Bread Pudding Blitzkrieg: Fuego Bistro vs. Cornish Pasty Co.

By Nikki Buchanan Thu., Nov. 8 2012 at 8:43 AM

Buchanan

Chocolate bread and butter pudding at Cornish Pasty

In the other corner: Cornish Pasty Co., Tempe location

The Setup: Owner Dean Thomas, a culinary school grad and native of Cornwall, grew up on Cornish Pasties -- the savory, hand-held turnovers eaten by the tin miners of the region. But at his two Cornish pasty outlets in the Southeast Valley (one in Tempe, the other in Mesa), he goes well beyond the dietary scope of his ancestors, stuffing his pasties with anything and everything, including bangers and mash, turkey and dressing, carne adovada and lamb vindaloo. But as good as they are (and the pastry is first-rate), his house-made soups and desserts are my favorite things on the menu.

The Good: The dish is called Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding, which is enough right there to make my mouth water. It begins with homemade bread, which is baked in a chocolate brandy sauce until the coarse sugar-sprinkled top gets a bit crunchy. The inside is warm and oozy, the texture of the pudding more like an ultra-soft cake or brownie. You can eat it with ice cream, but don't be a putz. Have it with creme Anglaise (the sweet, elegant custard named for the English), served in a tiny silver pitcher. That's the Brit way. This is everything bread pudding should be -- warm, comforting and delicious. Not too sweet, not too heavy and not too gummy.

The Bad: I should add, I've eaten this bread pudding on two or three occasions at the Mesa store, and it's always been stellar. This version at the Tempe location has a firmer crust and a more cake-like texture. It's not quite as good as the Mesa version.

The Price: $6.

The Verdict: If you've made it this far, it's pretty clear who the winner is: Cornish Pasty by a country mile.

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Location Info

Venue

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Fuego Bistro

713 E. Palo Verde Drive, Phoenix, AZ

Category: Restaurant

1 user reviews	Write A Review
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The Cornish Pasty Co.

960 W. University Drive, Tempe, AZ

Category: Music

Tags:

bread pudding, Cornish pasty, Fuego bistro

We Recommend

kward7

Heya Nikki.. I will definetely agree that Cornish Pasty has a phenominal Bread Pudding, but to go out of your way and bash our product is so catty, and quite honestly, I still have no clue what your beef is with my restaurant. We are tiny Bistro that has flourished for 6 years in the valley despite every odd.. and yet this is the first words atleast to my knowledge that you have written about my establishmnet. In fact about five years ago I reached out to you when you were at Phoenix Magazine and you told me you did not like our food.. Then you were let go, and not 3 months later we were named "Best :Latin American" retaurarant by PM. You see Nikki. We all can't be your standby favorites.. NOCA, Zinc, Binkleys.. And the fact that we have sold over 10,000 helpings of this bread pudding, and everyone seems pretty happy with our sugar bomb. You see Nikki.. You have a Bias here.. You didn't like my food six years ago, you are probably not going to like my food now, But the fact that Fuego Bistro's sales are up 300% from six years ago, and many of the restaurants that you have winced about about over the years have shuttered.. Definetly make me question your agenda.. BTW.. Didn't you give Burger Studio 5 stars a couple of years back? We all have bad days..

AZnikkib

@kward7 Hi Jeff, this was in no way an attempt to go out of my way to bash. My editor suggested I try Fuego's bread pudding because so many people loved it. I went in fully expecting to like it. I have no agenda. Why on EARTH would I have an agenda? I don't know you, so why would I have any reason to dislike you or to dislike Fuego? I don't remember us having a conversation about Fuego, but i find it hard to believe I would have said to anyone, "I don't like your food." I might have said, "I didn't have a good experience there last time," and it is true, I didn't come away, the last time I was there, thinking it was great. If other people love your food, hooray! That's great. I thought the bread pudding was complete overkill, as I said in the post. Other people love it. That's fine. That's what makes a horse race. A friend of mine liked it better than Cornish Pasty's, and I respect her opinion, but I'm the one getting paid to express mine, and I thought it was average at best. Not trying to bash, just calling it as I see it. I'm sorry to have hurt your feelings. I never enjoy that part of the job. And no, I did not give Burger Studio five stars. That was another writer at the Republic. But I readily admit to having bad days, making bad calls, etc. I'm human. But I will never cop to having an agenda because I flat out don't. To what end? Best, NB

smalls

@kward7 I've been to Fuego Bistro and Tacos and I can't decide which one I dislike more. I've been to the Bistro once and would never return - mediocre, uninspired food with service to match. Fuego Tacos in the Esplanade is very close to our house so we had hopes that the fare and service would be better. Who were we kidding? My coworkers and I THREW OUR LUNCHES AWAY after tasting the tacos. Yes, four women trapped in an office all day chose to go without lunch rather than eat lunch from Fuego Tacos. Also, the employee we dealt with that day was a total dick. Our neighbors took my husband and me again a couple of months ago - we sat at the bar and had a similar experience. Terrrrrrrible bartender, and soggy, oddly-flavored tacos.

Best Latin American is a joke. How much did you spend in advertising with PM to "earn" that title? From your petty, typo-ridden comment, it really seems like you are the catty one. Stop posting insane responses to fair articles and spend the time fixing your menu and staff instead.

This, like your tacos, is just embarrassing.