"beard papa" news and stories

• January is national soup month. Choose from two recipes provided for "hearty, economical one-pot meals [that] burst with nutrients and flavor."
• Chef and restaurateur Jovan Trboyevic passed away Sunday, but is remembered, fondly: "Arguably more than any other single person, Jovan Trboyevic shaped fine-dining in Chicago."
• The anticipated Beard Papa cream-puff chain opened in Chicago, but the product is disappointingly "deflating."
• Dijon is a tangy, versatile condiment. Find out a variety of ways to use it to enliven dishes.
• A Chicagoan wins a Spreading Smucker's Traditions recipe contest and provides the winning formula for her Lovey Dovey cake.

I haven't been keeping up much with what's going on in the dining underground, mostly because the idea of leaving an air conditioned apartment and braving the sweltering heat outside, even if it's from the apartment to the car, is just too unappealing. However, I did have to run out to the Japanese market here on the westside of Los Angeles, and I noticed something new.

Yes! There is a Beard Papa's Sweets Cafe in West Los Angeles' Little Osaka, along the strip of Sawtelle Boulevard between Santa Monica, known to those who are in the know simply as "Sawtelle." It looks like the FKA (formerly known as) Mousse Fantasy is now sharing space with the Sweets Cafe that is famous for its giant cream puffs, as well as notorious for causing much hype.

I wasn't able to go in, since parking in the area is tight and I didn't have it in me to play Parking Lot Showcase Showdown, but since it's now on the Westside, I have no excuse to not try it.

Most American diners don't associate Asian foods with dessert. They think about sushi and spring rolls, maybe even pad thai. Sweets are limited to a fortune cookie and a milky Thai iced tea, though there are many sweet offerings in the countries that have inspired these foods. One treat, as an article in the SF Guardian pointed out, did achieve success: boba (bubble) tea, though its heyday seems to have passed and there are no longer a dozen joints a day springing up in college towns.

Two companies think that they can continue the trend and bring their Asian treats to mainstream America. One is Beard Papa, a chain that sells only cream puffs and has become very popular not only for its high quality puffs, but for its novelty. They have done very well so far, and more locations are opening all the time.

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Perhaps I missed the taste boat on this one.

Beard Papa's is a chain of Japanese bakeries/dessert cafes that are famous for one thing and one thing only: cream puffs. When rumours of an LA location started last year, that was all I ever heard about. Beard Papa's. There's now one in Hollywood and another recent opening further south in Gardena, and I do recall what a feeding frenzy it was was when it first opened its doors.

Beard Papa was supposed to open its first location in Northern California at 99 Yerba Buena Lane in San Francisco back in January, but apparently, it is still not open. May the force be with you on opening day.