Dianda's Italian American Pastry

Dianda's is a fairly well known Italian bakery in San Francico, opened in 1962, by Mr. and Mrs. Dianda.  I believe it was originally in North Beach, but now is located in the Mission, with a second site in San Mateo.  It is still family owned.

"Dianda's specializes in traditional Italian baking at it's finest. "

They are known for Italian cakes (all the classics, like Napoleons, tiramisu, black forest, etc), cookies-by-the-pound, and eclairs and cream puffs, however they also make a large lineup of croissants, danishes, turnovers, muffins, and more.  As a lover of baked goods, it is these items that I tried, but after learning more about Dianda's, I definitely want to try their cakes (particularly one from their tres leches lineup - like, mango!)

Visit #1: July 2021

Too Good To Go Mystery Bag:
Apple Turnover, Croissant, Raspberry Ring, Apricot Almond Shortbread.

I didn't actually visit Dianda's myself - my goodies came from Le Sandwich, a sandwich shop in North Beach, that carries pastries from Dianda's. 

I got my goodies using Too Good To Go, the service that lets you reserve a mystery bag for discounted price, to "rescue" food that may otherwise go to waste.  In this case, it was $4.99 for an assortment of pastries, and I needed to collect it after 1pm, when folks generally stop picking up breakfast pastries.  Still freshly made that morning by Dianda's.

My mystery bag was 4 massive pastries, all of which shared some similar attributes: clearly slightly not fresh, massive, and far above average quality.   Flaky, flaky, flaky, and sooo messy, but so very good.

I instantly wanted to learn more about Dianda's.

Croissant.

Dianda's makes several kinds of filled croissants, such as the twice baked almond croissant with frangipane inside, and a pain au chocolat, but my mystery bag contained a plain croissant.  It looked rather unassuming, aside from being a bit large, and I wasn't particularly excited by it.

But the moment I ripped off a chunk I realized I shouldn't have judged the simple croissant just based on its exterior.  It was a very good croissant.  Yes, just a plain croissant, but one of the most well made I've had in ages.  It had a lovely shine on top as well.

Croissant: Cross Section.

Here you can see a cross section of the croissant.  This what the interior of a croissant *should* look like.  Perfectly laminated.  It was this cross section that really showed me that Dianda's is not messing around!  It left flakes behind, just like it should.

Quality croissant, far above average for the US, ****.

Raspberry Twist Ring.

The next item I was actually most excited by, thrilled that it wound up in my mystery bag.  A traditional Italian pastry, the raspberry twist ring.  I wish I had another item in the photo for scale to show how big this was, the diameter was quite impressive.

It was crazy flaky, and made a huge mess as I cut off a chunk.  So buttery.  So flaky.  Again, quality pastry.  The raspberry filling was twisted in, fruity, but kinda too sweet.  It somewhat reminded me of the filling in a jelly donut.  It also had some streusel like bits.

Overall I felt slightly let down by this, as it looked so amazing, but I felt a bit bored by it.  Clearly, it was well made, again, sooooo flaky, but it seemed a bit dry, and, well, like it needed to be paired with a coffee, or perhaps a scoop of ice cream to tame the sweetness.

***.

Apple Turnover.

Next was another stunner, a lovely glaze on top, mighty size, and, serious heft.  A turnover, which turned out to be apple.  Picking this up was a shock: it was quite heavy, a reflection of both its oversized nature, and just how generously stuffed with apple it was.

The pastry was, simply put, perfection.  Epically flaky.  Epically messy.  The layers.  Oh the layers.  Such quality pastry.  I liked the sweet glaze too of course.

It had a little peekaboo hole that revealed the apple filling inside, chunks of apple, in a goo, well spiced.  The apples had a nice bite too them, not too soft.  It was very generously filled too, no skimping here.

Apple turnovers, or turnovers in general, aren't really items I get all that excited by, but this was a far above average version.  Even better when I warmed it up a bit, and added vanilla ice cream ... mmm, flaky apple pie a la mode!

