's beautiful, delicious food certainly deserves it.
When I was driving down 30th a few weeks ago, I noticed a sign for a new pizza place with the intriguing name of A Sicilian Thing. Could it be that someone in San Diego has decided to specialize in Sicilian-style pizza (if you don't count Pizza Hut)? Sicilian-style pizza in America usually refers to a rectangular pizza with a thick crust -- almost like focaccia bread, but with a nice crunch on the bottom.
It turns out that A Sicilian Thing was started by a Bronx Pizza alumnus. That's all I needed to hear before checking it out. I stopped by soon after. They sell about half a dozen varieties of Sicilian pizza by the slice, as well as a couple of NY-style thin crust pies. I was also pleasantly surprised that they sell cannolis too.
I ordered 2 Sicilian slices, a pepperoni and a meat combo called The Meatda. The quality of ingredients was great and the sauce was nicely balanced. The crust was pretty good, but I noticed that it was a bit tough. My jaw was pretty tired after finishing the second slice.
On a separate visit, I ordered a couple of their New York-style slices. It's very similar to Bronx Pizza's, which should come as no surprise. I think the crust on these thin slices was even a little better than Bronx's, though not as good as Luigi's. I think the slices were a bit low on sauce (and I tend not to like too much sauce on my pizza).
I couldn't resist trying the cannoli also, but it was a bit of a letdown. The shell had a crisp, light texture, but the filling had an odd chalky texture.
I think I prefer Hoboken Pizza in PB for both Sicilian-style and NY- style pizza. Hoboken's crust has a lighter feel to it, and their more assertive sauce cuts through the extra bread. But at A Sicilian Thing, you have a lot more choice of Sicilian slices. Overall, A Sicilian Thing is a great addition to the San Diego pizza scene, and I foresee many future visits here, especially since I'm too lazy to park and wait in line at Bronx or drag myself to PB for Hoboken.
I had been hearing good things about this Hillcrest taco shop for years, but for some reason I just never made it here. Now I'm kicking myself for all the delicious meals I could have been having here all this time.
Mama Testa is a taqueria (indeed, it serves over a dozen varieties of tacos), but that doesn't quite do it justice when you compare it to the ubiquitous hole-in-the-wall taquerias throughout San Diego. The food at Mama Testa's is much more polished, but still homey, accessible and most of all delicious.
On my first trip, I ordered the Al Pastor tacos. The friendly man behind the counter handed me a basket full of fresh, light tortilla chips, and I selected some salsa from a choice of 12 (!) from their bar. It's nice to have such a wide selection offering something for every palate. My favorite is the red-onion based salsa.
When my tacos arrived, I immediately dug in. The tacos impressed me with their spicy, flavorful, perfectly done meat. I also appreciated that they obviously took pride in their Spanish rice. I usually consider this a throwaway item that I eat just to make myself full, but Mama Testa's version was delicious -- the rice cooked only until done and no more, so I could enjoy the subtle flavor of the rice.
Subsequent visits have only strengthened my love for this place. Most recently, I tried their Mojados de Carne, and it was mind-bogglingly delicious -- fried rolled tacos cut into pieces and swimming in a rich broth of tomato, beef, and chile. Simply fantaastic!
Mama's is a little bit more expensive than your average taqueria, but your average lunch there will cost less than $10. It's well worth the price. With it's clean space and colorful decor, it's a much more pleasant place to sit than most taco shops. More importantly, the food is great, authentic, and unique.
Vietnamese food must really be coming into its own. This is the second pho place to open this year in Pacific Beach, better known for its bars and boardwalk food than homey Asian fare. But I'm not complaining, I would love it if there were a decent pho joint on every street corner.
Green Papaya takes up a big space previously inhabited by a Chinese buffet place. The decor is nicer than you see in most pho places.
My friend and I both decided to order the pho. When the friendly waitress brought us our food, the first thing we noticed was how skimpy the garnishes were. They brought one plate with one stem of basil, one lime wedge, and a tiny bit of bean sprouts. Even for one bowl of pho this would be skimpy, but this was for two bowls. So we asked for more.
