The Bomboloni is Back!

I’ve had a troubled relationship with the bomboloni. I fell in love with it first here when I discovered it at Boriana’s Corner. Then our relationship was strained when Boriana changed its supplier and the bomboloni wasn’t the same anymore.

Then we had to say goodbye when Boriana’s Corner closed at the Ferry Building because of increasing lease rent, and the bomboloni was no more.

But to my surprise yesterday while strolling the Ferry Building, I saw a stand outside the Village Market selling these beautifully rotund Italian treats! It was like an ex just came back into town but didn’t call or text, and I was all like “when did you get back?”

Turns out, Village Market realized how popular the bomboloni was at Boriana’s Corner, so it connected with the previous supplier and made arrangements to sell the bomboloni again from its storefront. Apparently they’ve been doing this the past three weekends. On Saturdays the bombolonis are available inside the store, but on Sundays they’re front and center at a makeshift stand.

The woman who was manning the stand wasn’t very helpful in explaining what was happening. In fact, she even tried to pass the bombolonis off as beignets because she said that was easier to say, but these bombolonis are no way like the crispy beignets of New Orleans.

Bombolonis are like jelly donuts, but there’s something about the way this bakery makes it (again, I don’t know the name of the supplier because the woman was pretty clueless) that gives them a beautiful round shape like balloons. They’re always filled, and my favorite the custard was still there. But instead of the popular Nutella (they really should bring that back), Village Market was selling a Pistachio cream and strawberry jam.

I bought the custard, of course, and the strawberry jam. I’ll have to save the pistachio cream for another day. (They sell for $2.50 each.) The custard was so satisfying, even though sometimes this bakery Village Market contracts with can sometimes brown the exterior a bit too much so that they look darker than what I remember. Still, the nice round shape and plentiful filling was so enjoyable that I’m such a happy camper to see the return of the bomboloni at the Ferry Building. The strawberry jam was very rich and tasted like homemade jam, fresh from the season’s best and a lot to lick your lips with.

Bomboloni, thanks for coming back into my life. I missed you!