Perpetual Carouse

I think my dog has finally matured into a full-fledged chowhound. We’re rubbing off on him.

A few weeks ago, he discovered the joys of catching drippings from the grill. I was doing some ribs, and my grease-cup runneth over.

“Hey, where’s the dog?”

And there he was, hunkered down under the grill, eagerly lapping up whatever dripped his way.

Fast-forward to last night. I was grilling up a pork loin, and it started to rain. My dog, as a rule, is loathe to go out in the rain. Hates it. Even treats don’t work. To walk him in the rain, you essentially have to drag him behind you, while he zig-zags around, trying to avoid any sort of contact with moisture.

So there I am, grilling, and Shiloh is watching intently, laying just on the threshold of the doorway. Then, he creeps out (into the rain) and very gingerly makes his way underneath the grill to try and
catch something tasty.

Such is the power of pork fat; it trumps my dog’s hatred of rain. I’m so proud!

Beard Papa.

OK, nevermind, whatever. Everytime I think of the name I can’t help but hear Notorious B.I.G. shoutin’ out from beyond the grave for a cream puff.

So, trendy as fuck Beard Papa has landed in SF. After taking NYC hipster-foodies and apparently all of Japan by storm, the Papa has finally set up shop in the Bay Area.

Yesterday over beers and BBQ, I made plans with a friend of mine to trek out to the SF store so we could taste the legendary cream puffs ourselves. The verdict?

Meh….

That’s it. Just…meh.

I mean, it’s hard to make an inedible cream puff, right? After tasting the Papa’s wares, I’m beginning to think it’s even harder to make a cream puff that lives up to the hype that Beard Papa’s been getting in the food press. Maybe it’s just me. I mean, it was ok. But
really, just ok.

I like the fact that they are filled to order, so you get a crisp cream puff, not some soggy mess that’s been sitting in a case for a while. And they’re small-ish, which is nice. All the better to lessen your guilt about eating it in the first place. And I really like the Japan-tastic logo of the old man smoking a pipe. I desperately want one of the “Who’s your Papa?” t-shirts.

On the other hand, I thought the cream filling was a bit grainy, and it wasn’t particularly vanilla-y, which is a shame, because vanilla is one of my favorite flavors. And the plasma screen showing the industrial-sized baking that brings Beard Papa cream puffs into the world seemed a little unappetizing, but that’s probably just my California showing. It’s probably big in Japan