The pho itself was not bad. I really liked the deeply flavored broth. Unfortunately the meat was on the tough side.
Given that it's in PB and the rent is probably higher, the prices were also a bit higher. I think that Pho Sao Bien just down the street is a better bet for a pho fix if you're in Pacific Beach.
I confess to being a Peruvian food newbie. I had such a great first Peruvian meal at Latin Chef in San Diego, that I wanted to introduce my parents to Peruvian food too. So I took them out for lunch at Peruvian Kitchen last week. Hopefully they won't judge all Peruvian food by this visit.
Peruvian Kitchen has a buffet lunch special most weekdays. I know buffets can be kind of risky, but many of the dishes seemed stew-like, exactly the kind of dish that would hold in a steam tray. I thought it would allow us to try lots of different items. We also ordered a cebiche (raw seafood marinated in citrus juice, onions, and chile) and some chicha morada (a tasty beverage made from purple corn).
I piled my plate full of just about every item at the buffet table. When I took my first bite of the aji de gallina (for the uninitiated, it's kind of like a chicken curry), I knew I was in trouble. It was bland, lacking salt, spice, and flavor, and the chicken was overcooked. The sauce was gloppy; I felt like I was eating glue.
Most of the other dishes didn't fare much better -- not enough salt, overcooked. The teriyaki-like chicken was burnt -- not a nice, smoky char, but just burnt. A BBQ chicken was burnt and dry as well.
One of the better dishes was the cebiche, but it was not as good as other versions I've had. It lacked complexity and balance. There was no interplay between sour, salty, and spicy; it was just sour.
Again, I know that buffets are not the optimal showcase for most food, but there were just so many basic cooking mistakes in so many dishes that I probably won't come back for a regular service. OC has a number of choices for Peruvian food, and I think I'll check them out first before coming back here.
Dolci Mango seems to be part of the influx of Pinkberry clones that have invaded California in recent months. These stores specialize in frozen yogurt that taste more like actual yogurt with its tangy flavor.
Dolci Mango bills itself as European or Italian-style frozen yogurt rather than the Asian influence of Pinkberry, Redberry, or Yogurt World. Besides the choice of toppings, I'm not sure what the difference is supposed to be.
Of the places new yogurt places I've tried, I like Dolci Mango's actual yogurt the best. It has a creamier texture than both Yogurt World and Redberry. They also make a really nice, soft mango sorbet with a good mango flavor that has just the right amount of sweetness.
One disadvantage of Dolci Mango is that the selection of toppings is limited compared to other yogurt stores. You won't find any Asian ingredients like lychee, mochi, or flavored jellies. But they do have a good selection of fresh fruit.
I'm hoping Dolci Mango will do OK here. It doesn't seem as crowded as the other yogurt places. Maybe it's because PB isn't chock-full of Korean teenagers like Convoy is.
Over the last year, I've been hearing a lot about this Japanese bakery chain that specializes in cream puffs. Many food bloggers have been ecstatic about them. So I was very happy to learn that Beard Papa had come to Orange County.
My parents and I had just had a disappointing meal at Peruvian Kitchen, and I thought trying out some cream puffs might be a good way to erase the bad memories from lunch. My dad must have thought so too, because he was practically jogging to the food court where Beard Papa sits.
I was disappointed to learn that this location only serves one flavor of cream puff (the venerable vanilla), so we got half a dozen to go. I could barely wait to tear into them when we got them to my parents' place.
The pastry shell has a perfect texture, and the creamy custard filling is wonderfully light, airy, and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness to not overpower the subtle vanilla and egg flavor. I can see why these are so popular, especially with Asians, who seem to prefer desserts that are not very sweet.
Unlike the cupcake and yogurt craze, this is a food fad that I can wholeheartedly embrace. But it could be that I'm in the minority, as the store was empty. And the Register's Fast Food Maven reports the same for the location at the Mainplace Mall. I hope it catches on here so I'll be able to enjoy the cream puffs for years to come.
As I could tell from the 30 minute wait time on Sunday, this little restaurant in Fountain Valley has become very popular for its yakiniku (Japanese BBQ). The experience is very similar to Korean BBQ. At the center of each table, there is a big gas grill, and you order raw thinly sliced pieces of meat, and grill them yourself at the table.
