Cupcakes!

Wouldn't you know it — after a six-month hiatus, I return to bring you a cupcake-related post. Just when you thought Palo Alto had missed out on the cupcake trend, two bakeries are opening next month: Sprinkles and Kara's Cupcakes. I've tasted the former (thumbs up), but not the latter.

Sprinkles' opening has been delayed and delayed. Now, according to a Craigslist job posting, it's supposed to be in business at the Stanford Shopping Center in September.

On September 1, Kara's Cupcakes will be opening at the Town & Country Village. (Which, by the way, is looking much better these days with all of the new shops opening up there.)

So finally! We get our cupcakeries in the Peninsula. In the past, I've had to order from Sibby's, which requires large quantities and doesn't have a storefront. At least PA got in on the whole yogurt craze in a timely manner!

(Note: I do not like the service at the Red Mango on University, so I continue to frequent Fraiche.)

Young's Ice Cream & Candy Bar, Redwood City

Two posts in two days! Maybe this means I'm getting back into a regular food-blog groove?

Last Friday, after dinner at Mandaloun, we headed across the street to Young's. Because, despite already being quite satisfied from the churros at Mandaloun, who can resist a place that sells ice cream and candy? Not me.

The place caught my eye because the sign out front has an old-time drugstore look to it. Cute! Charming! Oh, and did I mention they have ice cream AND candy? In one convenient, and clean, location? The service was so friendly, which I must admit, shocked me because there were teenagers behind the counter. (Yes, I'm one of those people who assumes teenagers are up to no good 9 out of 10 times.)

In the candy department, you'll find a lot of the usual offerings. (Think Sweet Factory.) And the Loard's ice cream flavors aren't groundbreaking, but I'm all for oldies/goodies. I went with a scoop of the banana, which was delicious. Although I like my ice cream plain and simple, they did have a good selection of toppings. Which makes sense, since they have plenty of candy available to turn into toppings.

Those of you not familiar with Loard's: It's a Bay Area ice cream company that dates back about 50 years. It's rich. It's creamy. It's good stuff.

(BTW, eggnog ice cream was still on the menu last week. And, really, I think that's something that should only be served in late November or December. Otherwise, it just comes across like you never refresh your inventory. Maybe it's just me/my hang-up.)

In addition to frozen and sweet treats, Young's stocks a variety of knick-knacks, toys, small gift items. They also have these ice-cream cones that are made of chocolate chip cookies. I had never seen them before, but Jon claims to have. I couldn't convince him to order one just to see if they're good or not.

Apparently, he's not willing to fatten himself up for the sake of my food blog.

Young's Ice Cream & Candy Bar
2020 Broadway
Redwood City, CA
(650) 364-7500

Beard Papa, Redwood City

Before we go any further, I'd just like to say:

YIKES.

Has it really been over four weeks since my last post here? Daaaamn.

It's not that we haven't been eating out. Because — trust — I have NOT been cooking any more than usual. It's just that things have been a bit busy and, instead of trying new places, we've been going back to visit restaurants that we already know and love. Like La Bodeguita, Flea Street Cafe and El Grullense.

But last Friday, after dinner at Old Port Lobster Shack, we made our first visit to the Beard Papa in downtown Redwood City. Actually, I had to buy some baskets from Cost Plus, and then remembered that Beard Papa is just around the corner.

So anyway! As full as I was from my fried clams and lobster roll dinner, I still decided to order two cream puffs: one vanilla, the other chocolate. The specialty flavor was pumpkin — which I just didn't feel right ordering because I associate pumpkin and all things pumpkin-flavored with the fall. And we're quickly approaching spring here, people.

I brought the pair of cream puffs home to enjoy with a pot of green tea. Way back when I visited the SF Beard Papa, I wasn't all that impressed with the goods. I'm not sure why, but this time around, I couldn't get enough of that vanilla cream puff! I didn't share any of it with Jon. I was totally surprised that I liked it so much AND that I was able to fit it all in my tummy (after the very satsifying OPLS meal). The exterior was perfectly crunchy, while the pastry itself still managed to be light on the inside. And the real vanilla bean in the smooth, creamy custard filling? Good stuff.

After I devoured the vanilla, I forged ahead with the chocolate cream puff. While also quite tasty, I could only make my way through about half of it before calling it quits. I liked that the chocolate wasn't overly sweet.

Maybe the fact that the cream puffs are more geographically compatible (being in RWC now, and not just SF) made them more delicious this time? I have no idea. I just know it was straight-up awesome. And I'm going back for more. Soon.

