Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding from Maialino

David and I went to Maialino for dinner this weekend. We definitely did not need to get dessert there, as I had been baking cookies and hamantaschen all day, eating dough as I went, and after dinner we had plans to taste a bunch of chocolate bars from Istanbul.

But then we saw chocolate croissant bread pudding listed on the menu, and, as David pointed out, "How often are you out Maialino?" And so there was dessert.



This was listed on the menu as being accompanied with hazelnut gelato, by the way. Obviously we subbed in chocolate gelato instead.

Here is what we said while we ate this dish:

DAVID: "I am so far from having regrets right now. What is the opposite of regret?"
LEILA: "I don't know, but right now all I am experiencing is delight."

DAVID: "This dessert is literally so good that it makes me feel like I've wasted the rest of my life until now."

LEILA: "Jesus Christ. This thing. How is it like this?"

Here is what our plates looked like when the waitress came to collect them:



BOTTOM LINE: Don't waste your life. Eat this dessert.

Extraordinary Desserts, San Diego

So I came from San Francisco and New York, two of the world's greatest chocolate cities, to San Diego, a city not known for its chocolate at all.  My friend Nick took me to Extraordinary Desserts, saying that it was one of the best places in San Diego.  I wanted dessert, but I was not expecting much.

WOW.  Chocolate croissant bread pudding.  Who would've thought?  You guys.  It was incredible.  I can't even explain.  It was so good, I ordered a slice of the "Au Chocolat" flourless chocolate cake to-go:

Even eaten later, out of a to-go box, it was delicious.  Just look at that -- you can't go wrong.

Bottom Line: Do not underestimate the less famous chocolate cities!  There are gems everywhere!