Baked by Melissa - The Hottest Mini Cupcakes in SOHO

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was out in SOHO in New York City with two of my girlfriends doing what we do best...SHOP!!!  We shopped for Christmas presents and walked all through SOHO and discovered the best treat ever, Baked by Melissa!

My girlfriend, Dina, raved about these mini-cupcakes and I was determined to taste these popular treats.  These are great for dessert lovers watching their waist line because you can try as many cupcake flavors as you want since the cupcakes are so small.  Baked by Melissa is located on Spring Street in between Broadway and Mercer.  They have a small window you walk up to where you just place your order as if you were ordering food from a fast food drive up.

There were almost a dozen mini-cupcakes to choose from.  I chose the mint chocolate chip, chocolate chip pancake, and cookies and cream.  My friend, Jackie, had the red velvet, peanut butter cup, and cookie dough.

I rate Baked by Melissa five out of five ice cream cones.  If you are in SOHO, I suggest you stop for a mini bite.  Baked by Melissa is also located in Union Square, Grand Central, the Fashion District, and the Upper West Side.

The Chocolate Lovers Club

Over the weekend, my husband and I checked out the local Chocolate Lovers Club of Princeton, NJ.  I found this deal off of Groupon and was looking forward to our date night at Chocolate Lovers Club for months.  We had zero expectations as this would be our first time there.  We left the Chocolate Lovers Club with more knowledge about chocolate as Joanne of Chocolate Lovers Club educated the entire class.  We left with a satisfied sweet tooth from all the chocolate tastings.

The theme of the evening was Taste of Madagascar where the dinner served were native plates to Madagascar.   We were served Rice Water to drink, also a native drink to those from Madagascar.  Dinner consisted of curry chicken, beef, rice, and plantains.  For dessert we had fruit and of course, Madagascar chocolate.

We tasted dark, milk and white chocolates.  The truffle above is a chocolate ganache with coconut milk.  The Chocolate Lovers Club hosts supper clubs as well as sell pure chocolate in the store.

As a lover of chocolate, I truly had an amazing time at the Chocolate Lovers Club.  The chocolate was so pure and blissful.  I rate my experience five out of five ice cream cones and recommend anyone who loves chocolate to give them a try!

Key West Ice Cream Factory - Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Last weekend, I headed down to Key West, Florida for a girls' weekend in honor of my cousin's soon-to-be wedding.  While down in the Keys, I had to take full advantage of the flavors and delicious desserts Key West had to offer.  One stop in my Southern edition of my Sweet Good Trek was the Key West Ice Cream Factory.

The Key West Ice Cream factory is home of Key West's finest ice cream flavors and located on the famous Historic Seaport Harbor walk.  I've heard of the "famous" Key Lime Pie ice cream flavor so, the obvious choice of taste was going to be the Key Lime pie ice cream.  I ordered one scoop and all the girls agreed that it was a sure winner and the reason people wait in line to try this yummy dessert.  It was a perfect mixture of fruity lime and baked pie notes.  Had me smiling from ear to ear and I rate this Key West favorite five out of five ice cream cones.

I return back to Key West this February and I can't wait to go back and have another scoop and to try more exciting flavors of Key West!  

Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel Ice Cream - The Bent Spoon

Yesterday was the perfect opportunity to enjoy the last of New Jersey's Indian Summer by heading to the Bent Spoon in Princeton for a delicious cup of ice cream.  The Bent Spoon is located in the heart of downtown Princeton, in Palmer Square.  This famous ice cream shop is known for their traditional flavors as well as trendy up and coming flavors.  Some of their trendy flavors include:  Cardamom Ginger, Earl Grey and Double Dark 72 Lavender.  The trending flavor I chose was a scoop of Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel topped with a scoop of Cinnamon.

My sis-in-law selected the Mascarpone (Mascarpone cheese flavor ice cream in a croissant) and my husband selected the Raspberry Sorbet.

