Beard Papa's?

[Judith]

Some friends insisted that we try Beard Papa's last night. One of the people in my office raved about them when they opened, said she had waited on line to get in.

All they have is cream puffs and some kind of chocolate dessert. I'm not a huge fan of cream puffs, but these seemed especially not special to me. The filling was like pudding you make from a box. The coffee was third rate coffee from an urn. We sat there for about twenty minutes at around 8 PM on a Saturday evening and people never stopped coming in. So what is it about this stuff?

[wontonfm]

When Beard Papa's first made it's way to NYC I was obsessed! But in retrospect I think it was because I had a bunch of free coupons. I would normally get the vanilla and thought the other flavours were underwhelming. Not bad just nothing that special.

Bottom line, I wouldn't wait in a long line for these at all.

WON
http://whatsonmyplate.wordpress.com

[KaimukiMan]

I don't like custard (not fond of eggs in general), and was very disappointed to find out they are custard not cream filled. How can they call them cream puffs if they are not filled with cream? AND i didn't think the pastry was all that.

[kawachi]

Custard is also known as "pastry cream."

[pinstripeprincess]

beard papas in japan.... gross. agree on the pudding like filling and the pastry was just awful!

[Mag454]

Oh man last month when I was in Oahu, I was craving a Beard Papa's...After a few minutes of searching frantically for the store, which I knew was right on Lewers St, my friend told me that they had moved way down to Kuhio Ave in Foodmart. I made the trek since I LOVE their cream puffs. I was lucky to get the last strawberry cream puff and it was amazing. I am seriously craving it right now. The cream puffs remind me a lot of the crepes I used to get when I lived in Japan. The strawberry one was made with whipped cream and therefore did not hold well, but the time before this past trip, I bought a box of vanilla ones and when I came back to Kauai at night, I put them in the fridge and brought them for my coworkers the next day. The regular cream puffs were still in pretty good shape.

YUM!

[ipsedixit]

If I was in Hawai'i, I would be heading to (maybe Leonard's) for a box full of malasadas. I would never think of going for a Beard Papa's run.

[Mag454]

It's different when you live here. Beard Papa's are more highly prized than malasadas. b/c you can get or make (or have an aunty make...) a malasada any day...but Beard Papa's are only had when either myself or a friend takes a trip to Oahu.

[kobetobiko]

The filings are not made from a box. It's all natural ingredients with no preservatives and is made in premise:
Milk, Heavy Cream, Water, Corn Starch, Flour, Sugar, Salt, Unsalted Butter, Pasteurized Eggs, Margarine, Malt, Vanilla Beans, Powder Sugar

[Kathleen M]

I recently mentioned Beard Papa's in my post about what I ate in Los Angeles. I never thought much about cream puffs either way, but I read an article that said the cream puffs were the best ever, and I always want to try anything that someone claims is "the best" so I went and tried the chocolate eclair style (regular filling, puff dipped in chocolate). I thought it was heavenly! I went back the next morning and got a regular puff with carmel and it was also wonderful. I loved the way the shell was so fresh it shattered in my mouth, and I could definitely taste the real vanilla. You could probably count the cream puffs I've eaten in my life on your fingers, but these were indeed the best I'd ever had.

[Eat_Nopal]

I have had them in L.A. & Honolulu.... not bad, not great. If you ever have the misfortune of being stuck in some stupid, high traffic, petty burgeosie, touristy mall... its a far superior option over say the crap from Cinnabon, Mrs. Fields and the rest of the supersized junk dessert places.

[OCAnn]

Mmm...I like the crap from Cinnabon on a rare occasion....

[Eat_Nopal]

You must be imune to the chemical notes, overly sugary, lazy flavors. If you are ever in West L.A. please head to Primo's Donuts early in the morning to sample their fried Cinammon Rolls... much better in my opinion.

[OCAnn]

"...imune to the chemical notes, overly sugary, lazy flavors"

LOL...You describe soda drinkers perfectly! I'm not immune;sometimes overcome with morbid curiosity, I just like pure junk on a rare occasion. I have a vast palate...with a mouth & belly to match!

[ElsieDee]

"fried Cinammon Rolls"????!!!!

How could my life have gone on for so long not knowing this???!!!

How early in the morning?

[Eat_Nopal]

Stuff comes out of the fryers between 6 & 7 AM during the hard hat rush hour.

[bulavinaka]

And always get at least a couple buttermilk bars as well. Primo built its reputation on those - everything else there is frosting on the cake...

[ElsieDee]

Criminey. Thank you, Eat Nopal and bulavinaka.

So is it worth the drive from east Pasadena in the wee hours of the morning? (Well, at least what I think of as being wee hours.)

[bulavinaka]

I think it depends on how much you like buttermilk bars and fried cinnamon rolls. They do open early - I think 0530 or 0600 m-f, and a little later on the weekend. I know traffic shouldn't be too much of an issue at that time!

[AngelSanctuary]

Um...I had one in HK, I liked it. It's not the best obviously, but they have a good variety, they still taste good and they were conveniently at popular subway stations.

[OCAnn]

They're like Krispy Kremes in that they're only good the first minute after they're prepared.

[walker]

Maybe I have a simple palate but...I had some in the fridge for 3 days once and they still tasted delicious to me.

[OCAnn]

Well, some foods taste better after they've had a chance to rest (like stews)! =)

I enjoyed BP cream puffs the first couple times I had them (maybe for the novelty)...then I suddenly found them meh. Even though it's a chain, I think products vary slightly depending on location.

[nypb]

I loved going to Beard Papa when I lived in Manhattan. It was close to my apartment but I wouldn't go out of my way for a cream puff if they opened here in Austin...

[AngelSanctuary]

KK are always good to me lol, always.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

There was a Beard Papa in Boston's Faniuel Hall (read: high-traffic, high-tourist shopping area) that only lasted about a year, if I recall correctly. The product just plain wasn't very good, and it suffered from its proximity to the North End's pastry shops.

[walker]

There are two in San Francisco and I've only had the vanilla (made with real vanilla beans) and others on CH said to only get the vanilla. I think they are wonderful.