Beard Papa
835 Middlefield Road
Redwood City, CA
(650) 365-7272

Sibby's Cupcakery, San Mateo

Where does the time go?

I've been meaning to post about these mini-cupcakes from Sibby's for over a week now:

They are just as delicious as they are adorable. Jon and I ordered 2 dozen for a recent holiday dinner party. Since we believe in variety, we went with the Sibby's Sampler — which I'm told is anywhere from 4-6 flavors.

We were quite pleased with ours: mocha, grandma's teacake (chocolate), gingerbread, snickerdoodle, eggnog and carrot. In fact, we — and our guests — enjoyed them so much, Jon and I are now scheduled to bring a batch of Sibby's mini-cupcakes to Christmas Eve dinner.

Here's the thing about Sibby's though: There's a minimum order of 1 dozen for the regular cupcakes or 2 dozen for the minis. And they don't have an actual storefront. You call/email your order and they'll either deliver it for a fee, or you can stop by their San Mateo location and pick up yourself. Whichever way you go, it's definitely worth checking out.

Sibby's Cupcakery

Dairy Queen, Redwood City

After picking up Jon from the airport on Friday night, we drove by the Dairy Queen on Woodside Road. It was 9:02pm and the lights were off, the place totally shut down. Weird, right?

The next night, while on a KFC run (please don't judge me!), we noticed that across the street -- where DQ sits -- it was all dark again. Two nights in a row. Nothing going on at the DQ. Was it closed? Say it ain't so!

Jon spotted a sign in the window and decided to drive through the deserted parking lot to check it out. Turns out, they were just closed for the Thanksgiving holiday week (yes, an entire week) so they'll re-open this Wednesday.

Phew.

Jon always gets some sort of peanut butter-related Blizzard (I think) and I'm all about the kids' size chocolate-dipped cone. Of course, now that I'm writing this, I really want a DQ cone. Just 48 hours until the doors open again ...

Oh! BTW, did you know that there's a Foster's Freeze in Menlo Park? I had no idea, until the other day. So I guess if DQ ever does close (which I hope it never does), at least we know that's nearby.

Update: Beard Papa

Judith sent me an email this morning with the scoop on the Redwood City Beard Papa:

Grand Opening!
November 10, 2006

835 Middlefield Road, RWC
Hours: Sun-Thurs = 9am-10pm; Fri-Sat = 10am-11pm

Vanilla Cream Puffs: 1 = $1.75; 6 = $10; 12 = $20

Special flavors will be rotated weekly, but may include: chocolate, caramel, gree tea, pumpkin, milk tea and strawberry. (Prices are slightly higher for these non-vanilla flavors.)

FREE! The first 50 customers for the first 5 days to order 12 or more cream puffs will receive a Beard Papa Coffee Thermos.

Waiting for Beard Papa

Okay, for months now, I've heard that Beard Papa is "opening soon" in Redwood City. I heard June, then August, and September ... And now, people, it is OCTOBER. So where are the cream puffs?! (4-5 months does not equal soon!)*

Of course, I Googled. Nothing concrete came up. The Beard Papa corporate web site just gives an address (835 Middlefield Road), but no opening date.

Then I got smart and searched the Craigslist job postings. Sure enough, there was one for "Supervisor, Barista and Baker Positions" for the RWC location. The jobs were posted on Sunday for an October 20th hire date; but it also says the doors will open this month. Fingers are officially crossed now!

This is my favorite part of the job description:

Our location will be in the new entertainment hub of Downtown Redwood City next to the new 20-screen Century Theatres (just opened in July) and the Fox Live-venue Theatre (with recent concerts from Hootie and the Blowfish to Dave Brubeck).

Hootie? And the Blowfish? What kind of potential employees will be lured by this?

* While I didn't think the Beard Papa cream puffs were to-die-for (as some people do), I thought they were good -- and I'm interested in trying some of the non-vanilla flavors. Also, to me, they aren't worth a trip up to San Francisco. But sure I'd go across town to grab one.

Openings

Cocoa Bon
Last week, I received an email from Chris at Cocoa Bon, letting me know about the grand opening of their new place in downtown Los Gatos. Unfortunately, I was out of town last weekend -- or else you know I would not have missed the chance for chocolate and wine tasting. Anyway! The new store, which should be bigger/better than the old Valley Fair one, is now open and I am definitely going to check it out soon.

