The Fried Dough Ho

When it comes to my fried dough adventures, I am beginning to discover there are two very distinctive avenues of exploration. First, there are the must-try, pre-determined establishments, such as when I happened to be in Seattle and made sure I visited Top Pot, or part of the birthday celebration of going to Frances just for Bacon Beignets. These are very particular destination trips for me in my never-ending search for the epitome of fried dough.

Then there are the surprises — those trips to highly acclaimed restaurants like my visit to Bottega in Yountville and stumbling on the fact that they offer both a savory and sweet fried dough. Or a trip to England where the intent was to search for grouse at an acclaimed gastropub, Harwood Arms, and instead finish an amazing meal with delectable Bramley Apple Doughnuts.

So it was on this cool Monday afternoon. Dashing home from a last-minute appointment, that I realize I had barely eaten a breakfast and lunch was already upon me. Rumblings in my stomach coaxed me to debate the offerings of the neighborhood where I found myself, the corner of Fillmore and California. La Boulange is a standard choice for me as their Niçoise for under $10 is always satisfying. There is a new Mexican which I have yet to try, but I am really not a fan of south-of-the-border flavors. It was just nigh on 11:30 and fortunately for me, there were still seats to be had at the bar at Delfina Pizzeria and a broccoli rabe pizza with Hen of the Wood mushrooms with my name on it.

I wasn’t even that hungry and was only one slice into eating my pizza when I glanced over my shoulder and saw the dessert menu printed on the mirror behind me, “Zeppole de San Guiseppe.” O.M.Y.G.O.S.H. There was to be an unexpected fried dough treat in my future! I confirmed with the waitress what THEY believed Zeppole to be (because I certainly have ordered things called doughnuts before which proved to be anything BUT doughnuts). She held her hands out to start describing the size of the plate, “Zeppole is this large fried dough….” I held up my hand with a knowing smile, stopping her in mid-stence. “Perfect,” I confirmed. “I’ll be packaging up the bulk of my pizza to save room for dessert.”

At Delfina, the Zeppole is created from their famous pizza dough, rolled out extra thin and fried very crisp in an elongated, misshapen form. Dusted with powdered sugar and topped with a Bavarian-style mascarpone cream, this is both incredibly light and delightfully tasty. Delfina serves two to the order, one so large that it spills over the edge of the plate. With the pizza dough rolled so thinly, when fried the subsequent zeppole is full of large air holes making it that much lighter. There is no hint of greasiness and the sweetness is added afterward, with the powdered sugar and the rich, mascarpone-based cream, drizzled atop almost haphazardly. The dessert was served with clean silverware and an additional plate. For me, it was easier to pick up and consume like your standard slice of pizza, with your hands.

The surprise happenstance of stumbling on such an enticing form of fried dough in my own neighborhood was not only happy synchronicity, but also makes Delfina more a destination spot for me in the future. I admit to craving those heavy, cakey fried dough offerings, but to enjoy something so light and different than their heavier counterparts which have been my norm lately, was a special treat.