The Fried Dough Ho

When I wrote about the Bombolini at I Preferiti di Boriana, available from the Ferry Plaza, I mistakenly believed they were the only bombolini available. I learned that Arlequin Café, the smaller to-go sister version of Absinthe, has a booth at the Ferry Plaza on Saturdays and offers a multitude of baked goods as well as their version of the Bombolini.

I got their early last Saturday as rumors had it they run out early. It was a shockingly cold day for mid-May and the fact that San Francisco was still experiencing freakishly winter-like later this late in spring is an important factor I’ll touch upon later. There were a few more flavors to choose from than I Preferiti and while I would normally dive right into the raspberry jam, I thought it more important to judge against the custard; most bakeries buy their jam while only a bakery of any worth prepares their own custards from scratch. I was also very intrigued with the Maple Bacon – how could I not be?

Instead of a granulated sugar dusting, these have a very light glaze. It was nice that it was not too heavy or sweet. The cake was dense and not as light as I would have predicted. They were also cold. As was the filling. Too cold, actually. This was my reference to the weather. I asked if they knew when the doughnuts had been fried and no one was quite sure. It is entirely possible that they were made, filled and then refrigerated. Or, at least, that the filling was refrigerated because the flavors were muted. The Bacon Maple was quite lovely, with bits of bacon redolent in the rich, but subdued maple cream.

I also asked if these were available at the store during the week. I have great hopes of trying them warm or fresh. It will require a little investigation and I hope that they are not made solely for the Ferry Plaza as the volume with which they have to be prepared makes it so they have to be done so too far beforehand to be truly exceptional. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and wander down to the Café soon.\

The Ferry Plaza is a bit of a food mecca to die-hard foodies. There are dozens of stores offering any form of culinary delight, from meats to mushrooms, from macarons to Malbec.  I Preferiti di Boriana is one of the specialty stores offering a variety of products but truthfully, I don’t know what else they sell — I only go there for the Bombolini.

My BFF (Best Foodie Friend), Lisa, joined with me on the stunningly Spring day — which helps considerably so that I can taste more than one flavor without being too gluttonous. And she and I were completely in sync in wanting to taste the Raspberry filled and the Custard.

The wonders of this offering lies in its light cake which is tender and airy. Dusted in granulated sugar, there is no greasy sensation whatsoever and the cake is substantial enough to stand up to the fillings. Of the two, I was surprised that I enjoyed the creamy custard, moreso than the raspberry. It does not taste remotely synthetic or mass-produced, like so many custards. It is not overly sweet and the richness of the egg is definite.

The raspberry jam, is also very good, but somehow the extra sweetness of the jam, combined with the sweetness of the sugar on the exterior makes it that much more overpowering in sweet, while the custard mutes that sweetness.

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