Philly Food Photo of the Year? Say Hello to the Franolli, fka the Donnoli

Social media is a funny thing. We can scrutinize and analyze and philosophize all day long about what people want/like and then all of a sudden something hits the spot. In our world, that would be the Franolli. Philadelphia's best contribution to the cronut craze, it's a delicious doughnut sliced in half with a mound of cannoli filling in the middle, created by Frangelli's Bakery in South Philly. Oh mio dio!

This shouldn't come as a surprise, considering that - despite all the incredible chefs and restaurants in Philly - our two most popular posts of all time were on cupcakes and baklava. Dessert rules.

Our Franolli instagram proved to generate more likes and tags ("OMG." "@bff we are so getting this." etc...) than any photo I can remember. And frankly, it's well deserved.

Purchased on a total whim from DiBruno Bros at 9th & Sansom

This heavenly little creation was, until recently, known as the Donnoli, so you might find more info about it under that name. Frangelli's just branded it a little closer to home. We'd read about the Franolli many places, mainly here from Phoodie.info with whom I agree that part of the appeal is that ricotta and chocolate chips cannoli filling is less sweet than other creams and fillings you see combo'd with doughnuts, so the Franolli doesn't give you a crazy sugar headache. Trust me, I ate the whole thing in, like, 30 seconds. Not to mention, the traditional doughnut would be great on it's own, too, and powdered sugar sprinkled on top is a nice extra touch. It's just all around awesome.

Frangelli's is known to make some of the best - according to some, the best - doughnuts in Philadelphia. We have yet to do a side-by-side comparison with Federal Donuts, Bieler's in Reading Terminal and others, though come to think of it... what an amazing feast that would be! (and calorie-rich but let's forget for a moment that nothing about this conversation is healthy...)

Roll down to Frangelli's at the corner of 9th & Ritner for a Franolli asap or pick one up at DiBruno Bros' bakery counter. I got mine at the new DiBrunos at 9th & Sansom. They are delivered fresh on Thursday and Saturday to both that and the Rittenhouse location. Frangelli's itself is closed on Sundays during summer though, so plan accordingly.