Cucina Urbana has a new pastry chef. Jack Fisher, formerly of Nine-Ten, has created a fall dessert menu stocked with so many tempting options, you may need to order two of them.
Location Archives: Downtown
8 Sweet Breakfast Dishes in San Diego
If you love starting your day with a healthy dose of sugar, check out my latest round-up of sweet breakfast desserts on Serious Eats: Sweets, featuring everything from (relatively) healthy options like my favorite acai bowl, to saturated with sugar indulgences like a bananas foster belgian waffle.
Comic-Con Sweets
There are plenty of options for a tasty treat near the San Diego Convention Center. Here are a few of my top picks, just in time for Comic-Con.
PB&J Treats to celebrate National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
How many sandwiches have not one, but TWO songs inspired by the ingredients? I’m going to guess there’s only one: the mighty peanut butter and jelly. Biting into a standard PB&J sandwich is a fine enough way to celebrate International Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (April 2nd, 2012), but there are a few tastier (and sweeter) alternatives in San Diego, namely the PB&J cookie at Zanzibar, or the peanut butter and jam-inspired dessert at the Grant Grill.
Heavenly Cupcake Tasting Party
Know what you’re looking at? FREE CUPCAKES. Yep, with no strings attached. Yesterday, the new owners of Heavenly Cupcake hosted a free tasting party, where fans sampled the newest flavors and voted for their favorite. The winning cupcake will become flavor of the month.
Baked Goods Galore from Village 631
In my area of San Diego, chain coffee shops outnumber independent cafes, but one advantage that the Village at 631 has over the competition is a kick-ass pastry chef. The baked goods in the display case are so vastly superior to the mass-produced items at Starbucks that making the comparison between the two almost feels mean.
Sweet Eats: The Mission’s French Toast
French toast is like pizza: even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. And while this breakfast and brunch staple is tough to really get wrong, there’s still a gulf between the eggs, imitation vanilla, and Wonder bread version I whipped up as a kid and legitimately well executed versions like the cinnamon french toast at The Mission ($7.95).
San Diego’s Best Exotic Cookies
Awhile back, I faced a very exciting challenge: find the best exotic cookies in San Diego. The discoveries became part of “Cookie Crazed” a 1-page spread in San Diego Magazine. Click through to read more, and find out the best spots to stock your cookie jar.
Apple Pie from Banker’s Hill Bar and Restaurant
Quick: name a great spot for pie other than Julian. Stumped? I was too, until I turned to some fellow bloggers for suggestions for a San Diego Magazine dining opener. Click through to read all about the best apple pie in San Diego.
Fast Food: Glazed Doughnuts from 7-Eleven
As a transplanted Canadian, I take my doughnuts very seriously. On a weekly basis, I pine for the deep-fried dough of my homeland: Honey Dip, Marble, and Sour Cream Glazed doughnuts from Tim Hortons, washed down with a frosty Iced Capp. And though the food scene in Southern California does have its advantages, when it comes to doughnuts, the options are severely lacking. Though my better judgment advised against it, my crippling doughnut cravings (and curiosity) drove me to try 7-Eleven’s 2 for $1 Glazed Doughnut deal. At best, I’d discover a reasonable replacement for my beloved Timmy’s, and at worst, I’d be out a buck.