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south philly bakery crawl

A couple Saturdays ago I organized a South Philadelphia Bakery Crawl. This consisted of meeting a bunch of my friends and walking to South Philly bakeries to sample their delicious goods.  The grand finale of the event was the cannoli taste test challenge, where cannolis from the bakeries we visited were pitted against each other in a battle to the death. Well not quite the death, but the ravenous consumption by my friends. A mini keg of Warsteiner helped us wash it all down.

Our first stop was at Artisan Boulanger Patissier at 12th and Morris. We stopped here to get a little fuel for our walk . I got the almond crescent which is always amazing (especially the chocolate one). It was light and flaky on the outside with sweet soft almond paste inside. I’ve also had the bread here before which is also delicious if you can get it before they sell out

Our next stop was Varallo Bakery at 10th and Morris. The inside of the bakery is inviting and old school. The case full of cookies and confections stretches all along the side of the bakery, it looks quite majestic. Here I just got some cannolis for the taste test challenge.

Next stop was Termini Brothers Bakery on 8th st. near Dickinson. As far as the building goes Termini is the most impressive. It looks like you are stepping back into 1950, made even more believable by the old Italian dudes rocking It’s Amore on a guitar and accordian. At Termini’s they have an island in the middle full of delicious confections and helpful ladies come to take your order.  I got some cannolis and some Florentine cookies which blew my mind. The lady also gave me a little taste of the peanut butter cheese cake which was so sumptuous I would fail hard to try to even attempt a description of its deliciousity.

The next stop was at Isgro’s . The smell of the bakery wafts all down Christian St. if the wind is right, and it was as we walked closer and began salivating uncontrollably. The shop is small but full of a wide variety of delicious cookies and pastry. Also worth checking out is their Easter ham pie when the season is right, it will blow your mind.

We then walked back to the cannoli showdown arena and prepared for the main event.

I began by marking the bottom of the plates so we would know the bakery. Then I chopped the cannolis into bites for all to judge.

Everyone grabbed a bite from each plate as it was passed. Our discriminating taste buds were alight with sugar, flour and ricotta. The criteria was simple: taste, texture, and overall yumminess. All three options were good, but one stood out. After voting it was decided… drum roll…. Isgro’s has the best. The texture of the shell was crisp but not overdone, the filling was light and not too sweet, and overall was the top cannoli. As a side note Warsteiner goes excellently with cannolis

Tags: Bakeries

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