Take the Cannoli (Away): Stella Pastry

STELLA PASTRY 446 COLUMBUS AVE SAN FRANCISCO, CA |  M 730-800 PM, T-TH 730-1030 PM, F-SAT 730-1200 AM 

After dropping by Molinari's and dodging what could have been our debut as wedding crashers, we ventured a little past the church to land at Stella Pastry. It's a cute little storefront, but the inside was utter chaos. Ordering was far from pleasant as there was no number system or identifiable wait-your-turn line.

The long awaited cannoli

Oh, what can be said about a good cannoli? Ideally, you wouldn't be able to say anything about it because you're too busy eating it. Sadly, this is not the case at Stella's. Cannolis should not taste of pure cream cheese, but that may be a personal preference. I'll agree that the cannoli's weren't bad but they weren't good either--they were just okay.

Florentine cookies, almond biscotti, plain meringues

Sometimes high hopes don't work out, so the things you had no hopes for turn out a million times better. This is the case with the Florentine cookies and biscotti. The Florentine was sweet, crunchy and crisp without being gooey or heavy, and the biscotti had terrific texture, a hard and crunch exterior with a slightly softer inferior dotted with delicious almond pieces. The meringues, on the other hand, were terribly grainy.

A lack of organization and so-so-ness of the products is enough to make me a non-returning customer.

The Golden State

How awesome is that tattoo on a scale of 1-10? Answer: 500

Wedding Crashers: Molinari Deli

MOLINARI DELI 373 COLUMBUS AVE SAN FRANCISCO, CA |  M-F 900-600 PM, SAT 900-500 PM

My first encounter with this jewel of a place was my sophomore year of high school. Ms. Barberini (endearingly called Ms. Barb) insisted that we all eat here after our field trip finished--if I'm not mistaken I believe we were on Urban Plunge. Anyway, most of us jumped on her recommendation, and I'm happy to say that five years later it's still as delicious as the first day. This place is especially dear to my heart because a bit after our field trip, Barb passed, so whenever we pay a visit we remember her and walk across to the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi.

Can you spot Giancarlo who appears to be wearing strangely boxy white pants? On a side note look at all the cheese!

Once you step into the wondrous world of an Italian deli you may find yourself in utter confusion after you've overcome your initial awe and that's okay. Grab a number immediately--immediately! This is one of those places that are packed no matter what time of the day you go, so trust me, you'll have time to figure out what you want before your number is called. Look at your number, remember your number, don't lose your number, easy enough. Now comes the challenging part: choosing your sandwich.

Step 1: pick out your bread from the bin towards the back of the store (germaphobes beware). A good foodie knows that the bread is essential to the overall tastiness of your sandwich. If it's not good enough to eat on its own don't use it in a sandwich--at least a good sandwich.

Step 2: bread roll in hand, look at the options on the menu, look at the case, decide on what you want, and if you've decided and still have some time to spare, check out the cheese selection or the other Italian goodies which line the deli's walls like pasta, sauces, chocolates and wines.

Step 3: hand your roll to the person taking your order. Tell them what you like and watch your delicious sandwich come to life. The sun-dried tomatoes are excellent, sweet and tangy and just great.

Step 4: pay, take a seat outside (or stand), unwrap and enjoy!

White pasta salad with a heaping load if dill, so if you and dill aren't the best of friends it's best you stay away

Soft roll, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, turkey, provolone, sweet peppers

Hard roll, pesto, turkey, provolone, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes. Yes the bread is hard--hard and crusty but soft on the inside--so if that isn't your thing try the soft roll or the rosemary roll or maybe even ciabatta

Funny story: after we downed half of our sandwiches, we were much too full to attack the other half, we excitedly hurried across the street to the church and almost found ourselves walking into someone's wedding ceremony--not cute. Luckily we spared ourselves the embarrassment, and the couple had a nice crasher-free wedding (by us at least).

Drop the Check: a Bi-Rite Stop

If this shot had been more thought out it would have included the giant ice cream cone on the outside. Ooops...

One day in the near future we're going to be those annoying people you see in line who are fumbling through their wallets looking for the punch card for pretzels, burritos, smoothies and now ice cream (see photo below). Anyway, Giancarlo and I have been together for about two years now, and in that time we've pretty much exhausted my list of Carmen's tried and tested Bay Area (and Santa Barbara) eateries. 

Situated on the corner of Dolores and 18th Street, Bi-Rite Creamery serves up the best ice cream your taste buds have ever had. With an offering of ginger, salted caramel, honey lavender, and balsamic strawberry how could you go wrong? That being said, it's not your traditional ice cream place, so the more conventional and non-adventurous eater may not dig it.

Giancarlo's choice on the left and yours truly on the right

So there we were standing in the creamery that I had hyped up for days. While Giancarlo scanned the selection, we were politely asked if we'd like to try any flavors, and as always, I jump on the opportunity. Brown butter pecan and chocolate coconut please! I go ahead and order my signature brownie sundae while Giancarlo still tries to decide what to get.The idea had crossed my mind to order something new, but let's face it, that is never happening because--let's just say it's a quality I've inherited. 

As the Bi-Rite lady prepared my heavenly dessert, a man prompted us to try the creme fraiche with the balsamic strawberry. Giancarlo's face lit up, and there was no denying that he got it right on the money. The proof is the photo above. A scoop of creme fraiche and balsamic strawberry for him, and a brownie sundae with chocolate coconut (vegan--mind you) and brown butter pecan. Also, it wouldn't be right if I went without mentioning the mind-blowingly delicious candied pecans on the sundae--UH-may-ZING!!

Journey across the street to the most precious store you've stepped foot in and grab lunch (after ice cream of course)

If I weren't overcome with giddiness I probably would have taken a hundred photos of the inside, but there's nothing I can do about that now other than make a trip there in the near future! Focus on the silver lining..
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It's a shame that you can't taste a sliver of cheese before you purchase it

After our ice cream, we decided it was time for lunch. Being on a budget, a pricey local market may not seem like the wisest decision, but cheese and bread is classy, filling and relatively cheap. We eyed the Manchego but decided to skip on it. Costco and Bi-Rite may not seem to have much in common (other than they sell food, obviously), but they both sell Petite Basque. It's Giancarlo's official favorite cheese--he's even asked that it be his Christmas present. Petite Basque is made of goat milk and was invented by the French in 1997. It's über creamy and nutty and no, it doesn't taste like Monterrey Jack. Christmas came early for we bit the bullet and grabbed a wedge of this fancy, expensive cheese and turned around to be greeted to the most beautiful bread wall...

Behold! The Bread Wall. It's actually much bigger than this, but taking pictures of people selecting bread is not okay

Acme bread for days. Yep, it's the Acme from the Ferry Building. We ended up pairing our beautiful wedge of cheese with a sweet baguette. The texture of the baguette was on point: crispy and chewy on the outside and moist and flaky on the inside. Mix in some "window shopping" for homes in the city, gawking at skyline views, dreaming of living in the city, and filling the inside of your car with mounds of crumbs and you've got yourself an A+ day.

Oh, did I mention that the purpose of this excursion to the city was to pay a bill?