One of Tsuruhashi's big draws has to be its inclusion of kobe beef, prized for its well-marbled fat. My family and I ordered a special that featured 3 different kobe dishes. The kobe beef boneless short ribs were probably my least favorite of the three. It was actually too much fat for me. I usually love fat, but there wasn't enough meat to lend the whole piece a beefy flavor.
The second kobe dish also featured short ribs, this time marinated in a light ponzu-like sauce with some meaty mushrooms. These cuts had more meat to them, and they had a nice beefy, buttery taste. My favorite kobe dish was the last one though, thin slices of kobe ribeye topped with scallions and mustard. The horseradish flavor in the mustard really cuts through the kobe fat and provides a nice accent.
That wasn't the end of the kobe marathon though. We ordered one of Tsuruhashi's "risotto" specials. It's really a rice porridge in a light broth with mushrooms, egg, veggies, and a few pieces of melt-in-your-mouth kobe beef. Strangely, this dish felt both filling and light at the same time. It's the sort of dish I could see myself eating everyday if I let myself.
We also ordered the seafood for grilling, but I think next time I'll stick with the BBQ meat dishes. I didn't think they were bad, but just not noteworthy.
You would think with kobe beef in half the dishes, the bill would be astronomical, but it was very reasonable -- about $25 per person with tip. We will definitely be back for a repeat visit.
With the recent opening of RedBerry, it looks like the yogurt wars have really heated up. This yogurt shop sports a name suspiciously similar to another yogurt chain you might have heard of ( *cough* pinkberry *cough* ). And from what I've read of that other yogurt store, it's quite similar in style, providing tart, yogurt-y flavors with a nice choice of toppings.
I haven't actually tried Pinkberry yet, but RedBerry might have a few additional features to attract converts to its door. For one, it has more flavors (8 to Pinkberry's two flavors). And my favorite part -- for medium sizes ($4) and larger, you can add as many toppings as you want. One complaint about Pinkberry has been the stinginess of its serving sizes. You won't have that problem at RedBerry.
So how's the yogurt? Pretty good, in my book. I'm getting to like the more natural yogurt taste. And there's only a little bit of iciness (something that Yogurt World just up the street seems to suffer from to a greater degree). There's a nice selection of toppings, from your standard stuff like sprinkles and nuts to more Asian ingredients like flavored jellies, mochi, and lychee.
I'm still not sure I get this whole yogurt craze. I find it tasty, but not addictive. But it's a nice treat that's a little bit easier on the waistline. So far RedBerry seems to provide the best value of the tart yogurt places in SD. Things should really heat up when Pinkberry finally opens in Hillcrest later this year.
It's really a shame that it's taken me so long to check out this little pizza joint in PB. For some reason, this place doesn't seem to get as much foodie buzz as other SD pizza places, but I think it might be my current favorite in San Diego (yes, I think I like it better than Bronx Pizza).
Hoboken has kind of a dive bar feel with its black vinyl booths, loud music playing on the PA, and loads of pictures of New Jersey heroes like Springsteen and Sinatra. As I was waiting for my slices to arrive, I noticed that the walls were covered with dollar bills taped to the walls and autographed by past patrons.
When the Hoboken server dropped off my slices, he gently warned me that they were very hot and I might want to wait a minute or I might burn my mouth, and I thought, "That was very sweet of him!"
I couldn't really wait that long though, the slices looked delicious -- very thin, and dotted with oil from the pepperoni and cheese. The crust was crisp with a nice easy chew. And the sauce, cheese, and pepperoni combined into that special alchemy that is pizza magic.
I really loved the crust on Hoboken's pizza. It has a softer finish to it than Bronx Pizza (where I tend to ditch the crust when I get to the edge). The sauce is quite good with a hint of extra spiciness or herbs to it. I probably like the sauce and the sauce-to-cheese ratio at Bronx Pizza better, but that's really nit-picking.
I enjoyed my slices so much that I went back to Hoboken the very next day, and decided to try their Sicilian-style pizza. The crust on this pizza is much thicker and softer, kind of like focaccia bread, but with a nice crisp bottom like a pan-pizza. I enjoyed it, but I think I'm more of a NY-style pizza guy.
