Dominique Ansel Bakery Gingerbread Pinecone: I still haven't tried a cronut, but I have tried some of Dominique Ansel's desserts in the past, mostly through special events held at his New York West Village Kitchen location. While some were exceptional, namely a pea and carrot dessert modeled after a baby's first word, others have actually been quite bad (like the pie night a few years ago). There is a relatively short line at his first bakery and restaurant in Los Angeles at The Grove, so I opted for a seasonal treat: the gingerbread... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional desserts cake ganache ginger spiced speculoos chocolate losangeles la dominiqueansel dominiqueanselbakery gingerbread pinecone 4.5Bhan Kanom Thai Pangchi: Pangchi is a bite-sized sticky rice pancake cooked on the griddle, giving it a crispy crust on both sides and mochi-like interior mixed with corn. While not captured in this photograph, panchi are actually lilac in color. Mochi is my favorite snack, and this take on crispy mochi was eye opening and delicious. A perfect bite. Purchased from the Thai dessert specialty store Bhan Kanom Thai in LA. 4.5/5.0
exceptional dessert thai mochi stickyrice corn bhankanomthai pangchi 4.5Bhan Kanom Thai Sticky rice with taro: Wrapped in a banana leaf, this steamed dessert consists of long grain glutinous rice with a taro filling at the center. The quality of the rice is superb and quite possibly the best sticky rice I’ve had. It’s chewy but still has just enough bite. Perfumed with coconut water, the rice has a very faint sweet tropical flavor, while the taro adds additional richness and a contrasting soft and creamy texture. As far as classic desserts go, this traditional sticky rice was a revelation and at $1.5... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional la losangeles dessert stickyrice bhankanomthai sticky rice taro 4.5Acme Bread Almond Plum Pastry: Sometimes when I have a bad day, I'll stop by the Ferry Building in San Francisco and grab a small snack. On my last trip, I purchased a small almond plum pastry, priced at just a little over $2. Inside were warmed, fresh slices of plum, while the pastry itself was flaky on the outside but comfortingly soft on the inside. Dusted with just a bit of powdered sugar, the pastry was faintly sweet yet distinctly almond-flavored. One of the more perfect little bites I've had this year. 4.5/5.0
exceptional pastry bread sanfrancisco acmebread almond plum 4.5Wanderlust Creamery Green apple wasabi sorbet and yuzu cheesecake ice cream: Located on Glendale Boulevard in Atwater Village (LA), Wanderlust Creamery offers flavors inspired by locations around the world. Their unusual flavors made it very difficult to pick just two, but I went with their green apple and wasabi sorbet along with yuzu cheesecake. I loved the tartness and spicy aftertaste of the apple wasabi, which was expertly balanced, and the yuzu cheesecake had a delicious graham crackle crumble and yuzu jam throughout. The flavors were fantastic and some of t... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional icecream la japanese wanderlustcreamery green apple wasabi sorbet yuzu cheesecake ice cream 4.5Tartine Manufactory Blood orange sorbet and cardamom soft serve: Tartine Manufactory closes its bakery section, including soft serve, for dinner service, but if you ask nicely, they will serve it (as I found out last night). This swirl of blood orange and cardamom was one of the best things I ate all year, with potently spiced cardamom and sharp citrus. The texture was smooth and consistent. Often, independent flavors in swirled soft serve compete and don’t quite work in harmony, but this unexpected combination was both balanced and even better with one a... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional sf sanfrancisco icecream softserve bloodorange tartinemanufactory blood orange sorbet cardamom soft serve 4.5