***+.

Apricot Almond Shortbread Tartlet.

My final item I was slightly unsure of.  From the top, it looked like it should be a danish or tart.  But, it seemed to be a cookie.  A thick cookie.  With fruit filling?  And a ring?  And sliced almonds?

My research leads me to believe this is called a "shortbread tartlet", basically a thick, crumbly, buttery shortbread base, that could easily be a complete dessert on its own, a fabulous shortbread cookie, but then, a generous amount of sweet apricot preserves, like you'd find in a danish, a scattering of sliced almonds for crunch, and, a sorta crispy shortbread ring around the top?

It is certainly unlike anything I've had before, it reminded me a jam thumbprint cookie in spirt, except totally and completely taken to the max.  The cookie was huge, the filling was significant, it just seemed, like the turnover, ring, and croissant before it, supersized.

I was pretty fascinated by this, and enjoyed the quality shortbread and fruity filling, always a good pairing.  I wouldn't ever seek out a shortbread cookie, but, if I were to, I'd certainly be pleased with this one.

***+.

Visit #2: September 2021

My next visit was again actually to Le Sandwich, and was again through Too Good To Go.

Too Good To Go Mystery Bag. $4.99.

My Too Good To Go "mystery bag" was again 4 large size pastries, selected for me by the owner.

This time I got 3 croissants (plain, almond, chocolate) and a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  Of the assortment, only the plain croissant was a repeat from my prior visit, and I was glad to try new items.

All were again high quality, and tasted quite fresh this time.  The croissants were comically massive.  $4.99 for the loot was a great value, and I was quite pleased, although I preferred the treats in my previous bag more.

Plain Croissant.

The only repeat item I had, a plain croissant.

It tasted even fresher this time, but was otherwise the same - a light, fluffy, soft style, not a harder flaky style like more classic french croissants (you know the kind, they make a huge mess!).  It had a lovely buttery flavor to it.

Side note: I think, technically, this is a cornetto, not a croissant, as it seems to be the softer Italian style, not crispy flaky French style, and, well, is made by an Italian bakery.

***, a nice item, good for dunking in coffee, or making a breakfast sandwich on.

Almond Croissant.

The almond croissant was just slightly over-baked - the top a touch too dark, and the slivers of almond on top had a slightly burnt taste.  But otherwise, this was much like the plain croissant: light, fluffy, buttery, a decent base croissant.  It was also ridiculously large, bigger than the standard pastry bag it came quasi-contained within.

Inside was almond paste, which gave a nice subtle almond flavor, but was mostly just quite sweet.  There was no bits of almonds nor grit, it was a smooth paste, and there was quite a lot of it.

Overall, a fine item, but I usually prefer the "twice baked" style of almond croissant with far more generous filling and topping.

***.

Chocolate Croissant.

Dianda's makes two chocolate croissant items ... one, a pain au chocolate, that is not a crescent shape, and is filled with the expected batons of chocolate, and this one, which looked much like the almond version, just with a little bit of chocolate drizzled on top.

Again, much like the almond and plain versions, it was soft, fluffy, and buttery, and tasted quite fresh.  It was even BIGGER than the previous two.  I wish I had something to show the scale, but, this is easily the size of 2, if not 3, regular sized croissants.

I was curious what I'd find inside, given that I knew Dianda's made the traditional pain au chocolate too, and this had little embellishment on top.

Chocolate Croissant: Inside.

The outside of this croissant looked pretty boring, just a light drizzle of chocolate, so I cut into it, and found the expected chocolate filling.

The chocolate was not distinct bars like you sometimes find, and was ... fine?  I instantly knew that this would be better warmed up though.

Chocolate Croissant: Deeper Inside.

I cut off another section to heat it up, and was met with great surprise.

Oh wow.  They were not messing around with the chocolate!  It honestly looked like a brownie inside.

