San Francisco Food Blog

T. Palmer

Silvanas, a dreamy dessert sensation.

​Tucked away in the back of one of several shopping centers along a very consumer-friendly street, House of Silvanas (2055 Gellert at King, Daly City) offers cool treats from the Philippines to those lucky enough to stumble on it. The small bakery is operated by Crissy and Manu Sagarbarria, the son and daughter-in-law of the owners of this Manila-based mini-chain. Crissy is usually there to provide the friendliest customer service you've probably received in a while.

The namesake silvanas look like giant, crumb-dusted French macarons. Both are largely comprised of meringue, but silvanas rely on the heft of crushed cashews and a generous swipe of buttercream filling, and are ideally served straight out of the freezer. The lighter crunch has more in common with astronaut ice cream, actually. And while the French rely on flavors such as rose and violet, the bright colors of silvanas reference tastes like ube, pandan, and buko. 

"They're basically the cookie version of the sans rival," explained Crissy Sagarbarria of the cashew and buttercream-rich cake that we will have to return for when we have the foresight to order it two days in advance -- and, perhaps, have a few more inches to spare on our waistline.

In the meantime, we feel quite satiated and happy with our box of mixed silvanas and a (now empty) bag of miniature pastries and confections, including butterscotch date bars called "Food of the Gods" and crumbly polvaron milk candy. We got a little lost trying to find this spot, labeled as "Bake Shop" on the shopping center sign from the street view. We're glad we didn't give up.

J. Birdsall

The infectiously happy matcha (left) and chocolate chip cookies.

​How many chocolate chip cookies have you eaten in your life? Countless, right? And how many have looked like anything but chip-studded cuds of soft, faintly greasy dough? No doubt every one of 'em. But at tiny Café at New People in Japantown's pretty pink heart of Harajuku, the chocolate chip cookie gets a J-Pop makeover, and ends up a piece of polka-dotted whimsy.

J. Birdsall

The pumpkin muffin: Deeply squashy.

​The café sells Blue Bottle coffee drinks and bento boxes from Delica. But it's the cookies and muffins - baked, we're told, by the wife of New People's owner -- that are every bit as vivid and strikingly adorable as the vocals in a Shonen Knife song. The CD-size cookies ($2.50) are baked on rounds of baker's parchment cut freehand. For the chocolate chip, discs of bittersweet form dots in coffee-flavored dough. Buttery matcha cookies flaunt peace signs tinged tea-green.

Muffins ($2.50) deliver a similar sense of quiet surprise, like the burst of tangy zest in the orange-poppyseed. And the pumpkin has a deliciously squashy intensity. Really, what could be more kawaii?

Café at New People 1746 Post (at Webster)

T. Palmer

Melisser of Sugar Beat Sweets dispenses dangerous frosting shots.

​The last edition of the S.F. Vegan Bakesale in October raised $2,600 in just three hours to save kitties from Death Row, so organizers at Vegansaurus have decided to make it a bimonthly happening.

Cottontails are the focus of the next event, with fierce local bakers such as Sugar Beat Sweets, Violet Sweet Shoppe, Bike Basket Pies, Brassica Supperclub, Fat Bottom Bakery, and Cinnaholic selling animal-free delights to benefit Save a Bunny and Food Empowerment Project. Get baked on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of Ike's Place (3506 16th St. at Sanchez).

Cups and Cakes Bakery

​Good news and bad news from cupcake land. First, the bad: Cups and Cakes Bakery (451 Ninth St. at Harrison), which was expected to open Nov. 4, has stopped projecting its actual opening date because unexpected delays keep popping up.

However, the good news is that a soft opening is imminent. Cups and Cakes tweeted that everything is being moved in this morning and hopes to be baking in its new ovens by the afternoon. If you're in the vicinity later today, stop by for a free test cookie.

J. Birdsall

Pastries from Sandbox show polished French technique.

​UPDATE Nov. 13: The new target launch date is Dec. 1, plus read an expanded list of cafe's selling Sandbox morning pastries here.

