Bloggers Bites: Your Best Summer Bite (So Far)
The sun is out, the birds are singing, and summer is young enough that we’re still excited when we run into mountains of blistering red tomatoes and heaping piles of sweet corn at the farmers’ market. Oh, and our stomachs are grumbling– but that’s the usual here at Penn Appetit.
In celebration of all things summer, we asked our bloggers to tell us what their best bite of the summer was thus far. Read on for the juicy details…
Caroline Guenoun:
The best bite of my summer was in Bern, Switzerland where I had one of the best pieces of chocolate cake of my life.
It was a “chocolate torte” according to the menu. I visited the
Rosengarten, which is a beautiful rose garden overlooking the Old City
of Bern. The cake was airy and light, but still rich. It had a layer
of caramelized almonds on top and mini macarons lining the outer
layer.
Vera Kirillov:
The infamous cronut – this month’s flavor was key lime coconut. I stood in line with a friend from 7 AM until Dominique Ansel Bakery opened at 8, eagerly awaiting the flaky layers and luscious filling. The store employees, at this point accustomed to a line before opening, brought out madeleines and lemonade for those of us waiting, a pleasant surprise on a dreary morning. Patiently filing into the cramped bakery at 8, we claimed the prized pastry and sat down at one of two tables to enjoy a decadent breakfast. Although the fried croissant layers weren’t quite as crisp as I had anticipated – I was hoping for crispiness akin to the Italian sfogliatelle – the tart key lime filling oozing out at every bite more than made up for it.
Chase Matecun:
Good news for all the Penn interns in NYC– my best bite of the summer took place in the lobby of a tiny office building just a few blocks south of SOHO. I strolled into Arcade Bakery just after the first loaves came out of the oven and when I opened the door, a wave of nutty, yeasty air swooped in and hit me square in the face. One look at the bread list and I knew what I wanted: the vanilla-pear buckwheat baguette.
The thin loaf was still warm when I pulled it out of its paper bag. It was dark and crusty, but gave a satisfying crunchy spring when I squeezed it. The first bite was pure aroma. As my teeth broke the crust, I breathed in a steamy cloud of sweet vanilla and the fluffy interior practically melted in my mouth. The interior was pockmarked with irregular holes and speckled with nutty flecks of buckwheat flour and the occasional sticky nugget of caramelized pear. The bread was almost custardy it was so moist– or maybe that was just a sign of how much my mouth was watering after my best bite of the summer.
Elena Crouch:
Seafood is a little hard to come by in the land-locked country of Germany, but I had a fantastic fish sandwich from a little boat on the Main River in Frankfurt, where I’m working this summer. The boat was so adorable and all it served was kebabs (the sandwich) of different kinds, specializing in fish ones. I got one with thin slices of fried orata, dorade in German, with a fat slice of tomato, some arugula, and a pungent slice of onion on a fluffy focaccia. Washed down with some beer along the riverside, it made a great dinner.
Connie Xu:
Last week I went to the most amazing family-owned seafood restaurant in Half Moon Bay, CA called Flying Fish Bar and Grill. It was a bit of a spontaneous trip down from my house (about an hour-long drive), but our lunch there was beyond delicious! I made the best decision to order the seafood cioppino, which is an Italian-American style seafood stew made with a fresh tomato broth.