Cocoa Bon
78 West Main Street
Los Gatos, CA
(408) 354-5900

The Counter Burger
I haven't had a chance to go to The Counter yet (it just opened this week), but James wrote to tell me about his experience:

[My] friends and I had to go check it out this past Saturday. However, we didn't end up ordering a regular burger; we ordered one with every single possible topping (all the cheeses, toppings, and sauces) and we dared our friend Tim to finish it within 30 minutes. The burger ended up weighing 5 pounds and had a total of 54 toppings... The entire thing was a sight to behold (and apparently no one had ever attempted it before).

You can read more -- and see the crazy photos -- at his web site.

Screaming for Ice Cream

As you know, it's been crazy-hot this week. So on Wednesday night, after having dinner at Naomi Sushi, we hopped over to Cold Stone in Menlo Park. Jon and our friend Rick each ordered "I Like It" (small) ice-cream bowls. I abstained because: 1) I think Cold Stone is overpriced, 2) I don't care for the service there, and 3) I was still pretty full from dinner. Jon and Rick's order came to about $12.

And I repeat, Cold Stone is overpriced. Way overpriced.

Fast forward 24 hours. I decided that I needed some ice cream, but would avoid all of the problems from the previous night by going to Rite-Aid, where: 1) A single scoop is only 99 cents, 2) The service is fast and friendly, and 3) The ice cream was actually my dinner.

Thankfully, after Rite-Aid acquired Thrifty in 1996, they still continued to serve Thrifty ice cream -- with the cylindrical scoops! I went with the Strawberry Cheesecake last night, but there were all sorts of other flavors available (Pistachio Nut, Medieval Madness, Rocky Road, Butter Pecan). It's not gourmet, but it's what it always has been to so many people who remember it from their childhood (including myself): It's good ice cream at a good price.

Coming Soon to Los Altos: Carvel

Apparently, Carvel is ready to take the Bay Area by storm -- opening up THREE ice cream shops. Los Altos' Foothill Crossing shopping center will be home to the only one in the Peninsula though. (Berkeley is also getting a Carvel franchise soon, and the Brentwood location recently opened.)

I've only had Carvel once (in Long Island, I think?), and can't remember much about the experience. So I'm looking forward to checking it out this summer.

Carvel
Foothill Crossing
2310 Homestead Road, #H
Los Altos, CA

Teuscher Chocolates, Palo Alto

Julie wrote to me last week to let me know about the opening of the new Teuscher boutique at Stanford (it's in the old Swatch location, near Tiffany). She raved about the chocolates and the friendly staff, so I had to check it out for myself. I stopped in yesterday and I admit, I was overwhelmed by all the choices. But I finally decided on the champagne truffe (the house specialty), dark chocolate champagne truffe, dark chocolate truffe, 88% chocolate bar and an iced mocha. (They offer a small selection of beverages, some of which are made with their wonderful chocolate. Right now, you order inside, but soon the outside walk-up window will be ready.)

Julie also mentioned that Teuscher's champagne truffes are Oprah's favorite -- and after sampling them, I understand why. The creamy chocolate treats are flown in from Switzerland weekly to ensure their freshness, and they're made with high-quality ingredients (for example, the champagne center actually contains Dom Perignon).

In case you're wondering, chocolate this good does come with a hefty price tag (about $1.85 for a champagne truffe, $5.50 for a chocolate bar). Kids -- if you're allowing them to indulge, too -- will go nuts for the molded chocolates in fun shapes like pigs, butterflies, elephants, airplanes, etc.

(BTW, truffe and truffle are the same thing, different languages. Teuscher prefers the French spelling, so that's what I went with in this post.)

Teuscher
Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA
(650) 384-0916

Satura Cakes, Los Altos

Last month, I mentioned that Satura Cakes would be opening soon in Palo Alto. With that opening now nailed down for June 2, I decided that I should probably try out their Los Altos location. You know, so I could determine whether or not it's worth getting excited about their new bakery. And after sampling two of their cakes, I have concluded that it is indeed worth the anticipation.

I was in downtown Los Altos yesterday around 5pm, so a few of the goodies were already sold out for the day. But there was still plenty to choose from -- cakes, cookies, pastries, chocolates. I was tempted by a ganache-filled fig that was dusted in cocoa powder, and the mango pie piqued my interest, but I decided to devote my calorie consumption to the cakes.

