Bobby D.
Yelp
My wife's co-worker, a pastry employee at the University of San Diego, was starting her business Mia Sorella Chimney Cakes on Thursday August 17th at the North Park Farmer's Market. My wife invited myself, my daughter, and my daughter's friend to visit Mia Sorella and show our support for her friend. I had a lot of questions as my wife tried to explain to me what type of business Veronica aka Vero was starting, what kind of food I'd be eating, and a little bit of 411 about how Vero decided to start her business. The one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that this virgin chimney cake eater will definitely be an experienced chimney caker connoisseur after I make return visits to eat a chimney cake from Mia Sorella Chimney Cakes.
The first question I'm sure everyone has is, "What is a chimney cake?". Vero and her sisters started this business based on their visit to Prague, Czech Republic. After eating a chimney cake on their European trip to Prague, Vero and her sisters learned how to make chimney cake, purchased the tools and machines to produce the chimney cake, and brought over this Eastern European influenced dessert to San Diego for the first time. Mia Sorella Chimney Cakes is a booth located at the North Park Farmer's Market. We found Mia Sorella at the very end of the Farmer's Market. The North Park Farmer's Market is open every Thursday, year-round, from 3pm-7:30pm on three blocks of North Park Way, from 30th Street to Utah. I really thought the logo of Mia Sorella Chimney Cakes was apropos for a dessert from Eastern Europe. The logo is a cartoon depiction of the three sisters, who by the way operate the business, under an awning that you would find in Europe eating chimney cakes while drinking coffee.
What is a Chimney Cake? Chimney Cakes are made from sweet, yeast dough (raised dough), of which a strip is spun and then wrapped around a truncated cone-shaped baking spit, and rolled in granulated sugar. It is roasted over charcoal while basted with melted butter, until its surface cooks to a golden-brown color. During the baking process the sugar stuck on the chimney cakes caramelizes and forms a shiny, crispy crust. The surface of the cake can then be topped with additional ingredients such as ground walnut or powdered cinnamon. Vero describes her chimney cakes as Eastern European baked donut cones. Mia Sorella's chimney cakes are hand held meals that at first glance doesn't appear to be a lot of food, but you would be mistaken by that thought. Mia Sorella offers both sweet and savory chimney cakes. My family and I wanted to try both, so we ordered the Prague and the Cali. The Prague was a sweet cone generously filled with whipped cream, doused liberally with chocolate hazelnut, and significant slices of strawberries awaiting at the top of the cone. The bad thing for me is that I only ate a little of the Prague, but the sweetness and how filling the cone was is what I remember. Heed my advice when I say order the Cali. This savory chimney cake was truly satisfying and I really wished that I had that meal all to myself. The cone is practically spilling out with homemade hummus that has a medley of vegetables with every bite of the hummus. That hummus was fresh, finger licking good, and very tasty. What I really enjoyed about both the sweet and savory chimney cakes is that the filling and chimney cake itself were both delicious. After I finished the filling, I was so looking forward to eating the chimney cake by itself. So memorable! That chimney cake though.
To be fair, this was Mia Sorella's first day of business. There were some opportunity areas starting with not having a working ice cream machine, which when that becomes available, will sooooo complement the chimney cake. It took a little while to get our chimney cake from ordering to finished product because Mia Sorella's chimney cakes are made to order. I don't know if that really needs to be fixed because waiting did not affect how delicious those chimney cakes were. There also weren't some items available that were listed on the menu. Lastly, the whipped cream leaked from the bottom of the chimney cake, which made it a little messy. I would rate Mia Sorella Chimney Cakes 4.5 stars. I am now a bonafide fan of chimney cakes and I can only thank Vero, her sisters, and Mia Sorella Chimney Cakes for introducing me to its deliciousness. Those chimney cakes though!!!