Sunday is the expected launch date for Sandbox (835 Cortland at Gates), the long-awaited Bernal bakery and sandwich café from ex-Slanted Door pastry chef Mutsumi Takehara and husband Mike Bradford. Can't wait till then? You can get a taste of Takehara's quietly accomplished breakfast pastries at The Creamery (685 Fourth St. at Townsend).

Born in Japan, Takehara trained at La Farine in Oakland before moving on to a brief stint at Chez Panisse and longer gigs at Rubicon and, of course, The Slanted Door. Judging from the croissants and Danish ($2 each) in The Creamery's case, La Farine's traditional aims and polished French technique seem to have exercised a big influence on the pastry chef's style. Though Takehara is expected to play with Asian flavors at Sandbox, don't expect mind-tweaking combinations or into-the-void juxtapositions.

Indeed, Takehara might be S.F.'s anti-Villavelazquez. Her airy croissants exude a kind of phantom butteriness, the blueberry Danish a disciplined focus on sweet-tart fruit. Scones -- like the blackberry one pictured above -- feel a bit looser, more informal. The thing we like best among Sandbox's morning line? The small muffins - especially the bran, with its tender and elastic crumb, and its dark distillation of molasses-y sweetness. Banana's good, too.

thexocolatebar.com

Chocolate Mayan calendar by local artisan the Xocolate Bar.

​This weekend's Holiday Chocolate Show will host nearly 30 local independent confectioners, and should prove to be a good spot for scoring some thoughtful and beautiful holiday gifts, taking a snapshot of the range of ideas and presentations bubbling up in the Bay Area, or just sampling yourself silly on freebies.

In a list of high-quality vendors that our extensive research has found are pretty much all worth a nibble, there are a few stand outs: Emeryville's Charles Chocolates for triple chocolate almonds, Scotts Valley's Chocolate Visions for thick bars, Berkeley's the Xocolate Bar for edible (and sometimes erotic) art, Oakland's Coco Delice for peanut butter bonbons, and S.F.'s Neo Cocoa for classic truffles. Hit these up first before the pickin's get slim.

The cacao-fueled adventure takes place this Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon to 5 p.m. at Herbst Pavilion (99 Marina, in Fort Mason Center). Tickets are $21 ($11 children); get more info and purchase tickets at the official site.

Pixar

​One of the most endearing aspects of Pixar's incredibly charming digital 3D flick UP is how Oakland ice cream institution Fenton's Creamery (4226 Piedmont at Entrada, Oakland) is one of the chief draws back to land for the balloon-flying main characters, a place of great sentimental importance. Stop by the shop next Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 5-8 p.m. to celebrate the Blu-Ray and DVD releases of the film. Pixar animators will demonstrate how they drew the characters, with contests to win the film, Pixar prize packages, and free ice cream from Fenton's.

There'll also be a "Spirit of Adventure" sundae served for that occasion and that occasion only. We don't have any further details on flavors, but if you truly have a spirit of adventure, you can roll with anything.

The foie gras ice cream sandwich: Get there before the protesters do.

​Mission ice cream innovator Humphry Slocombe (2790 Harrison at 24th St.) has its famous (and controversial) foie gras ice cream sandwiches today. For $5, you get some chilly and creamy duck liver goodness, nestled between two gingersnaps. In related meat-sweets news, Humphry launched lard caramels this week. Like its lard shortbread cookies, they're something of a collaboration with -- or maybe homage to -- Boccalone, the lard's source. Both Humphry and Boccalone Salumeria (One Ferry Building at the Embarcadero) are carrying them, $3.50 for a pack of four. Demand is said to be high. On Wednesday, Humphry's Jake Godby tweeted that "Kevin & Eli from Top Chef got the last pack." Elimination doesn't seem to be a challenge today, however. Apparently there's a steady stash for the takin'.

​Dogpatch sweet freaks: Heed this siren call. Free samples of popcorn toffee from Poco Dolce are fresh out of the oven right now at Poco Dolce's headquarters at 2419 Third St. (at 21st St.). This is an inaugural batch of popcorn toffee. A Poco Dolce tweet proclaims in all caps, "HELLO HEAVEN!" as a descriptor. Poco Dolce is known for handmade bittersweet chocolate tiles, made with local ingredients when possible. But don't stop to read; run.

kaplan.davidari/Flickr

The Karavan, at August's Eat Real Festival.