I picked up slices of the Satura Shortcake ($5) and the Banana Chocolate ($4). I have to say, the shortcake is quite pricey when you consider that the slice is, oh, maybe a 1.5" square. That's it, people. So, $9 poorer, I walked out of the bakery with a cute little box with a label attached indicating that these treats should be eaten today. Of course, I complied.

After dinner last night, Jon and I brought out the box. The Strawberry Shortcake was delicious -- the cake was moist, the whipped cream frosting was light and not too sweet, and the strawberries were fresh. Jon's first bite into the Banana Chocolate resulted in an odd reaction. The chocolate sponge cake is rolled with a caramel banana cream. But looking at the cake, you might think the cream is mocha. So when you get caramel banana instead, it's a little strange. Once I explained to him what the cream was, he enjoyed the rest of it. I really liked the chocolate sponge cake, but wasn't crazy about the cream filling.

Those of you waiting for the Beard Papa to set up shop in the Peninsula (downtown Redwood City, to be specific), will be happy to know that you can get your cream puff fix taken care of at Satura. When I dropped in yesterday, the two flavors offered were caramel/banana and green tea. I think they were all out of vanilla. The cream puffs are $3 each (which is a little steep), but you can also grab 5 for $10 (much better).

Although Satura's Palo Alto location isn't even open yet, there are already plans to open two more in the Peninsula by the end of the year. Good news, yes, but it means I may have to join a gym if they set up shop closer to my house...

Satura Cakes
200 Main Street
Los Altos, CA
(650) 948-3300

Opening on June 2:
320 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA

Coming Soon to Los Gatos: Cocoa Bon

A while back, I wrote a little something on Cocoa Bon -- a local company that makes wonderful chocolate products. And just last week, one of the owners wrote to let me know that the store is moving from Valley Fair to downtown Los Gatos. (The family-run business is actually based in LG.)

Set to open in mid-July, the new store will offer an expanded selection of goodies -- including ice creams, truffles and drinking chocolates. AND there will even be a little lounge area. I can't wait!

P.S. Whenever I polish off a tin of Cocoa Bon treats -- which is fairly often -- I hang on to the containers because they're both cute and functional. I keep a tall tin in my car full of quarters (for feeding meters), a small round tin in my office for pushpins, etc.

New Yogurt Shop in Cupertino

Now open on DeAnza, near Stevens Creek: I ♥ Yogurt. I believe today is their first day in business. Perfect timing, considering it's another 80+ degree day in the neighborhood and fro-yo sure sounds good.

I ♥ Yogurt
10133 S. De Anza Boulevard
Cupertino, CA
(408) 725-0200

Who's Your Puff Daddy?

I had every intention of holding out for the Redwood City Beard Papa to open this summer. But, after running around the house singing/rapping(?), "I love it when you call me Beard Papa," all weekend, I couldn't wait. Since Jon and I happened to be in downtown San Francisco today, I popped into the three-day-old location in the city and sampled my first Beard Papa cream puff.

After hearing how crowded the NYC store was when it opened two years ago, I was expecting a long line. But there were just a few people in line in front of me. The menu board listed quite a few items, but all -- with the exception of the vanilla cream puffs -- had "coming soon" stickers slapped over them. So I guess it was vanilla cream puffs... or vanilla cream puffs. At least for now.

The cream puffs are served straight from the oven, so they're still warm. The pastry actually consists of two layers: the outside pie-crust-like pastry is nice and crunchy, while the inside choux pastry is light and airy. (Most cream puffs are made from only choux pastry.) The coolness of the filling is a good contrast to the pastry shell. The little black specks in the whipped cream custard confirm that Beard Papa does indeed use real vanilla beans in the puffs. (Madagascar beans to be exact.)

While I thought the cream puff was very good, it's not something that I find myself craving. Maybe it's because I'm not a big fan of vanilla? I am looking forward to trying some of the other goods that the store will be offering -- like the green tea flavored puffs and the chocolate-covered eclairs. (I did see a woman leaving the store with a bag full of Beard Papa boxes, so clearly there are those who can't get enough of the cream puffs. I hope she can consume that many in one sitting, because they're meant to be eaten the day they're made.)

And in case you're wondering, the Redwood City location is scheduled to open by the end of June in August. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Beard Papa
99 Yerba Buena Lane
San Francisco, CA
(415) 978-9972

The Best Milkshakes in the Peninsula

Although I am a believer that it's never too cold for ice cream (at least not in the Bay Area), I can see how the thought of a thick, ice-cold mikshake on a rainy afternoon doesn't sound very appealing. BUT, now that the weather's starting to turn around in our favor -- yay sunshine and temperatures in the 70s! -- you must admit that sipping a milkshake while strolling down the street in your flip-flops sounds downright awesome. Which brings us to the Peninsula Creamery.

