43361 Mon Feb 06 13:10:53 -0800 2006 12 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 211899 Anyone know where to get yummy marzipan in the Bay Area? I want to get a birthday treat for a friend who loves the stuff...but hasn't had a chance to find a good supply here. Thank you! Mon Feb 06 13:10:53 -0800 2006 0 ginger_wasabi 1 211919 What form of marzipan are you looking for? Plain? Chocolate covered? Molded into fancy shapes? Mon Feb 06 14:37:14 -0800 2006 211899 0 Ruth Lafler 2 211990 Any form, really. =) But this would be a dreamy find: A pastry shop in North Beach that sells hand-formed marzipan fruits using marzipan made from a old family recipe. You know what I mean? =) I think the most popular theory of originating country of marzipan is...Italy? =) Mon Feb 06 16:59:25 -0800 2006 211919 0 ginger_wasabi 3 212045 The two Danish bakeries I'm familiar with in the Bay Area, Neldam's in Oakland and Copenhagen in Burlingame, seem to have quite a few (very delicious) items with marzipan. Mon Feb 06 21:01:34 -0800 2006 211990 0 Agent 510 1 211934 Cost Plus World Market stores carry all sorts of marzipan. Mon Feb 06 15:16:01 -0800 2006 211899 0 Nancy Berry 1 212003 My favorite form of marzipan is draped over a princess cake. Schubert's or Delanghe, in the city. Mon Feb 06 17:56:20 -0800 2006 211899 0 nooodles 1 212056 I would think Cost Plus/World Market would have it - they're at Westlake strip mall and in the Fisherman's Wharf area of SF. But my friend who does a lot of baking says the cheapest marzipan in SF is at Laurel Village. It's a small strip mall on the south side of California st. in SF. The marzipan for the thrifty is at the supermarket at the eastern end of Laurel Village (not the Cal Mart). Mon Feb 06 22:12:16 -0800 2006 211899 0 Niki Rothman 2 212060 Marzipan isn't hard to find -- good marzipan is hard to find. Most of the stuff at Cost Plus is German and not very good in my opinion (too dry). For chocolate-covered marzipan, you might try See's, which tends to be very moist and fresh, although perhaps a little on the sweet side. Mon Feb 06 22:39:08 -0800 2006 212056 0 Ruth Lafler 3 212595 Coincidentally, I bought some marzipan at See's very recently. Didn't think it was very good - but unlike you, I actually thought it could have been sweeter. The marzipan I bought for baking a couple of weeks ago is going into linzer torte. Decided to take the plunge and produce my own for the first time after repeatedly getting no response for chowhound sitings in SF, and then seeing the miniscule shard being offered for $6 at the new California Street Cafe at the JCC. I haven't made it yet, but I've got all the ingredients and a couple of recipes. So I'll be reporting soon on the home cooking board. The marzipan from Laurel Village is the old stand-by Solo brand that makes things like poppy seed and prune fillings - out of Illinois. It was about $4 for 8 ounces. My friend used it to make those green and pink, layered with marzipan and dark chocolate, small rectangular cookie bar thingies you get in Italian bakeries in NYC - only hers were much better. So I can see this Solo brand from Laurel Village is the real deal. That supermarket - the one east of Cal Mart, also has another brand - but it was more expensive. The reason my friend recommended the one I bought is that she comparison shopped around SF and this was the least expensive. Thu Feb 09 14:48:36 -0800 2006 212060 0 Niki Rothman 1 212096 The "World's Best Macaroons" at the Phoenix Pastifico on Shattuck in Berkeley don't seem to be macaroons, but rather seem to be fresh marzipan as far as I can tell. Not fruit shaped. If they somehow don't fit a definition of marzipan, then I like them better than any marzipan I've eaten. $2 each, fairly large. Tue Feb 07 04:00:58 -0800 2006 211899 0 David Farris 2 212988 To clarify the previous: I've since been informed that the difference is about the presence or absence of egg whites, and that Phoenix's satisfies the European definition of a macaroon, though not the American one. It's a similar experience, though--both involve sugar and almond paste. Sat Feb 11 03:44:46 -0800 2006 212096 0 David Farris 1 212166 This has been very helpful! My friend won't know what to do with all of the marzipan I throw at him. =) Thank you again... Tue Feb 07 15:22:12 -0800 2006 211899 0 ginger_wasabi 1 212783 I ordered a Princess cake from Schubert..the marzipan was for a birthday celebration so...what would be better than combining the birthday cake and the almond paste! I'll post a review once we've chowed down on it. =) Thank you chowhounds...you rock!!! Fri Feb 10 12:48:48 -0800 2006 211899 0 ginger_wasabi