​Sunday is looking pretty suh-weet. That's when Kara's Cupcakes' original Marina location (3429 Scott at Chestnut) will be offering one free cupcake with purchase, per customer, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Seasonal fans may favor the pumpkin spice cupcake with cream cheese frosting; peanut butter fiends can get a serious fix of smooth peanut butter and milk chocolate ganache frosting. The full menu is here. If you plan your visit in the afternoon, check out the Karavan mobile cupcake wheels from 3 to 5 p.m.; extra caffeine jolts available in the form of Blue Bottle New Orleans-style iced coffee. We saw the Karavan at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival and can vouch for how cool and tasty it looks.

M. Brody

The chocolate ganache burger -- the bun's a hole-less doughnut.

​We still think the best thing about Hubert Keller's Burger Bar in Macy's (170 O'Farrell at Geary) are the sweeping views over Union Square. But, credit where credit is due, the two dessert burgers on the menu are cute, especially the chocolate ganache version, an exact simulacrum of a cheeseburger, down to the translucent sheet of jellied passion fruit doubling for American cheese. And at $5.75, they're bargains.

M. Brody

The pineapple burger, with mint-leaf "lettuce."

​Special glazed donuts (sans holes), serve as buns (no longer warm as promised when they reached our table). The chocolate cheeseburger boasted mint-leaf "lettuce" and strawberries. There's a cheesecake version (for vegetarians?) enhanced by a round of caramelized pineapple -- much more substantial than the almost invisible pineapple wafer that failed to enhance a savory jalapeño bacon, Swiss cheese, and pineapple burger ($16.35, with onion rings).

Extra points for the swirls of strawberry sauce "ketchup" and the adorable mouse garnish composed of a puff of whipped cream, almond ears, and infinitesimal chocolate dots for eyes and nose. Excellent work, Burger Bar pastry chef! Minus points for Keller's insanely complicated Web site, complete with weird clicks and annoying techno music we could only manage to turn off on certain pages.

By the way, Keller now offers a FleurBurger at Fleur de Lys, inspired, apparently, by the ones at Burger Bar. The menu describes it as "lightly spiced dark chocolate ganache, home-made Beignet, cherry-flavored milk shake, & frozen fennel ice cream 'Pommes Frites.'" The prix-fixe menus there range from $72 to $95. But that whipped cream mouse is priceless.

T. Palmer

Mission Minis' cinnamon horchata cupcakes.

​Cupcakes are still a thriving commodity in San Francisco, if the imminent opening of two new retail spots is any indication. Cups and Cakes Bakery (451 Ninth St. at Harrison), expected to open Nov. 4, should prove an overwhelming experience with its choice of 26 flavors (pancake breakfast, Boston cream pie, ginger-beet, and margarita, to name a few) as well as cupcake bread pudding, scones, and cookies.

Meanwhile, Mission Minis (3168 22nd St. at Mission) hopes to have its first storefront open by Thanksgiving. These Lilliputian two-bite delights source from local ingredients, with flavors that include cinnamon horchata, pink lemonade, blueberries and cream, and Aztec chocolate.

T. Palmer

Candybar's Nacho Sundae: Papaya, mango, kiwi, cilantro, avocado yogurt, candied jalapeño, horchata ice cream.

​Kung Fu Tacos, the Pan-Asian taco truck serving the lunch crowd at Montgomery and Sacramento streets in the Financial District, now motors over to Candybar (1335 Fulton at Divisadero) every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. for happy hour.

We discovered that Candybar's current menu of eccentric sweets contains a perfect pairing for your mu shu veggies or war shu char siu tacos: chef Kyle Caporicci's nacho sundae ($8), which lands on the table in a characteristic red plastic basket, filled with cinnamon sugar crisps dusted with cilantro and topped with a salsa of kiwi and papaya, mango matchsticks that look like cheese, avocado yogurt in place of guac, and horchata ice cream masquerading as sour cream. A jalapeño slice is coated with sugar, but not enough to disguise its zing (we love it.)