Salted Caramel is a hot trending flavor.  Today, you can visit your nearest Starbucks and order a Salted Caramel Mocha Latte.  After discovering the Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel Ice Cream at the Bent Spoon in Princeton, I had to order it.  I was happy that it did not disappoint.  I was extremely delighted after my first bite and I rate this flavor five out of five ice cream cones.  I encourage you to take a trip to downtown Princeton and see for yourself.

Melt Bakery - The High Line - NYC

This past weekend, I spent the entire Saturday in New York City with one of my best friends, Trixia.  We walked from 52nd street all the way down to Chelsea to catch up, take a look at her wedding venues and simply enjoy the greatest city of all.  Our walk included a trek on the High Line.  It's a public park built on 1.5 miles of an abandoned, overgrown elevated railway.

As we walked the High Line, I immediately pulled Trixia to the side and said we MUST try this ice cream.  I stopped by the Melt Bakery Ice Cream Sandwich cart.

Melt bakery is a new and innovative venture developed by Julian Plyter and Kareem Hamady.  Julian is an experienced pastry chef and Kareem is an idea guy who has an ongoing quest for the world's most satisfying foods.  Some of the current flavors are the following:  

Trixia had the Cinnamax and I tried the Classic.  I tried both of the ice cream sandwiches and rate both five out of five ice cream cones.  I am excited to come back for my next walk on the High Line to try the Lovelet which has Cream Cheese ice cream and Red Velvet Meltcake cookies!

Dune - The One & Only Ocean Club

To celebrate the end of summer, the welcoming of the fall season, and most importantly, our wedding anniversary, my husband and I headed to Atlantis Paradise Island for the long Labor Day weekend.  During our stay, we enjoyed many nights of good eats however, saved the best for last.  We ventured to the  One & Only Ocean Club to dine at the world famous restaurant, Dune.  Dune serves an innovative blend of French-Asian cuisine infused with local herbs and Bahamian influences.

After we devoured our main course, I was excited to dive right into the dessert menu.  My husband opted for sorbet of the following choices:  Passion Mango, Soursop, and Bahama-Mama.  I am very familiar with Passion Mango and Bahama-Mama flavors however was interested to learn more about Soursop.  I learned that Soursop is a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree native to the Caribbean area.  Its flavor is described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple with sour citrus flavor notes.

I ordered the lemon kiwi pie with Bahama-Mama sorbet.  It tasted similar to key lime pie with a much more sour tone to it.  Bahama-Mama sorbet was an iced version of the famous Caribbean cocktail.

Both of these desserts were absolutely off the charts.  I rate both plates five out of five ice cream cones.  If you have the opportunity to visit the Bahamas, I highly suggest a night at Dune for the ambiance, impeccable service, amazing ocean views, delicious food, and off the charts dessert.

Peas-n-Carrots for Dessert? – Rat’s Restaurant

This week, I celebrated my 30^th birthday!  It was a five day celebration starting on Friday, extended through the weekend, and ended with an amazing dinner with my husband at Rat’s Restaurant located in the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. 

The Grounds for Sculpture s a 35-acre sculpture park with two indoor museums, shops, a cafe and the fine dining destination, Rat's Restaurant.  Rat’s is designed to make visitors feel they have stepped into a village reminiscent of French impressionist Claude Monet’s town of Giverny.  It overlooks sculptures inspired by impressionist paintings and offers French cuisine.   

The dinner was amazing and I made sure to save room for dessert of course!  I thought their dessert menu was very interesting and offered a different spin on flavors of traditional desserts.  Rat’s also takes pride in offering foods from local farms and using organics.  Take a peek at the menu below.

My birthday dessert choice was Peas-n-Carrots.  I wanted to indulge in a dessert that wasn’t typical.  It was a carrot cake, topped with pea ice cream, on top of a rum crème anglaise.  It was absolutely delicious and I rate it 4 out of 5 ice cream cones. 

My husband selected the sorbet in the following flavors:  Lemon Spoom, Root Beer, and Coconut Mojito. 

Rat’s offered a magical ambiance for dining and was a lovely complement to the Grounds for Sculpture experience.  I highly recommend a visit to the Grounds and to try the decadent dessert offerings of Rat’s.