I decided to make my own Easter eggs this year, especially since I’m too old to go hunting for them 😀 I used one of my favorite recipes for vanilla cupcakes and added a few touches as I like to do with all recipes.
I used mini cupcake liners that were Easter themed, instead of making a basket like the picture. In addition, I substituted the chocolate eggs for cacao nibs to make it healthier and less sweet. It worked out very well, especially with how small the mini cupcakes are. Lastly, I covered the top with shredded coconut so it could look more like a nest. The toasted coconut definitely gave it a nice crunch.
Let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments below 🙂
Gio Gelati
(San Francisco)
Pasqualetti is a gelato chef well-known in Italy for Gelateria Pasqualetti—a family-run gelato enterprise dating back 40 years. Trois—also known for cooking on Italian TV shows—attended Alma Culinary School and was a chef and instructor at culinary academy Gambero Rosso.
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Typically, I prefer ice cream over gelato, but Gio Gelati makes me feel otherwise. “Gio” stands for Gelato Italiano Originale, and they are true to their name. They have amazing gelato that really brings out the taste of each flavor! They offer over 32 flavors and rotate the fruit ones seasonally. I’m usually hesitant about fruit flavors because they tend to taste artificial, but it’s so apparent here that I’m left speechless, like literally. Their grapefruit is so sour that I can’t say anything, but I can’t help but want more. This is one of the few gelato places in the city and probably the only one I go to. I’ve seen them pop up at Off the Grid: Fort Mason and at The Market, but their store is located in the marina district, where they also offer baked goods and frozen treats.
- Passion Fruit: I’m most passionate about this flavor! It’s very hard to find authentic passion fruit whether that’s in drinks or dessert. Most places tend to use syrup and that is not how passion fruit tastes. If yo’ve ever had the actual passion fruit, you’ll know that it’s a lot more sour and tangy, whereas the syrups are overly sweetened. I’ve never had passion fruit as strong as the one in this gelato, so make sure to try it!
- Pink Grapefruit: Similar to the passion fruit, the grapefruit flavor is outstanding. It brings out the taste so much that it’s very very sour. I definitely cringe with every lick, but I still love it. Imagine an extreme warheads without the sugar. Not many people can handle this, but I still recommend that you at least sample it.
- Stracciatella: If you don’t already know what this is, it’s the Italian version of chocolate chip ice cream. I don’t normally get chocolate chip, but the Italian version tastes so much better. Not to mention, it helped balance out the sour and tanginess from the other flavors I got.
I still want to try the pomegranate, but I have to wait until it’s in season 🙁
Website
A Mano
(San Francisco)
I don’t eat pasta too often and I haven’t tried that many places in San Francisco, but there’s one place that I keep going back to. Two summers ago, I had a pasta craving, something that’s never happened to me before, so I didn’t really know where to start. Luckily, I heard about a Mano and had been wanting to try it. I was really excited about this place because I heard that they had handmake their pasta daily, which is not something many Italian restaurants offer. Moreover, this restaurant is located in one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city, Hayes Valley.
a Mano means “by hand” in Italian and refers to the way in which the kitchen and the bar approach the creation of each and every dish and cocktail.
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Appetizers:
- Duck Liver Mousse: I rarely get liver mousse, but ever since I had it at Starbelly, I’ve grown fond of it. I was pleasantly surprised by how big the portion was! Typically, I don’t like sweet and savory mixed together, but the fruit that it was paired with balanced the dish very well. If you need more crostini, just ask them for more 🙂
- Arancini: This is similar to a porcini, but they’re a lot crunchier. I would save to eat this at the end, so it doesn’t take up all your stomach space. It’s very hot, so be careful! I think it’s worth getting this once if you’ve never had an arancini before, but definitely not something I’d be able to eat a lot of. Although the sauce looked cheesy, it was actually tomatoey.
Duck Liver Mousse w/ Cherry 
Duck Liver Mousse w/ Apricot 
Arancini
Pasta:
- Spaghettini Seafood: I love how strong the seafood flavor is! Moreover, the sauce is light, so I can eat more of this.
- Campanelle Funghi: I liked the campanelle, but the sauce was very bland, so I wouldn’t get this again.
- Tagliatelle Pesto: The tagliatelle pasta was harder than I had liked, but the pesto sauce was great.
Spaghettini Seafood 
Campanelle Funghi 
Tagliatelle Pesto
- Fusilli Beef Shank: This is one of my favorite pasta dishes there! I love how much beef there is and the pasta they use.
- Tagliatelle Mushroom: The mushroom flavor was good, but the tagliatelle wasn’t the best since I’m used to a wider and thinner one.
- Fusilli Pesto: The pesto here is always great! I like the fusilli as well, but I wish there was meat in this dish.
- Squid Ink Orrechiete: I had high expectations for this, but I was very disappointed. There are as many chickpeas as there are orrechiete, if not more. However, the real disappointment was the pasta itself. It was quite hard, and I couldn’t taste the squid ink flavor much. I wouldn’t get this one again.
Fusilli Beef Shank 
Tagliatelle Mushroom 
Fusilli Pesto 
Squid Ink Orecchiette
They offer inside and outside seating as well as a bar area. However, the tables are quite small, but maybe that’s just because I get too much food. The high stool seating tables definitely don’t offer enough room if you decide to get more than one plate per person, and I strongly recommend ordering 3-4 plates per 2 people because their portions are not that big and also because they’re that yummy. I like the portion size because it allows me to get more dishes so I can try more of their pasta! Their prices are also inexpensive for pasta, especially for an Italian restaurant. I love how the menu changes every time I go! Of course they have seasonal items, but they switch up the pastas they use with the sauces they offer too. I’m not sure how many different type of pastas they actually make, but I’ve definitely had more than five different ones. The only thing I would change about this place might be the lighting. It definitely fits the ambiance, but it makes it hard to take good photos. Similarly, with the tables. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t come by because it’s worth the wait! Not to mention, Urban Ritual and Salt & Straw Ice Cream are just around the block.
Website
Asha
(San Francisco/Berkeley)
Asha has one of the best matcha lattes in the city! They hand whisk every matcha latte to order and use Uji matcha. They also offer a lot of ceremonial teas since they are a tea house, but they do get quite pricey. Asha also has another location, their first one, near the UC Berkeley campus.
- Matcha Latte (Hot/Iced): Whether it’s hot or iced, the matcha taste is very apparent. If you haven’t tried their seasonal fruit purees, I suggest adding it to the iced version for some flavor 🙂
- Hojicha Latte (Hot/Iced): The hojicha taste isn’t very strong, so I don’t recommend it. I feel like there’s more milk than there is tea, so I could barely taste the hojicha.
- Seasonal Drinks I’ve Tried:
- Blood Orange Oolong Tea (Iced) Jan-April: This was interesting, but I prefer the citrus taste to be stronger.
- Yuzu Green Tea (Iced) Jan-April: Although the yuzu isn’t bad, they don’t give you much 🙁 I remember adding this to my iced matcha latte too and you could barely see the yuzu at the bottom.
- Strawberry Black Tea (Iced) May-Aug: There is a good amount of strawberry bits in there!
- Asian Pear Oolong (Iced) Sept-Dec: This was very refreshing when paired with the green tea.
- Grape Oolong (Iced) Sept-Dec: I couldn’t really taste the grape for this one 🙁
- Boba (only available noon and after): pretty chewy but not my favorite
Hot Yuzu Green Tea 
Iced Matcha Latte w/ Boba 
Asian Pear Oolong
They also offer mochi muffins from Third Culture Bakery and a few pastries from Firebrand.