Another plus for Hoboken is that they serve beer. I think I saw half a dozen beers on tap. It seems like many of the good pizza joints in SD don't serve alcohol.
Ever since reading mmm-yoso's posts about Latin Chef, I've been dying to go. I've never had Peruvian food, and the descriptions of Asian-influence mixing with Latin food had me intrigued.
As soon as we arrived at Latin Chef, the very friendly owner gave us a little primer on Peruvian food and suggested a few dishes. We ended up ordering a fish ceviche, the Lomo Saltado (grilled beef with potatoes), and the Aji De Gallina (chicken in a creamy, mildly spicy sauce).
We also tried a traditional Peruvian drink Chica Morada (I think that's right). It's made from purple corn, lemon, ginger, and cinnamon, and it is very tasty -- like a punch with a gently spicy finish.
I absolutely loved the ceviche -- raw fish mixed with thin slices of onion, lemon juice, and chili. The chunks of raw fish are lightly cooked by the acid in the lemon. It was just this perfect balance between sour, spicy, and salty. I could eat this dish every day.
I liked the Lomo Saltado, beef in a salty, tangy, spicy sauce with fries. The beef was nicely seasoned, and was perfectly done -- tender and juicy. The fries were crispy and went well with the sauce.
The Aji De Gallina, shredded chicken in a creamy sauce, reminded me a lot of a mild curry. The creamy sauce was wonderful mixed with rice.
All in all, this was a great experience. I'm sold on Peruvian food, and I'll definitely be back for more.
This is a nice, little neighborhood ice cream shop in Normal Heights. It's run by a friendly couple, who judging by the many liberal posters and stickers around the store, wear their politics on the sleeve. Why is it that hippies and ice cream go together so well?
They serve about a dozen flavors with lots of the usual suspects like Mint Chip, Cookies n Cream, as well as some slightly off the beaten path like Maple Walnut and Coconut. I've only tried a few flavors, but they have all been flavorful and balanced.
A couple of minor quibbles, I think I prefer my ice cream just a little denser, not that Mariposa's is extremely airy. And on some flavors, there is some residual nut powder from the chopped nuts that are mixed into the ice cream, and it interferes more with the texture.
That said, Mariposa Ice Cream is a great place for a treat on a hot day. Parking can be a bit tricky, but the ice cream is worth it. Plus you can work off some calories by walking to and from your car.
Desserts are a mixed bag (but the coffee's great!)
Jun 20, 2007
I think if Heaven Sent were just a coffee shop that happened to serve a few desserts, I'd be giving them a higher rating. Their coffee is great -- both the straight coffee and the espresso-based drinks. They get their beans from Caffe Calabria just down the street, and they treat them with great care... but...
I've tried several of their desserts now, and I think that many of them have little problems. I'm OK with the presentation of the dishes though they aren't as artful as Extraordinary Desserts. Recently I tried their cheesecake, and it seemed like it was slightly overbaked so that it lost its creamy texture. The Key Lime Bar had a filling with a nice, tart flavor, but the crust just seemed slightly off -- like the graham crackers had picked up a weird flavor.
I also tried something that resembled a Napoleon with mascarpone and cherries. The mascarpone filling was nice and light with just the right amount of sweetness, but the crust was downright hard. I couldn't break through it with my fork, and all the filling just squished out. When I picked up the bits of crust and ate them separately, but it was still pretty challenging.
Many wonder which dessert place reigns supreme, the incumbent Extraordinary Desserts or the young upstart Heaven Sent. Honestly, I think both have issues with their desserts, though I'd give the edge to Extraordinary Desserts for just quality of food. But somehow I always feel slightly cheated after going to Extraordinary Desserts, since I think their food is just OK and the staff just seems so unfriendly. Last time I was at Extraordinary Desserts to get a mediocre scone, they were downright rude.
I like Heaven Sent because it feels welcoming and comfortable. Just about everyone who works there have been extremely nice to me. So much so that I feel like a total heel for not giving a higher rating.
