What does a great cannoli consist of?
 

I hadn't had cannoli before moving to the BWI area and having had them now, I get them everywhere I can. :)

What makes a great cannoli? I have no idea what to look for, other than a bit crispy outside, smooth and creamy inside and I happen to prefer the ones studded with little tiny chocolate chips.

Any suggestions on places I should check out in the area?

I prefer candied citrus to chocolate chips and they must have pistachios. There is nothing worse than peanuts which are dyed green. I prefer ricotta as it has a bit more texture.

Peanuts died green? Mon dieux!

Crispy shell, crispy because it's fresh, not because it's full of preservatives or coated.

A filling you like that's firm an not runny. What flavor that is - totally personal taste. I prefer ones that are not chocolate, though if they want to dip it into some melted chocolate before they hand it over, that's perfectly OK.

I agree. Also, the shells should be empty until it's time to serve it to the customer. There's nothing worse than a soggy cannoli because the filling sat in the shell all day.

Or just go to a place where they can't keep them on the shelves, like Mike's Pastry in Boston's North End. :)

can be common practice.

crispy shell, firm filling and trust make a great cannoli

At dinner on our 2nd date (eons ago), my future wife says to me, "want to share a cannoli for dessert?", me "sure", future wife orders from waiter, me to future wife "what's a cannoli?" ahhh I was so full of love back then:)

Absolutely!

What makes a great cannoli?

http://www.mikespastry.com/cannoli_info_10CT.html

Mike's talks about "green mixed nuts" on that page. I assume that doesn't mean fresh pistachios. Are their cannoli still the best ones in Boston?

Where can one be assured of finding ones that have real pistachios in New York City?

Meh, I prefer Maria's.

I eat a cannoli about once a year, but the last one I had was at Mike's and it was delicious. I can't remember the pistachios all that well. Maybe they fooled me with peanuts.

Never been there, but I would only buy cannolis from an Italian bakery in an Italian neighborhood. And not a touristy "Italian" neighborhood either. I stay away from Little Italy in Manhattan :td: but love going to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx for cannoli, breads, pasta, etc! ^

Real Italians live in the North End. :)

Exactly! And that's the only nabe in Boston where I would ever get a cannoli. :D

Do they ever!!!! The little shop under my apartment had staffers that didn't speak English at all!

JP

For me it consists of a Godfather refrence.

"Leave the gun...take the cannolis" :D

And forgive the Charlie Chan reference...

Picture worth thousand words... http://www.ferraracafe.com/store/index.php?cPath=62

This is the last stop on the below linked tour.

Care to join us in June 2010?

Ooh. Okay!

I think we need to get Dan a pimp hat

^^

+1

If you are in New Orleans be sure to stop by Angelo Brocato's for fresh made to order cannolis.

Made to order? What sorts of things can be put into a cannoli?

This thread is very educational for me! Thank you!

Just go to Mike's Pastry on Hanover Street in Boston and you will know everything that a Canoli should have.

Love, sweet love :d:d

Ace the Cake show made some. Theirs looked excellent. they made the shells from scratch, fried them up then made the filling and assembled them. charged a really low price for them. most of them are premade / refridgerated for months. not appealing. these fresh ones would be good to try.

I had a Mike's Pastry cannoli for the first time this year and I'm throughly convinced that I've had the best cannoli in the world. Nothing else comes close to it. It's so nice to know that I don't have to look anywhere else for cannoli, but so bummed that I don't live in Boston.

Slightly OT-Janolli from Sweet Lady Jane in LA
 

A Florintine(flavored with orange peel)filled with a light chocolate mousse with the ends dipped in great dark chocolate.
No they are not Cannoli-but soooooo good!

How do Ferrara's and Veniero's compare, Dan?
(I'm not personally a cannoli eater, but Veniero's is certainly popular, and closer to home for me... plus I'm scared of anything on Grand St. other than DiPalo's and Lendy's Electric.)

I've eaten far more cannolis from Mikes than I like to admit, but lately Modern Pastry across the street and about one block down is my favorite.

So we are in Napa for the weekend and had dinner at Uva tonight. Great place by the way for those who visit, but that's not for this thread.

For dessert they had a Cannoli as the special. The shell was fresh baked, and so crispy that if you hit it with a fork it cracked. The filling was wonderful, a blend of cocoa (granted I said earlier I don't like the chocolate ones, but because this was cocoa it was not sweet, just chocolatey), ricotta, and whipped cream. You know the ricotta was fresh, as it didn't break down when it was mixed. The shells were stuffed to order, then the ends dipped in the candied cherry slivers and the nuts, so you had your choice, easy to pop those off, or easy to savor some with each bite.

I was stunned to get a good cannoli in Napa. Make that a great one.

I don't understand all the luv for Mike's Pastry, whose cannoli I find
indistinguishable from any average stuff in town. There are tons of
smaller bakeries within a few blocks that make as good and sometimes
better. I second Modern; also some of the cafes, such as Vittoria,
sometimes provide good ones. To answer the OP:

Shell - made fresh that day; not dark, thick, and hard crunchy (this
type is used for prefilled ones) but rather lightish with many frying
bubbles and breaking into small flakes.

The filling must be piped in while the buyer watches:

Filling - sweetened ricotta or mascarpone. Nothing else. No chocolate,
no custard. A few (few) mini-chocolate chips or tiny dice of candied
fruit for small children. A dusting of pistachio, chocolate, or jimmies on
the ends is tolerable but not preferred. By the way, I've never
encountered (shudder) peanuts dyed green: I've seen and tasted
walnuts dyed green, which is almost as bad.

Me too, was there last month.. filled while you wait, dusted with powerded sugar nice filling. about $3.00 for 4 bites.. priceless..