
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.