Definitely stepped outside the low-carb zone this Saturday when I visited the brand new cream puff shop Beard Papa’s. It was their first day in town and even though the weather was hotter than hot, there was still quite a line when we walked in the door.
I think they may have underestimated the amount of A/C power needed to cool a bakery full of hungry folks, but we can cut them a little slack, considering they offered Beard Papa fans to everyone waiting. By the time we reached the shop at around 3pm, Beard Papa’s had run out of a few offerings already, one of which was the honey butter shell that I was dying to try, but we surmounted our 1st world disappointment and carried on.
After placing our order and taking a picture with Beard Papa, we headed back home with our bright yellow box in hand, anxious to try the flavors we selected. They were still warm when we opened the box! I chose three; green tea shell with green tea filling; chocolate shell with vanilla filling; and a plain shell with “Bananas Foster,” a filling I was told is exclusive to the New Orleans location. I tasted all three and let John scarf the rest. All of the pastries were not only huge, but delicate and perfect, as only cream puffs can be.
The outside had a little crunch, while the interior was airy and soft. The green tea flavor was a touch bitter, but that’s to be expected. I do think they need to alter their Bananas Foster-flavored filling as it tasted like banana pudding. Not that I’m complaining, but if they’re going to call it that, they need to add more Foster (brown sugar, butter, rum) to their banana. The winner, by a very large margin, was the vanilla. Simple and delicious.
