Monteleone Pasticceria, Brooklyn

When in New York, there are plenty of iconic things you should consume.  Yes, of course, pizza.  Probably bagels.  Perhaps whatever the ridiculous dessert trend that has gone viral of the moment is.  Maybe some Michelin star dining.  The list goes on and on.  But at some point, you should indulge in baked goods from a classic Italian bakery.  I did just that at Veniero's earlier on in my recent visit (swoon, that cheesecake!), and a few days later, lucked out to find a pastry box in the communal kitchen area of my office, filled with goodies from Monteleone Pasticceria, a Brooklyn based traditional Italian bakery.

Classic Box.

I haven't visited myself, but, my quick research shoes that they make all the standard classics, a large lineup of cookies, pastries, cake, and gelato.  They don't seem to have a website, and aren't actually that old (only been around since 2011), but still do get generally good reviews.

I went straight for two classics: cannoli, and, because I was in NY, a black and white.

Cannoli (Half-n-half).

Monteleone makes several types of cannoli: classic ricotta filled (which can be dark chocolate covered if you please), chocolate ricotta filled, or half-n-half, with one side with regular sweetened ricotta filling, the other with the chocolate filling, and one end dipped in chocolate.  Since I hate making decisions, this clearly was the answer for me.  You get it all.

I am not usually all that excited by cannoli, but this was a remarkably good one.  The shell was clearly fried, and a touch dark, but it was very crisp and a nice thickness.  That it held up so well was impressive.  Far better than average shell, nicely blistered too.

The fillings were both above average as well.  Sweet but not cloying, great ricotta flavor and texture.  The dark chocolate dipped end was my favorite, as the dark chocolate was clearly high quality.

Overall, one of the best cannolis I've ever had.  ****.

Black & White Cookie.

A black and white seems like a classic NY thing I needed to get while there, even though not high on my list of things I care about.

It was a good, albeit sweet, treat.  The cookie was soft and lightly cake-like, nice texture, not crumbly.  Good mild sweetness level in the base cookie.  

The coatings were thick and where all the sweetness came in, the white chocolate was really quite sweet.  Just like the cannoli dip, the dark chocolate was clearly a nice quality.  Both were applied generously.

Overall, a very good black and white, and something a bit different for me at least.  ***+.