The Creamery has been serving up milkshakes for about 75 years, and you know what they say about practice making things perfect. Their shakes are just right: thick (but not so much that you can't use a straw), creamy (but not too heavy), sweet (but not to the point where you can't get through half a glass). My favorite is the mint chip, but the cookies and cream is also a popular choice.

A lot of folks refer to the Palo Alto Creamery Fountain & Grill -- which has a location downtown and at the Stanford Shopping Center -- as "The Creamery." But it isn't; they are two separate operations. The owner of the original Creamery leases the downtown space to the Fountain.

So if you want the best milkshake in town, be sure to head to the corner of High Street and Channing Avenue. If you need a bit more fuel, the Creamery also serves typical diner fare. But I don't know anything about the food -- I come here strictly for the shakes.

(Note: The last time I checked, the Creamery's hours were 7am-5pm, Monday through Friday.)

Peninsula Creamery Dairy Store & Grill
900 High Street
Palo Alto, CA
(650) 323-3176

Coming Soon to Palo Alto: Satura Cakes

Walking along University Avenue the other day, I noticed a storefront that will soon be the home of Satura's second Peninsula location. I haven't been to the Los Altos outpost, but I am all for more bakery options around here.

The Metroactive had this to say when the Los Altos Satura opened in January:

The high-concept bakery creates pastries as artfully presented as sushi made with premium ingredients. Masahito Motohashi, one of the top 5 pastry chefs in Japan, designed the menu. Typical of Japanese confections, these desserts are less sweet than their American counterparts, and ingredients, local and organic when possible, are paired down to bare minimums so the flavors shine through. Satura Cakes does not use any hydrogenated shortenings and bakes its cakes, cookies and pastries daily. The store will also sell premium espressos and coffees.

I'm especially looking forward to trying the strawberry shortcake, green tea pound cake, vanilla cream puffs, carmelized banana tart and macaroons. The menu also includes unique offerings such as strawberry or pistachio tiramisu, green tea chestnut roll and sesame blancmange.

Satura Cakes
200 Main Street
Los Altos, CA
(650) 948-3300

The Palo Alto location is scheduled to open in May.

New-ish Restaurants Round-Up

There are a couple of somewhat new places in Palo Alto that I haven't gotten around to trying, but the Palo Alto Weekly has:

• Michael's Gelato & Cafe (in the old Swensen's location on University Avenue)
• Quattro (the Italian restaurant in the Four Seasons in East Palo Alto)

The Next Big Sweet Thing

When we were driving through downtown Redwood City last week to get to the Old Port Lobster Shack, it was hard not to notice all of the construction going on. The "On Broadway" project that was supposed to wrap up in late 2005... then early 2006... now has a May 2006 completion date.

As previously mentioned, the new retail/dining/cinema development will include a FatBurger and a Marble Slab. Now comes word that there will also be something called "Beard Papa." Strange name and old-man mascot? Yes. But apparently, they serve up amazing cream puffs -- fresh from the oven (they're baked, not fried), filled with a vanilla cream custard, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

So a little history on the place: The full name is Beard Papa Sweets Cafe. It is a Japanese chain that boasts about 250 stores worldwide. It's already opened locations in NY, NJ, SoCal, Hawaii and Boston. A San Francisco one is coming any day now. In addition to the vanilla cream puffs, they apparently offer rotating flavors such as green tea, chocolate, strawberry, royal milk tea, caramel and coffee.

Oh, and it's no coincidence that the mascot resembles Santa Claus. As one company spokesman said, "When people think of Santa Claus, it makes them happy, and so Beard Papa makes people happy."

Cupcakes and donuts be warned: Japanese cream puffs are coming!

Chocolate Month

In case you couldn't tell by all of the chocolate-oriented programming on FoodTV this weekend, February is considered Chocolate Month. So I thought I'd chime in with a quick post about an excellent chocolate dessert I had on Friday night: Mexican chocolate churros served with chocolate sauce and a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. Delicious!

The churros are currently on the Village Pub's dessert menu, which changes often (get it while you can!). In a previous post, I professed my love for the restaurant's chocolate souffle. We ordered it again on our latest visit and it was just as good as I remembered.

The Village Pub
2967 Woodside Road
Woodside, CA
(650) 851-9888