Superette

What a bummer for me.  I woke up on Saturday morning to find out that my fridge died.  It was off the entire night so I had to clean all the perishable items out.  As a result, my baking plans for blueberry pie had to be shelved as I could not store dairy products.   I did salvage my two blocks of butter and resourcefully turned them into a batch of shortbread before they turned.

On a happier design note, I love everything about the branding, retail merch and cafe interior of Superette, a neighbourhood cafe in Cape Town, South Africa.  The individuals behind Superette also run Neighbourgoods Market– another cool food/retail concept in Cape Town.

Photo Source: 1 logo, 2-8 from Superette

The hybrid restaurant, bakery, grocery store, and retail store has always been a favourite of mine.  Daylesford Organic in London is another example of this hybrid concept.  Superette offers sandwiches, salads, breakfast, baked goods and a supper club, which is something a bit different.  Those plates of theirs are adorable (last picture).  I would love a set.

Larnicol

The weekend is here and I could not be happier.  While the weather continues to push 25 degrees in Prague, there is finally a breeze which makes nights a bit more comfortable sans a/c.

A couple weeks ago when I was in Paris, I forgot to blog about a cool experience I had at a chocolate store.  What made me remember is that I still have a small (but melting) bag of chocolate covered cherries from this place and as I was thinking about eating on, a light bulb went off in my brain.

I did my fair share of sampling sweets around the city: A macaron here, a chocolate there, a palmier here… you get the picture.  I don’t think I had a bad “sample” anywhere but there were a few spots that stood out from the rest.  One of which was La Maison Georges Larnicol.  Are you acquainted with this place?  It is a chocolate store with two locations in Paris (I visited the one on rue de Rivoli (4th)) that offers customers an interactive chocolate experience:  SELF SERVE.

Photo Source: 1

All of the chocolates are displayed in self-sever, bulk barn-esque bins where you can mix and match whatever items you want and simply pay by weight.  You can cross over between chocolates, caramels and the famed Kouign amann cakes (a special pastry originating from Brittany that tastes like a cinnamon roll, a palmier and a stick of butter rolled together).  If you are curious about these Kouign amann, I would recommend reading David Lebovitz’s post on this special delicacy and his experience at Larnicol.  I tasted half of one just to have the experience.  The Kouignette was dense, heavy and would have tasted better warmed up to make the sugar/butter/caramel gooier.

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In my experience roaming the chocolate stores of Paris, there is a beautiful glass case between you and your chocolate.  Not here.  The only things behind an official glass case are the macarons.  Otherwise it is a chocolate free-for-all.  The entire perimeter of the store is filled with chocolate covered everything, sometimes three or four bins deep, not to mention the displays of chocolate sculptures, products and gifts around the shelves and centre display cases.

 Photo Source: 3

Have a wonderful weekend.  Meet you back here next week.

Let me know what you tasted at Larnicol if you have been.

Blueberry Pie

In the spring and summer in Prague, there are no shortages of farmers markets.  In fact there are dedicated markets that are set up in and around the various city squares every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday bringing fresh produce into each community.

In addition to the farmers markets, I have also noticed a series of fruit stands that seem to only sell seasonal berries from Monday to Friday.  There is one in particular that I pass every day on my way to work.  I noticed the berry stand started by selling Czech strawberries and has now expanded its assortment to include strawberries, blueberries, apricots and these smaller red berries that I am not familiar with (they sort of look like cranberries, but I know they are not).

Every day when I walk by the blueberries I think, it’s time to make blueberry pie.  Tomorrow, I think I am going to buy a couple cartons and experiment with the new pie pan I bought in Paris.

Here is my visual inspiration:

What is your favourite style/recipe for blueberry pie?  I would love to hear your recommendations in the comment section below.

Helsinki: World Design Capital

Did you know that cities get nominated as world design capitals?  This year, Helsinki holds the spot for the 2012 World Design Capital.  I think being nominated as a world design capital is kind of a neat concept.  Typically, cities are ranked on cost, livability, congestion, or environmental friendliness but design?  That’s cool.

The organization behind the World Design Capital award, seeks to recognize and reward cities who have done an excellent job integrating design into all aspects of city life.   It is no surprise that the first four cities (awarded every other year) won, however I could think of a few more to add.

In 2008, Torino (Italy) was nominated as a WDC thanks in part to its re-positioning from an industrial city to a tech hub that has attracted a wave of entrepreneurship and creativity.   Seoul won in 2010 followed by Helsinki in 2012 and Cape Town (SA) has already clinched the spot for 2014.

I am a fan of Finnish, modernism design.  In addition to producing lots of well known architects, designers and brands such as Alvar Aalto, Kaj Franck, textile company Marimekko, glass/tableware company iittala, Muuto and Tonfisk, you don’t have to look too far in Helsinki to see evidence of design integrated into daily life/business. Architecture aside, one of the design forward hot-spots is the city’s impressive design district.

Photo Source: 1, 2

It has some interesting places to eat, stay and shop.  So far my pics include:

Chjoko

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Sis Deli + Cafe

Photo Source: 4, 5, 6

Cool sushi bars…

Photo Source: 7, 8

Eco-design shop, Nudge

Photo Source: 9

Craftsman & Wolves: A Modern Bakery

You’ve gotta love modern bakeries.  Every now and then a baker goes ultra modern with his or her interior design and it just makes everything look so chic.  Taking the modern interior design approach does not make a bakery, but it can help the company stand out as long as the products match in quality.  My global modern bakery list includes: Princi, Ble, Nadege, Helsinki Bakery, Kara’s Cupcakes, Joseph Brot von Pheinsten, and Vyta.

The newest bakery to join the modern-sugar crew is chef William Werner‘s  Craftsman & Wolves on Valencia Street in San Francisco’s Mission District. After browsing its sizable breakfast menu on the Craftsman & Wolves website, my top pics of items I would like to try include their “damn fine granola,” “smoked almond brittle,” a “cocoa carrot muffin,” and a “raspberry, coconut, earl grey, almond cube cake” (see cube cake below). The bakery also has sandwiches and coffee from local coffee bar and roaster, Sightglass. 

Photo Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

One more point of interest, while we are talking about Craftsman & Wolves.  If “clustering” is a good business strategy, then Craftsman & Wolves did an excellent job by locating itself a block away from one of my other SF all time favourite bakeries, Tartine.

Speaking of which, today I tried baking two Tartine cookie recipes for class tomorrow: shortbread and chocolate walnut cookie from the Tartine cookbook.  Looking forward to taste testing.