| rev:text
| - For me, the sign of a great bakery isn't whether I appreciate it when I'm hungry - it's whether I do when I'm full. Pasticceria Alati-Caserta certainly meets that criterion.
Located in walking distance of Jean Talon Market and Pizzeria Napoletana in Little Italy, I'd initially only intended to stop in for a post pizza cannolo (cannoli being the plural word, and is widely misused as singular). Even that was a stretch after a bite or two at Patisserie Ryad and Boulangerie Premiere Moisson in Jean Talon. But, it would have been silly to not do so after having ventured this far. It was one of those lazy summer late afternoons and only a cannolo could provide the right bookend to a pizza. I ended up getting a lot more baked goods to go, as the display cases were just too tempting to resist.
So, the highly regarded ricotta cannolo? Best-in-class. 5 stars. One of the top 5 I've had in North America, and I've been fortunate to have tried Italian bakeries extensively coast-to-coast. Many bakeries make a great show of piping in the ricotta into the shell right in front of you as if that's all that matters. It doesn't. Of course, the shell should not be soggy. But, just because the cannolo is pre-filled doesn't mean it's an average or subpar cannolo. All you need is the elements to come together well: crisp shell, splattering on bite, excellent ricotta cheese, not-too-sweet. All my favorite versions have had a shell that works well refrigerated, and obviously popularity leads to turnover ensuring a virtuous cycle of fresh cannoli.
Surprisingly, I've never had pistachio amongst the different amaretti biscuits I've eaten (traditional, sliced almonds, Rosette). The version at Alati-Caserta is delicious. Also scrumptious: the Cassata Verde, a classic Sicilian dessert from Palermo featuring sponge cake, ricotta cheese, and candied peel, covered in a shell of marzipan.
Beyond the two, I played safe in selecting a chocolate pastry (not necessarily limited to Italian bakeries) along with one accenting pistachio (Traviata). I was less than thrilled with the Traviata, but did enjoy the chocolate one. There were quite a few other items (particularly passion fruit pastry, or the nutty and crunchy Brutti ma Buoni cookie) that seemed interesting had I any stomach space left, which I didn't.
And that's without even considering the Lingua di suocera, which translates as mother-in-law's tongue. So, I can't tell whether it's nutty, bitter, or what. Surely can't be subtle or nuanced ;)
(4.5 stars)
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)