Happy hour also features a number of drink specials: $2 for Pacifico, $3 for sangria and house sparkling wine, and $4 for a choice of four sparkling wine cocktails. SFoodie was curious how this cool cross-pollination came to be -- that is, until Candybar proprietor Tan Truong told us he also happens to be the owner of Kung Fu Tacos.

​The San Francisco chapter of Iron Cupcake has been active with monthly cooking competitions for the past year, and has tasked local bakers to use ingredients such as squash, pepper, and curry in their creations. To celebrate its birthday, this month's Iron Cupcake San Francisco challenge straps on the lederhosen and takes on an Oktoberfest theme. Follow the St. Pauli girls to Leland Tea Company (1416 Bush at Polk) tonight at 7 p.m. to taste and judge a spread of mini cupcakes all made with beer. The $5 cover scores gluttonous eating and a house tea to drink.

M. Brody

Luis Villavelazquez: The Lewis Carrol of cupcakes?

​For the inaugural outing this morning of Arlequin's pastry stand on the south side of the Thursday Ferry Plaza farmers' market, chef Luis Villavelazquez put together an intriguing lineup of cupcakes, beignets, scones, and cookies with uncommon combinations of ingredients and flavor profiles. Cocoa nib cupcakes stuffed with huckleberry jam and frosted with violet-essence icing? Fromage blanc scones studded with figs and glazed with honey, or savory wheatberry scones slicked with olive oil? We'd put the imagination of the Arlequin (and Absinthe) pastry chef right up there alongside Lewis Carroll's.We wanted to follow him down the rabbit hole and try everything, but reality intervened.

M. Brody

Scones seemed perfect for the season.

​Our favorites were perfect for the season: the dusky scone excitingly perfumed with the pungent Indian spice blend garam masala, enfolding chewy bits of persimmon, and glazed with coffee ($2.75); and the autumnal squash cupcake, happily not too sweet, stuffed with pillowy cream cheese and topped with brown butter frosting ($2.50).

We also enjoyed the very chocolaty, dense, and lumpy chocolate cherry cookie ($1.75) and the classic beignet with raspberry jam (the same ones Arlequin makes for I Preferiti de Boriana in the Ferry Building -- $2.50). The modish beignet stuffed with maple/bacon custard ($2.50) was shocking in its intensity and fattiness: perhaps better for later in the day than as an eye-opener. But we'll happily open our eyes any time of the day with the split scone sandwiched with house-made pecan butter and glazed with Rittenhouse 100-proof rye whiskey ($2.75).

Arlequin Stand at the Thursday Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market One Ferry Building at the Embarcadero; Thu, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., or until sold out.

M. Brody

Beignets (left) and cupcakes: lime/coconut, squash, cocoa nib with huckleberry, and chocolate chip with maple frosting.

​

Janine Kahn

Christopher Elbow at CocoaBella.

​The upscale chocolate boutique known as CocoaBella (2102 Union at Webster) will celebrate its fifth anniversary next week with an Oktoberfest party featuring a tasting from the store's close pal, artisan chocolatier Christopher Elbow, whose creations are visual and edible jewels. A to-be-determined dark beer will be paired with four of Elbow's new fall flavors, which include pumpkin truffle and maple pecan. Space for this free tasting on Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. is limited to 40 guests, so it's wise to RSVP now. Call 931-6213.

Tamara Palmer

Sweetiecups' "La Vie en Brie"

​We thought we were way over cupcakes, but as we told a friend, "If cupcakes were always as good as the ones we had at the SF Food Wars Mini Cupcake Clash, we'd be happy!" (Or words to that effect.)

Sunday was a perfect day for cupcaking in the delightful courtyard next to Stable Café, temperate and a little overcast. We were charmed by the scene: eager attendees, who'd paid a more-than-reasonable $10 to sample what turned out to be 22 different mini cupcakes, wandering down a Willie Wonka dream-alley lined with tables laden with sweets. Creativity abounded, in the naming of the teams as well as their confections, and also in costumes and the ineffable art of display. Who could resist the two mustached girls (Team Mustache, bien sur) who cooked up beer-flavored bites called "Guinness Gasm"? Or the Sweetiecups, with their carefully-decorated pear/walnut cakes iced with brie, paired with tiny cups of white wine? Or the three-tiered cheerful yellow-and-white-checked gingham stand of Hella Fat's "My Grandma's Bananas"?

