Tag: food dreams

Food Dreams: Cafe Dulce’s Green Tea Donut

Leave it to me to make multiple trips to Cafe Dulce in Little Tokyo over the last few weeks and never take a photo of my favorite item of theirs, the green tea donut.

Their donut reminds me of the deep fried puff of cloud otherwise known as the malasada from Honolulu’s famed Leonard’s, which is to say it reminds me of deep fried dough perfection. Cafe Dulce’s is a touch yeastier though, and the green tea flavor is punchy, strong, closer to unsweetened matcha than a green tea Kit Kat in sweetness. And then there’s the custard filling…

This Fruity Pebbles Donut Hole, now, is not bad. It is a little gimmicky, a twist on Christina Tosi’s haute kitsch. And it’s fine. I like it just fine. It sure is cute. But don’t skip the green tea donut…

Golden Gate Bakery Dan Tat

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My folks and I were on our way to breakfast this weekend in San Francisco when we passed Golden Gate Bakery, and we sprung for their famous egg custard tarts. They’re an indulgence–over a dollar a piece, but they’re delicious. Unlike most egg tarts which are often like sweet hand pies, Golden Gate’s have a delicate crust that’s barely thick enough to hold the creamy egg custard inside. They require gentle handling lest they dribble out of your hand and onto your shirt (not that I’d know). They’re pretty close to egg tart heaven. 

But there’s a downside to such perfection. Golden Gate Bakery’s legendary egg custard tarts are so popular that the decades-old bakery can afford to take monthlong vacations and stay closed on the odd day without notice. The bakery’s operating hours are unpredictable enough that as a public service someone even made a website, is-the-golden-gate-bakery-open.com you can check before you make the trek to Chinatown. 

Food Dreams: Wonderful Foods Boba

After a long day, I need boba the way some people need a hard drink. (This is not to say I don’t occasionally need that hard drink too.) When I’m in San Francisco, the only place I go for my boba is a spot called Wonderful Foods in the Sunset. You’ll know it because they’ve got a new sign painted on the window that says: “BEST TAPIOCA IN TOWN.” Believe them. There may be a half dozen boba shops on that stretch of Irving where Wonderful Foods is, but you’re never going to find the same perfectly chewy boba or the same fresh-from-the-peel banana or avocado or mango fruit smoothies at the rest. Get any of those or the red bean or taro smoothies, or the oatmeal milk tea. Okay or the almond or coconut milk tea. That or the fresh watermelon juice. I’ll stop.

There’s been something of a boba renaissance in the last few years in San Francisco, especially since the frozen yogurt craze finally quieted down. Boba has reclaimed its title as the most popular Asian dessert on this part of what I call Asian Irving. And all around the city, new, more hip versions of boba are being sold. But I actually really like that through the years Wonderful Foods has never tried to reinvent itself. It just is the best tapioca in town.

Food Dreams: The Park’s Finest

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I wrote about The Park’s Finest for Colorlines earlier this year and ever since, when I get a craving for MEAT–as in all caps, I’m not messing around MEAT–what I usually mean is I want to go to The Park’s Finest. The restaurant is a paean to the wonders of barbecued meat. In fact, Kevin refers to The Park’s Finest as “The Meat Palace.”

The restaurant, in Los Angeles’ Echo Park, is known for exceptional Filipino-style American barbecue. We’re talking tender smoked cuts of beef, pork and chicken, with every bite full of delicious, slow flavors that you can season with pungent and sweet-spicy sauces. Every visit is a treat. We get a couple meat dishes–the beef shortrib is always one of them–along with some rice, their signature cornbread bibingka of course, and we’re set. (No need to bother with vegetables here.) Just thinking of that rounded beef rib right now is making me hungry.