YOUR WEEKLY DIGESTION OF FOOD NEWS TO CONSUME...AND SAFEWAY CINNAMON ROLL REVISIT

Hmmm, even their attempt to super size their cinnamon roll with real cream cheese frosting has gone by the wayside and they don’t make this anymore either. Guess I need to find something else to fulfill my sweet tooth cravings.

Oh Safeway, what have you wrought? A few years back I recounted my sad love affair with the cinnamon rolls from the Church and Market Safeway in particular. The one Safeway I'm near never even carried or made them. And like time and the seasons, seems they have seen fit to make changes to my beloved and go with the bigger is better route. It started a couple months ago that these baby's head size cinnamon rolls came into being and the other ones seemed to mysteriously disappear. I resisted the urge to try this new size as I was saddened that they pandered to baseball fans and America's obsession with supersizing. One evening I found myself at the Potrero Hill Safeway and in a moment of weakness and indecision, I bought one to see if they were any different than my normal sized delights. Like an obsessive, I probably took longer than necessary in selecting the one that I thought felt heaviest and looked like it had the most icing. All this of course under the bemused rolled eyes of the SO, who left me there to ponder my choice while they completed the shopping list.Are they any good? Basic answer--sort of. Simce these are bigger and thus thicker in the middle it will take longer to bake, making the outside more a dark golden brown instead of the standard yellowish golden brown. This extra baking can lead to a little dryness along the outer edges as well. Taste wise, it is the same, a plus, meaning they haven't altered the recipe. Same goes for the cream cheese icing, it still has that lovely small tang of lemon and creamy texture that is both thick and fluffy at the same time. The biggest issue becomes having enough icing on these mammoth things to cover up the inherent dryness you would encounter while consuming.  Because it is so big, while I could gluttonously eat this in one sitting, I didn't quite that much of a sugar shock and was able to actually stretch it over 4 servings/days. I will say, heating these up briefly in the microwave does help somewhat (as does a little butter--DON'T EVEN ASK!) but just like 20 seconds, otherwise the icing will turn to liquid. Final thought--it's not terrible, but it is just a bit much and slightly over cooked. Plus as I've seen at several locations, many have more of a light coat of icing as opposed to enough to offset any baking issues (see photo below). If you can see the roll below the icing, it's not enough! And if your are parsing it over several days, it runs the risk of getting stale as fresh baked goods are want to do. While I'm bummed my regular size has gone to baked goods heaven, it's probably for the best considering what a calorie and sugar bomb it is. These days, stuff like this just settles around the mid-section which can be costly. I'm already spending enough money on food in this town, I don't want to have to get a whole new wardrobe too! 

• After moving to their new Castro location just 2 years ago, Pesce has decided to call it quits. That's at least 4 places at this location that have closed. Is it cursed?

• Seems Alice Waters is getting some national medal honor thingymabob.

• The folks that brought you Sens will now bring you Barcha! Same theme, additional location.

• Oakland's having an EatReal Festival. Though with the usual line-up of food suspects it's not real different than other festivals.

• And while we are on the East Bay, here's some more news that Off The Grid will be in Fremont of all places.

• While we are traveling outside the city, may as well hit up wine country for their month long harvest bender.

• Now you can get a drink in a coconut in the Mission and some other stuff too.

• KQED let's you in on their favorite falafel places in the Bay Area, just because.

• And not to be outdone, Thrillist lines up their favorite pork bun places in town. So there!

• And SFEaters best fried chicken dishes in the city! Bam! drop the mic!

• As long as I'm on a roll, let's go way outside San Francisco to LA! Land of plastic and sunshine where Charles Phan will grace them with their own Slanted Door. P.S.--that doesn't mean the one here will be any easier to get into.

• Even with folks out of town there are still odd things to do like the sort of food and bicycle race around the city.

• Slider Bar in the Castro is re-concepting into organic sandwiches and salads? Really?