Since this item was sooo massive, it had sections that could appeal to those with different tastes - the very end was more plain, the center more filled.  I've never seen a chocolate croissant with quite this much filling.

***.

Chocolate Cake with fudge frosting.

The slice of cake was a nice change from the croissants, but it was a fairly lackluster cake.

Light, fluffy, not dried out, but not particularly deep flavor, and the chocolate fudge frosting isn't the style I prefer (I'm a buttercream girl!).

A fine item though, and I served it warm a la mode at home, so the frosting turned into more like hot fudge, and that worked quite nicely.

***.

Visits #3 and #4, March and October 2022

Too Good To Go Mystery Bag. $4.99.
March 2022.

After many months of not using Too Good To Go, I had a rare day off, the sun was shining, and I decided to take advantage of both to venture back to Le Sandwich to get some more baked goods.

Since my last visit, Le Sandwich had introduced new baked goods to the menu: Swedish buns, known as "fika", that they get through a local supplier who makes these and only these.  Reviewers love them, so I was hopeful my bag would contain some.  Note: while Le Sandwich, and the local baker, call them "fika", that term doesn't actually refer to a specific baked good ... but I'm going to use the nomenclature they do, just for ease.

I was delighted to look in my mystery bag.  I did indeed have not only one, but two different fika buns, plus a special hot cross bun (it was nearly Easter), and a big fluffy croissant (which I had before).  The croissant, and I think the hot cross bun, are produced by Dianda's.

Too Good To Go Mystery Bag. $4.99.
October 2022.

Again, many months passed, but I was in the mood for pastries, and selected Le Sandwich as my TGTG destination again.

As he handed me my bag, Elias, the owner, told me he put a fika in the bag, which I definitely appreciated.  I'd already seen him grab the croissant and pain au chocolate, and was pleased to get to try a muffin for the first time.

Croissant (March)

Every mystery bag I've gotten from Le Sandwich has contained a plain croissant, and this one was no different.  Again a nice item, not the flaky messy french style, but fluffy and buttery, and the flavor really shines.

Great for making breakfast sandwiches or even lunch sandwiches, or, as I tend to do, stuffing with ice cream or a fun spread like ube jam.

Reliable, fresh tasting, great buttery flavor.  ***+.

Croissant (October).

My next mystery bag ... yup, another croissant.  Like I said, he includes one in basically every TGTG bag.  this one seemed even more massive than the others, if that is possible, and was nicely golden.  Again, not a flaky style, but still quite buttery, and perfect for breakfast egg sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, or ice cream sandwiches.  I suppose probably good just toasted and spread with butter/jam/nutella/whatever, but I never tried that.  ***+.

Pain au Chocolat (October).

This was my first time getting the pain au chocolate - previously I had the chocolate croissant, which was a chocolate drizzled crescent shaped one, that was absolutely stuffed full of chocolate.  This was more the style I am used to, with 2 bars of chocolate running along the inside.

This was the first pastry from Le Sandwich that seemed noticeably rather stale.  The pastry was a bit chewy, and just not that fresh tasting.  I think if I had toasted it it probably would have been much better, but, I wanted the chocolate right away.  It was pretty average, clearly older, and I preferred the other chocolate croissant more, as it was so insanely loaded with chocolate.

I consider this a downside of TGTG though, and not necessarily a mark against Dianda's.

**+.

Blueberry Bran Muffin (October).

A muffin!  I hadn't ever gotten a muffin before from Le Sandwich/Dianda's.  And, while some might not be excited for bran, I was.

It was a good muffin.  Nice grit from the bran, few pops of blueberries, moist.  Not a great bran muffin, that distinction I'd reserve for one with a more complex flavor to the base, better distribution of blueberries, but, certainly a good one, and better than average cafe quality.  I'd get it again if in the mood for a bran muffin.

***+.

Hot Cross Bun (March).

