HOLIDAY FOOD NEWS IS LIGHT...SO HERE'S A FILLING SCHULZIE'S BREAD PUDDING REVIEW!

***SADLY, SCHULZIES IS CLOSING! I DIDN'T GET BY HERE OFTEN ENOUGH, THOUGH MAYBE THAT WAS A GOOD THING FOR MY WAIST. OH WELL, ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST***

Lots of folks take breaks during the holidays it seems so food news is on the slim side this week. Thus I'm expounding out and throwing in a review of dessert, since we all haven't eaten enough so far. In keeping the with holiday theme, sort of, I made a trek through Hayes Valley recently to check out Schulzies Bread Pudding.

The original location of this exists in Venice Beach, CA where they dish it up to folks along the beach. Now with their San Francisco outpost they are putting a different spin on traditional bread pudding. Here the pudding flavors are laid out like an ice cream shop and are served chilled. That my friends is the twist. Most of us know this as a warm dessert, here it's cold and part of that was the Venice Beach location where it's much warmer most of the time and thus what a way to beat the heat as opposed to ice cream. I was slightly surprised by this but intrigued enough to still give it a try. Since this is Northern California, it ain't always sunny and I was looking for something warm, and to fill this need, of the choices they have on offer, usually 3 of the flavors are available warm. I decide to give both versions a try and got a double scoop.

Here we have a warm pumpkin scoop on bottom and a chilled classic with my choice of bourbon sauce. (You get a choice of one sauce and they do have a handful of toppings like nuts, toffee, etc. if you want. I went basic.) You get generous helpings of each and it only runs $6.50 for 2 scoops, which makes it worthwhile to both me and my wallet.

The classic is all brown sugar cinnamon and bread and while the flavor was bright and bursting and all you want in bread pudding, the chilled part was.....different. I'm not sure I'm totally sold on it. I could see doing this cold on a hot day, but in foggy overcast SF, I guess I'm looking for warming the insides. And that is exactly what I got from the pumpkin. Gooey, spongy warmth that was like wrapping your arms around someone in front of a roaring fire. You could taste the pumpkin, nutmeg and other spices and the bourbon sauce wasn't so overwhelming to either, it only added small notes of smoky sweetness that make you think of holidays and home. Both are very tasty and while you are not going to get much texture in bread pudding (unless you get one of their crunchy toppings) I feel it isn't needed. It's all warm mushy goodness with strong distinct flavors that you'll want to sit and luxuriate in then lay down and take a nap on the couch afterwards. Which probably explains why the small space doesn't have anywhere to sit and enjoy, because you might not want to get up .

I will say I'm more of a traditionalist and while the chilled classic flavor was good, I do prefer my bread puddings warm, so in this instance, to each his own when choosing whether to go hot or cold. Either way I don't think you can go wrong. I'm not sure why I waited so long to try this place (laziness!!) but I'm glad I did. Their bread pudding is a tasty filling treat that has all the great heft I really enjoy in a dessert. It makes me feel like I actually ate something and enjoyed every last bite while scarfing it down. For such a traditional down home kind of dessert Schulzies is serving it up right and you should definitely go by and try a scoop, better yet, two scoops. The more the merrier, I mean it is the holidays after all, indulge the sweet tooth. They've already rolled out the eggnog, gingerbread and peppermint so you may as we starting getting your holiday on here.

The selection at Schulzies Bread Pudding in Hayes Valley. These could change so call ahead if you are looking for something specific or just go with the flow.

And while your at it, here's what little food news from this past week I could parse together.