Stale bomboloni at Boriana's Corner

[choctastic]

Haven't been here in a while so I was really irritated to find that my nutella bomboloni is now a stale donut made the night before, filled with hardened, vaguely nutellaish paste. Disgusting, and not like it was before. At $2.75 a donut, you'd think they'd suck it up and try to make them fresh.

I'll stick with something reliable...like Krispy Kreme.

[FUELEDbyDONUTS]

Spot on. STALE! Inexcusable. They must realize they're a major international tourist destination and their produst must be 100% ready for showtime the instant the doors are unlocked Saturday morning. I ranted and raved for weeks to my visitors from England and Phoenix and looked like the idiot this morning after biting into a stale donut. Word on the street is they sell over 1500 on a typical Saturday at $2.75 per... you do the math. Bottom line, you can't dis a foodie!!! I will politely mention this, I hope, anamoly to the owner/manager.

[Xiao Yang]

Perhaps they gave the weekend before Christmas off to the baker(s). They make the stuff every day of the week, and may give priority to their regular customers (including the ones they now deliver to in the fidi).

[Carrie 218]

I was there with Choctastic and completely concur -- these were day-old bomboloni and if FueledByDonuts is right on those numbers, than there are going to be 1,500 REALLY disappointed folks who will (hopefully) tell their friends and cause a subsequent loss of business and making them re-think their baking practices!

[Xiao Yang]

I don't know what street FBD gets his numbers from, but if there's any basis to the the 1,500 number, I'd bet a dozen Mr. Donut green tea donuts it's for week, not for a Saturday.

[casalbore spirit]

I was there to inquire about availability or just a first time taste about a month ago and was met by the same brusque female owner/manager(?) who refused to turn around and face me and replied with her back to me that they were gone for the day.I was turned off formerly from this place by her reaction to other product inquiries and now that the bombolonis are stale...Forget-about-it!

[dreamsicle]

I passed by the place one Monday afternoon and a girl working there tried to persuade me to get one, claiming that they are the "best treat in the world". She introduced me to the bomboloni maker who happened to be there that day, a fairly young Italian man whom she called a "baker". Out of curiosity, I asked them, "So aren't these deep-fried like donuts?" The man replied no, saying that he wakes up at 3AM every day to bake them. I still can't help thinking that they are deep-fried treats though; at least they look that way.

In the end, I hesitated to get any despite the previously good comments on Chowhound. The bomboloni seemed stale and greasy-looking ... well, it was the late afternoon anyway. Maybe that was why they were trying to "get rid" of them. I'll see if I have better luck some other day.

[wally]

I saw them being delivered by an Indian woman two Saturdays ago at about 8 AM.

[Dave MP]

I was at the Ferry Building on Tuesday (the 18th of Dec) and tried this for the first time. It was excellent - definitely not stale, and much better than Krispy Kreme.

We were there in the early afternoon, probably about 1 or 2 PM.

[singleguychef]

I'm disappointed to report that the bomboloni at Boriana's Corner is going downhill.

I read these comments about the stale report and it had been awhile so this past weekend when I was at the farmers market I got my favorite custard-filled bomboloni at Boriana's.

First off, I have to say that just looking at them in the plastic case I was already suspicious. They didn't look the same as last year. I remember that they were always perfectly round and plump and the sugar coating was perfectly even with granulated sugar. And amazingly they were always all the same size!

Well, Saturday they looked like some kind of rustic deal. They were all odd shaped and the sugar weren't evenly coated. In fact, some parts looked melted or like a glaze. So they just looked liked regular jelly filled doughnuts.

But I bought one anyway and the first bite I could tell they were different. They weren't as fresh and this was at 11 a.m. I remember buying them in the afternoons and they were still good. But this time they felt stale. The only thing I can say is that the custard filling was exactly the same and tasted the same balance of sweetness and custard cream. But just eating the custard isn't enough for me to spend $2.50 for one of these.

What a shame because I don't usually eat baked goods but I would always buy this treat, even at that cost. I really suspect that the owner might have switched to a cheaper vendor instead of the one she used last year. The quality is markedly different and people who have eaten this regularly (like me) would notice this obvious change in direction.

[lamster]

I tried them too around Christmas time and was also put off by the stale taste... but I didn't want to say anything for fear that it was me that was wrong, not the actual bomboloni. I'd heard so many great things about them that I had expected a really awesome donut... nope. The sugar on the outside was clumpy, the custard way too sweet and the dough was dry and stale.

[chemchef]

I had one on Saturday afternoon that was pure heaven. I can't imagine them being any better.

[singleguychef]

Just out of curiosity, chemchef, have you eaten them before or was Saturday your first one? Because I have to say it really seemed different Saturday compared to eating them earlier in 2007.

[chemchef]

Saturday was my first one, but I have eaten my fair share of donuts and this one by no means tasted stale. It was a pillowy cloud filled with light and airy slightly sweet cream with flecks of vanilla beans throughout.

I believe that they may be different than the ones before, but I definitely wouldn't take Krispy Kreme over the one I had on Saturday.

[Lori SF]

My Italian grandma made these and everything she made was incredible. The last time I had a great one was in NY at Falai Panetteria and in Chicago at a place near the mart. Where else in the city can you get a bomboloni or also known as jelly filled fritters, Italian donut holes.. What I know is they must be eaten right away, right out of the fryer, cooled shortly and then devoured, might explain the stale result.

[rworange]

On St Joseph's Day (March 9th), Victoria Pastry and Emporio Rulli make them. Victoria makes them in three varieties, plain, jelly (IIRC) and custard. The custard is one of my favorite donuts ever. Prepare for it by not eating the week before. I imagine on that day the other Italian bakeries in the city make them too.

Outside of the city Morton had a report about great ones at Dopo in Oakland and occasionally Olivetto's make them. The bomboloni that Hopkins Street bakery are horrid .. greasy, soggy and small ... the small size being the only saving grace... $1.75 wasted.

[wally]

March 19th.

[Lori SF]

Good to know and thankfully have not thought about them until now. I heard that Dopo makes a great one.

[foodwinemaven]

Now it's not just stale ones that are a problem but it seems that the chef has changed so even the fresh ones taste different. I didn't bother until now to research it.

7x7 reported that Absinthe's pastry chef Luis Villavelazquez was making them as of a few months ago and that he has a new stand where he sells them himself on Thurs, including a maple bacon variety. I haven't been thrilled with chef Luis in the past, specifically his insane desserts at Orson that he wanted to "challenge" his diners with (such as a dessert I personally thought tasted like smoked creamed turkey) but two respected kitchens have employed him lately so I will give his future creations a try.

http://foodandwinemavens.blogspot.com...