Napoleons to Die For (or at least journey to Pleasant Hill for)

Having arrived in my seniority I am much more selective about desserts than I was when I was able to burn them off the next day. But upon concluding a dinner at an indifferent Italian restaurant in Walnut Creek I psyched myself up for a cannoli after reading several references to them on this very bulletin board a few days ago. And so it was we drove off to Pleasant Hill, up the road a bit, to see if cannoli was to be had at Shaad Zee, a very pretty little bakery-cafe, about a year or two old, where I had had a stellar Napoleon a few months back. Cannoli were indeed available but the sight of the Napoleon proved to be the siren call I could not resist.

Let me propose that Shaad Zee's Napoleons are the very best in this universe. The puff pastry was of an unsurpassed lightness and flakiness and the cream filling was more than ample and just sweet enough. The portion was generous, the experience marred only by a cup of coffee that seemed to have lost its will to compete, owing to the Peet's right across the street.

Shaad Zee Bakery Bistro; 60 Crescent Drive; Pleasant Hill, 94523; 925/687-8200; shaadzeebakerybistro.com. Open at 7:00 for breakfast seven days a week. Lunches, dinners served until maybe 9ish, maybe later on weekends.

If I can stay focused on the mission, increasingly difficult at my age, maybe I'll get to the cannoli the next time. Lord knows, they were very pretty; two different kinds in two different sizes.

Note: There is no neat way to eat Napoleons. Go only with someone who loves you and won't poke fun.

A.Blinken in San Francisco Bay Area