Rufo and Ivo make their own sausage for the café because they prefer less fennel than is typically found in prepared sausage. Whole pizzas can be purchased to eat in or to go with your choice of ingredients. The base cost for cheese pizza is $9.50, and each added item costs $1 extra. There are a couple of specialty pizzas, such as chicken and pesto, or Prosciutto, which have a base cost of $13. Pizza is also sold by the slice for $5.95 - $6.95. If I haven’t enticed you thus far to visit Café Gran Milan, the following information should definitely make you want to go check it out! The Italian pastries available here are seemingly innumerable and each and every one looks luscious and inviting! The pastries are Ivo’s specialty, and while some items are available daily, he frequently makes new pastries to test their popularity with the customers. All of the ingredients used to make the pastries at Café Gran Milan are sourced directly from Italy to ensure the highest quality products and authentic Italian experience. We learned that apple strudel is a definite customer favorite, as are the traditional Italian sfogliatelle, sea-shell shaped treats with several layers of crisp, flaky pastry, filled with ricotta cheese and candied orange. Also popular are the cannoli, Tiramisu, crème puffs and eclairs. Other items available include (but are NOT limited to) assorted croissants (plain and filled); assorted strudels, including the popular blueberry and cheese; chocolate pear puffs; Italian bignes, including one filled with Nutella; bear claws filled with home-made almond paste; fruit tarts, chocolate sponge puff pastry cake, crème horns, and an assortment of serve-yourself fresh baked cookies. There are also assorted small and large tarts/strudels in various flavors. I purchased a blackberry tart to share with my family and everyone loved it—it sure didn’t last long! My guest tried one of the smaller apple tarts, and I opted to also try the Pastiera Napoletana, which is less sweet than the fruit tarts. The Napoletana is made with barley, ricotta cheese and candied orange. Each of the tarts was beyond wonderful! The pastry crust is the best I’ve ever eaten and the fillings were the perfect consistency, flavor and sweetness. On our first visit, my guest chose a cannoli for dessert, and I chose a crème horn (because they had run out of cream puffs.) My guest thoroughly enjoyed the cannoli, which had a crispy outer shell, and was filled with rich, creamy marscapone, topped with small pieces of candied orange, giving the pastry a slight orange flavor. My pastry horn was filled with creamy, rich, yellow custard topped with a slice of strawberry. Both desserts were decadent! On the second visit, we REFRIGERATEd PASTRIES CANNOlI
Contra Costa Marketplace - June 2016
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