Ah, the hot cross bun.  An item that reminds me a bit of fruitcake, in that it comes out only once a year, no one really seems to love it, and, well, dried fruit are an essential element.  And one that sometimes I do kinda like.

The hot cross bun, which I'm fairly certain is from Dianda's, was really a lovely specimen.  It had a great shine to the outside, a little light glaze, and was loaded with all sorts of dried fruits (currants, even what seemed to be some candied glace fruits?).  The cross on top seemed to be a custard, rather than traditional flour based marking.  It was fluffy, had a nice chew, lots of flavors.

Best warm, with a warm cup of beverage of your choice.

***+ for a hot cross bun, not an item I'm crazy about, but this really was a nicely made one.

Fika - Swedish Baked Goods

"Fika [fee-ka] is Swedish - a coffee break accompanied with baked goods; a moment of quality time to appreciate the good things in life! It's to pause, reflect and savor the moment! That is what fika is about. Take fika time."

I was not familiar with the concept of fika, but, I definitely am in support of it.  Le Sandwich carries a few kinds of fika - traditional buns, and, depending on the day of the week, cakes and crumble.

"I use Organic Cane Sugar, Organic flour, Premium European style Butter, Himalayan Salt, Yeast, Eggs from happy free-range chickens in Sonoma County.  Dark  Chocolate.  Always freshly ground spices.

I live and bake in San Francisco, and hope to send you a taste of Sweden!"

The fika are made by LoveFika, a San Francisco based baker, who uses quality ingredients and traditional Swedish recipes handed down from their family.  The buns come in 3 varieties: cinnamon, cardamom, and chocolate.  I was able to try two, and, well, loved them.

Chocolate Fika Bun. $4.75. (March).

"Bun with chocolate chips."

The buns are stunning looking.  Unlike an American bun that is simply rolled, these are twisted into a more complex shape.  At first I wasn't sure what kind this was, as I thought the white specs on top were large salt crystals, but they were in fact pearl sugar.  It had a lovely shine. 

This bun was unlike anything I've had before.  The edges where pieces connected were lightly caramelized and crisp, in a way that reminded me of a kouign amann.  The exterior was lightly crisp, inside was soft, but also layered.  It was like ... a croissant made with sweet enriched dough instead.  And between the folds was little chocolate chips.

It was fascinating, it was delicious, and even better when lightly warmed up.  If you are really looking for a chocolate forward dessert, this isn't it, as the chips were fairly minimal, but it was still a lovely, and unique to me item, and I greatly enjoyed it.

****.

Cardamom Fika Bun. $4.75. (March).

"A taste sensation."

Next I had the more traditional bun, cardamom.  It did not have the pearl sugar on top, and you could more clearly see the layers.  Really, something to admire.

Now, I'll admit, I am not normally much for cardamom, although the Dad's Cardamom flavor from Three Twins did grow on me.  And the cardamom here was strong.  But it was actually lovely.  It was complex, intense, and yet light at the same time.  Such a unique flavor.

The makeup of this bun was much like the other - slightly caramelized crispy exterior, amazing folds of enriched sweet dough, and just a delight to eat.  It too was best warmed up a bit.

I think it would pair amazingly with a scoop of pistachio ice cream.

I'm not sure which of the two buns I liked more, each had its unique aspects, and I'd gladly have either again.

****.

Cardamom Fika Bun.  $4.75. (October)

My next visit, my bag also contained another fika.  "I slipped a fika in there", said Elias with a smile.  I thanked him, and told him about my Swedish friend, and how much I liked it before.

It was again pretty glorious.  Still quite fresh, soft and moist sweet dough, lightly crispy exterior, fascinating flavor from the cardamom.  I couldn't resist getting into it right then, but I think it would be even better if I'd had a bit of restraint and warmed it up.  While I still don't love cardamom, this just just so good and so unique, I enjoy it quite a bit.

****.