Fresh canoli? From where? The sign was right at the border of the small sidewalk seating area of Caffe Amici.
Quite naturally, as I have been on a quest that began with an innocent lunchtime canoli at La Dario Piazza Ristorante, I had to check it out.
Cannoli!
When I reached the interior of the small cafe, I was kind of glad that the cashier / clerk was no where in sight. It gave me a little time to peruse the offerings in the display cooler. To my delight, I found these little gems:
I was pretty stoked since they looked identical to the one I had enjoyed at La Dario. (La Dario on the left, Caffe Amici on the right.)
See? Identical!!
I was so happy that I pretty much glowed all the way back to the car. I even gleefully attempted to take some photos of a cannoli *in* the car while stopped at a stoplight (you know, because I thought *my lap* would keep it from rolling around. It didn't. I got a sweater nicely dusted with suspect-looking white powder to prove it!). One cannoli didn't make it home. Another didn't make it to the fridge...and then there was one. :)
How was it, you ask?
And I have to ask in turn, Are you my canoli?
The truth is, perhaps I have built up the original cannoli too much! For in fact, if this *were* the bakery supplying to La Dario, they *must* be doing something different with the filling in their own premises.
While the cannoli shell was the same - crisp, thin, and light, and the roasted nuts which the filling was dredged in also the same, the filling seemed a hollow relation to what I remembered of that "fabled cannoli" a couple months ago.
That cannoli filling was creamy, light, and sweetened slightly. This cannoli filling was grainy, slightly heavier, and almost cloying in sweetness. In addition, it seemed to leave a slight chalkiness on the tongue.
What went wrong? How could the quest be so seemingly unfair??
The answer probably lies in the timing. I had La Dario's cannoli in March, when the weather was mild. It is May now, and slightly warmer. I'm guessing the warmer weather made the sugar in the filling crystalized, or some other kind of food chemistry that is beyond my realm. Perhaps that was the answer?
Or perhaps the answer is that I have to revamp the quest itself - so far my *favourite* cannoli, by far, has been the ones at Italia Bakery. *All of them*.
So, while I have probably found the makers of the Dario cannoli, I now want to find the *best* cannoli in Vancouver. Have any suggestions?
1344 Commercial Drive [map]
Vancouver BC
Phone: 604-255-7879
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