Savory oddities included olive oil cupcakes with vinaigrette-flavored frosting, and bacon poppers hiding cherry tomatoes, iced with chive cream cheese. We loved the little bacon-and-maple syrup Piggycakes, too.

T. Palmer

Eloise and Dennis Leung: A sweet couple.

​DeLise Dessert Café (327 Bay at Powell), which opened Oct. 16., is a new venture from Dennis and Eloise Leung, pastry chefs for the shuttered Bong Su.

"They let us create whatever we wanted," Dennis Leung told SFoodie of the couple's former employer. "It was a really great place to work." But the Leungs have a lot to celebrate these days. Besides opening their first café, they're also expecting their first child next month.

T. Palmer

Chocolate and blueberry muffins, tomato scones, and banana coffee cake.

​At DeLise, expect an array of small, artful bites. Most offerings are sweet, but we did sample a lovely tomato scone. We adored a sugar-coated blueberry muffin that was just bursting with juice, and similarly rationed a couple of miniature pecan-chunked banana coffee cakes. A chocolate chip cookie captured that elusive combo of soft and chewy. Four Barrel coffee drinks are also on offer.

The selection of frozen desserts usually includes a mix of regular, sugar-free, and vegan options. On opening day, we delighted in vegan coconut-kaffir lime sorbet, peach frozen yogurt, and -- the true star among stars -- pesto ice cream, deep green in color and studded with whole pine nuts (pic after the jump).

He'll be there too.

​The East Bay's Charles Chocolates (6529 Hollis at 65th St., Emeryville) is throwing open the doors tomorrow for its annual open house with tours, sneak eats and previews of upcoming holiday confections, chocolate decorating, and even a movie. The featured flick is Kung Fu Panda, showing in the Charles Chocolate parking lot at 7:30 p.m. (bring your own seat and/or blanket and bundle up). The FiDi lunch truck Kung Fu Tacos (get the cute tie-in?) will be there, serving up Asian fusion tacos starting at 5 p.m. All of Charles' birthday festivities are complimentary, but reservations are needed. RSVP for the open house at Brown Paper Tickets. To RSVP for the movie, go here.

After five years, Charles "Chuck" Siegel has come a long way from crafting confections at the S.F. Jewish Community Center. If you've never tried it before, do taste his hot chocolate. It's a thick, rich, sensual treat.

​S.F. public school teachers get a whopping 50 cents per student per year for art supplies, a fact that has motivated Crème Brûlée Cart to pitch in with a fundraiser on Sunday, October 18 from 2-4 p.m. at Fabric8 (3318 22nd St. at Valencia).

There, you'll be able to buy a brûlée ($4) or receive one for free in exchange for bringing usable art supplies. All proceeds and donations will be given to the San Francisco Unified School District's STAR Schools Art and Music Planning Program.

Items such as Sharpies, scissors, yarn, and paint brushes are desired. Take a look at the list of the most-needed supplies after the jump.

T. Palmer

​A bag of housemade Cracker Jack from Miette (One Ferry Plaza at the Embarcadero; 449 Octavia at Hayes; 2109 Chestnut at Steiner) looks relatively small and unassuming. Be forewarned, though, that there's big trouble in this little bag.

Fortunately, it's the kind of trouble we love. Caramel that puts your enamel to the test from sheer sugariness, fluffy popcorn that doesn't go stale after the first go, and roasted peanuts that taste even better when you get to the reservoir at the bottom.

Our only complaint? There's no toy surprise in the Miette Jack!

7x7

Can Villavelazquez spark a bakery revival from a stall at Ferry Plaza?

​At 7x7's Bits + Bites yesterday, Jessica Battilana broke the news that, as of next week, Absinthe and Arlequin To Go pastry chef Luis Villavelazquez will start selling pastries at the Thursday Ferry Plaza farmers' market. Today SFoodie asked Villavelazquez to say more -- like, what's a brilliant fine-dining pastry chef doing hawking cupcakes at a sidewalk stand? Villavelazquez told us he sees it as just another way to push our boundaries. Lucky us.

