Time, travel, technical difficulties, and tiredness, take II

I mentioned there are a few places that I had photos for...I thought I would go ahead and talk about another and post the pics later when I get the cable.

A friend of my husband's from out of state was in San Diego for a few days, and he is a total dessert fiend! I mean, forget the sweet tooth, this boy has a sweet skeleton! So, of course, his first evening in town he wanted to go get some dessert. We'd originally planned on going to Pappalecco's Gelato Lounge on State & Cedar in Little Italy. I'll be reviewing them on a future entry, but for now just suffice it to say that when this friend lived in San Diego, he'd hit this place twice a day some days.

Anyhoo, we had a late start, so when we got there they were about 3 minutes from closed. Rather than imposition the owner, we decided to check out the new location for Extraordinary Desserts on Union a couple blocks away. It was a nice evening for a walk!

Now, let me start by saying I've visited the 5th avenue location a few times and each time I had the same problem: Pretentious staff. Sorry, but you are not doing me some huge favor by serving me, and I'll not be kneeling before you anytime soon! :) So, I went in to this expecting the same snobby attitudes, and at first, got just what I expected from the hostess. Once we were seated however (20 min wait on a Tuesday night), our server was pleasant enough. If she'd have been to the table more often, I may have formed a better opinion.

The place is definitely eye candy, as the pics I'll be posting will show. However, I don't think they planned for the crowds when choosing all the hard, sound-bouncing surfaces, so it gets quite noisy inside when it's crowded...which is all the time. We decided to try 2 of the specials. The guys both wanted the coconut cream tart with banana-passion fruit ice cream. It was plated beautifully, with various tropical sauces (including a wildly delicious kiwi sauce) and even had a small rose in the whipped cream. The ice cream stole the show. Both guys raved about it. It was a very flavorful ice cream, with a smooth, rich texture, and potent kick. The tart lacked by comparison, being compriced of mostly whipped cream with very little coconut custart at the very bottom.

I chose the Chocolate Tiramisu, which was a chocolate cake, allegedly soaked with espresso, layered with a chocolate mascarpone, served with Latte ice cream. The ice cream, combined with the richly flavored espresso sauce on the plate, again stole the show. The cake itself was very sweet, with very little coffee flavor at all, but the sauce on the plate tasted like a sweetened fresh brewed espresso, and with the Latte ice cream, it was delicious. I wish I'd have been able to order that alone!

All in all, it wasn't a horrible experience, but not one I'd rush back to, either. The place seems to be precocious, and a little full of iteself, striking me as an establishment that's more interested in being famous than being good. Extraordinarily pretty desserts, yes indeed. Extraordinary Desserts? Nah.