"It was kind of my promise to Absinthe," the one-time Orson pastry chef said. "When I started here I promised a couple of things, like organizing the pastry kitchen, making it more efficient and profitable, just making sure that my style comes through. They pretty much gave me the green light. The second step is, we can't grow any bigger at Absinthe, and at Arlequin we have a set style. The idea is to expand the bakery program here by having it be more visible. People at the farmers' market are more open to food -- especially Thursdays. I think I can do some cool combinations that people would love."

Truth is, Villavelazquez thinks that while restaurant pastry departments can be on the cutting edge of current techniques, ingredients, and concepts, neighborhood bakeries have been left behind to molder in the realm of boring old currant scones and brownies. "There hasn't been much of a revival of the bakery," he said. Take cupcakes. "Cupcakes have been pretty standard in the city," Villavelazquez said. "There are so many new ingredients out there, like essential oils that can be mixed in the frosting."

Ruby C./Flickr

Bags of warm pan de sal, ready for buttering. Or not.

​The Bread Basket is a longtime staple in Daly City, a well-loved source of fresh-baked Filipino breads, pastries, and desserts. The signature item here? Pan de sal, traditional Filipino rolls, usually eaten for breakfast but scarfable any time of day. They're similar to American dinner rolls, only fluffier and sweeter. The ones here ($2 for 15) are pillow-soft -- they melt in your mouth, especially when just out of the oven. They're good enough to devour on their own, but split and spread with a little butter, the rolls' subtle sweetness really comes out. The pan de sal and other pastries emerge from the Bread Basket's ovens between 7 and 9 a.m. daily, definitely the best window for satisfying your cravings. Also check out the ensaymada ($1.50), sweet rolls topped with butter and sugar. Like the pan de sal, they're light and fluffy, and the sugar-encrusted tops are almost creamy, sweet without being cloying. You can also order the ensaymada stuffed with ube (sweet purple yam), macapuno (young coconut), or cheese. And while you can score other Filipino pastries and desserts here (cakes, muffins, empanadas, pies), the bread and rolls are the standouts.

The Bread Basket Bakery 7099 Mission (at E. Moltke), Daly City, (650) 994-7741

Neiman Marcus

Twenty-five large will buy you a Honda, Mazda, or cupcake.

​If you're already struggling with your Christmas wish list, here's a sweet suggestion from Neiman Marcus via its annual Christmas Book: Your own customized cupcake car designed by Lisa Pongrace of East Bay design firm Pomegranate Gardens will make you the talk of the town.

You may have seen some slightly less deluxe versions of these no-horsepower, 7 mph vehicles zipping around the playa at Burning Man. They've also made more local appearances at the county fairgrounds at Maker Faire.

The cost? Oh, just a mere $25,000. But, hey, you get to choose your own frosting and sprinkles.

T. Palmer

Makin' vegan whoopie won't hurt no body.

​With slabs of chocolate cake sandwiched with Marshmallow Fluff, the classic Whoopie pie is a dairy bomb waiting to detonate. But S.F.'s Violet Sweet Shoppe makes a vegan (and elfin) variation that is both easy to digest and as much a pleasure to eat as the original.

Look for 'em along with VSS proprietor Crystal Rice's fall offerings, which include a wicked pumpkin bread, at Rainbow Grocery (1745 Folsom at 13th St.).

Randy F./Yelp

Durian (left) and mango gelati.

​A gelato craving might make you think of heading straight to North Beach this weekend, but Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream in Parkside provides authentic, homemade gelato with an array of unique flavors, minus the trek across town. The tiny, no-frills shop serves gelato made daily in its kitchen with fresh ingredients. You won't find shiny displays, cute cups, and uniformed employees, but you will have some of the best gelato available in San Francisco. Flavors offered include the traditional: vanilla bean, pistachio, chestnut, cantaloupe, coconut, guava, dark chocolate, and banana walnut -- we particularly like the vanilla bean and pistachio. Both pack a lot of natural flavor and have just the right amount of sweetness, and the texture isn't overly smooth. Marco Polo's best flavors, though, are the ones made with Asian ingredients. Popular choices include green tea, lychee, red bean, soursop, taro, black sesame, and everyone's favorite stinky fruit, durian. Try the red bean and black sesame, naturally sweet and tasting like the real-world ingredients that flavor them -- the red bean even has piece of bean in it. Don't be put off by the sesame: It has an interesting grainy texture, and isn't too sugary. And even though it looks like wet cement, it definitely doesn't taste like it.

Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream 1447 Taraval (at 24th Ave.), 731-2833

T. Palmer

Sugar Beat Sweets: Opening soon.

​There are a handful of vegan bakers in San Francisco. One such vendor, Sugar Beat Sweets, will be the first vegan storefront bakery in town when it finally makes the leap from online into brick and (dairy-free) mortar.

Melisser of SBS (aka the Urban Housewife) told SFoodie that she and her three partners have secured a location and are awaiting permits before announcing it or the neighborhood. They hope to be open by the end of the year.

T. Palmer

Marble cheesecake, cinnamon roll, snickerdoodle and strawberry shortcake cupcakes.

​We raided the SBS booth at last weekend's World Veg Festival, but unfortunately not quickly enough to snatch up the last two s'mores cheesecake bars (made with the ultra-convincing vegan marshmallows made by Chicago's Dandies); the "regular" marble cheesecake bars definitely sufficed, though. We had previously enjoyed the strawberry shortcake and snickerdoodle cupcakes, both piled high with frosting, and severely underestimated our craving by only purchasing the two.

Ditto for only buying a single cinnamon roll, an instant winner with its rich glaze and I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter dough. Keep your fingers crossed that the permitting process is smooth and swift, because we sure don't want to wait too long for another one.

T. Palmer

​Tucked inside the tiny Super Mira grocery store, the 35-year-old bakery Yasukochi's Sweet Stop (1790 Sutter at Buchanan) is largely known for its version of the classic Blum's coffee crunch cake. There's not a lot here to remind you of the neighborhood's Japanese heritage but for one other highlight under Yasukochi's glass. It's an original invention that would be easy to miss while gazing at cake.

Rice cracker cookies (sold in bags of a dozen for $9) satisfy that complicated simultaneous craving for both salty and sweet, though the taste does lean more towards the former than the latter. The rich butter cookie shatters to reveal a more than generous smattering of crushed orange rice crackers inside. And if you just can't get that coffee crunch cake off your brain, Yasukochi's will sell you a bag of the topping for five bucks.

M. Brody

It's all about the rum custard inside.

​When SF Weekly named Dianda's Best Bakery some years ago, a reader (no fan of its cookies and cannoli) asked plaintively what to try there. (We're not totally convinced by the cookies, either, and at $14.95 a pound, three of them ran us $2.25 the last time we tried.)

Our answer: Try anything stuffed with rum custard, such as the adorable mini-croquembouche, which we order by asking, "Can we have one of the bunches?" ("Bunch" appears to be its secret name, but we've never asked for just a bunch. "A bunch of what?" would be the likely answer.)

Anyway, this funky bunch is four bigger-than-bite-sized creampuffs filled with the aforementioned custard, stuck together with a bit of caramelized sugar. Makes a nice centerpiece for a doll's tea party, or pluck them one by one and see how long you can make this sweet treat last. By the way, as of October 1, Dianda's raised the price on all its pastries a quarter, to $3.75. We still think they're well worth it.

Dianda's Italian American Pastry Co. 2883 Mission (at 25th St.),
647-5469.

T. Palmer

From the Panthers, with love.

​Our version of a Black Panther party is rugged, salty, and sweet, and made us do a double-take the first time we saw it. It's Black Panther fudge, a righteous slab of milk chocolate, peanut butter, and salted caramel. Made by Z. Cioccolato (474 Columbus at Stockton), we bought our hunk of edible revolution ($4/quarter pound) at Sweet Dish (2144 Chestnut at Pierce). A quarter pound is enough to feed your small team and keep 'em fueled for the mission ahead, whatever that might be. Mind you, that's unless you've got weak players that can't tolerate sugar bombs, in which case this'll immediately lay them out for the count.