Pinkberry - Salted Caramel Frozen Yogurt

I tend to stick with the delicious Original Tart flavor frozen yogurt whenever I go to Pinkberry, but the Salted Caramel intrigued me enough to switch up my order, haha.  

Here we have the Salted Caramel frozen yogurt with sliced almonds and the chocolate crispy things - do they have an official name? - that I love, they are so tasty!  I loved that the caramel flavor was strong, but not overwhelming.  It went perfectly with the chocolate and crunchy almond slices- it was a perfect combination!  With summer fast approaching I anticipate a lot of frozen yogurt in my near future :o) 

Pinkberry - Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt

I normally stick with the regular tart flavor at Pinkberry, but since I had a free birthday coupon, I decided to use that opportunity to try out a new flavor.  Luckily, I happened to be at Pinkberry when the peanut butter flavor was available, yum!  I added fresh strawberries and round chocolate crispies which went really well with the peanut butter.  I am really happy I got a chance to try it out! 

Pinkberry - Chocolate Hazelnut

I could probably eat Pinkberry's chocolate hazelnut frozen yogurt every day, no joke.  I think the only thing stopping me is not having a Pinkberry close to my apartment, haha.  The chocolate hazelnut frozen yogurt was like having a lightened up cup of Nutella, and the chocolate pearl topping was a tasty crunchy addition.  I can't wait until this special flavor comes back- I miss you, Chocolate Hazelnut Pinkberry!

ATL Visit - Tasty Foods, Part 2

And here we have MORE FOOD from my visit to Atlanta, haha!

We tried out the fried chicken at the Colonnade, which appears to be a real-deal Atlanta institution of sorts.  The inside of the restaurant seemed completely unchanged in MANY years... as you might imagine, we were probably one of the youngest groups of diners there that night. 

As you can see, the restaurant serves up old-school size portions as well- haha.  

 

We got the sweet potato souffle and the celery dressing as our sides mainly because there were about 50 side options and we couldn't decide, so we went with the wild cards.  The fried chicken was piping hot when it hit our table, but as we were eating it we noticed that it was not greasy at all, as you might expect fried chicken to be.  I was downright confused that eating this chicken didn't mean having to wipe my hands on my napkin every 5 seconds.  This chicken was really good, and wasn't a gut-buster like fried chicken tends to be. 

Ok so Pinkberry isn't exactly Atlanta-specific, but I love it so of course I'm going to go if we're by one, haha.  I got the mini cup of Original froyo with honey, strawberries, and almond slivers.

As if all of this wasn't enough over the course of my visit, we of course had to stop in Cafe Intermezzo for some decadent desserts!  We picked up two cakes, which took a while since we literally could not decide from the bazillion cakes and cheesecakes they had out on display, haha.  Soooooooo rich and so good!

The Colonnade

1879 Chesire Bridge Road

Atlanta, GA 30324

404.874.5642

Lunchtime Links for February 14th, 2011

• Serious Eats: Pinkberry Swirly Grams.
• Design Sponge: Valentine's Day theme tea bags.
• The Pioneer Woman: Chocolate Valentine cookies.
• The Kitchn: Heart-shaped pans.
• Bakerella: Valentine's Day treats.

Fun in Fairfax, VA: Pinkberry + Cupcakes Actually

A few weeks ago, my weekend trip to San Francisco got messed up thanks to a plane malfunction (booooooooooooooooo), which left me with a completely free weekend at home.  I made the most of it by going out to dinner, cleaning, and venturing out to Fairfax, VA for the day.  I met up with my friend M at the new Pinkberry, which had just opened that same week, woo!   

I got a mini cup of the seasonal/new Pumpkin with graham crackers.  The taste wasn't particularly pumpkin-y but honestly- I was happy to have a Pinkberry at least somewhat close to me (vs. CA and NYC, haha), woo!!  I also like that they offer a mini cup size- just enough if you're not looking for TOO much frozen yogurt. 

After we finished our frozen yogurts, we stopped in next door to Cupcakes Actually, because I figured I'd make the most of being in the area and try the store out, haha. 

We split the OMG cupcake: A banana cupcake, filled with caramel, iced with peanut butter butter cream, dipped in a chocolate ganache, drizzled with caramel and topped with either peanuts or toffee (I can't remember).

Here's a cross-section of the cupcake, so you can see all of the components.  Thank god we split this cupcake (well granted, I ate more than M did- haha) cus it was RICH!  I loved the flavors though, especially the chocolate ganache + peanut butter frosting combo- super delicious!  Being over $4 with tax though would make me reconsider buying a bunch of cupcakes from them though- that's way more expensive than Georgetown Cupcake or other local cupcakeries!  Overall, a great time in Fairfax trying out new items!

Pinkberry- Fairfax Corner

11942 Grand Commons Ave
Fairfax, VA 22030

Cupcakes Actually - Fairfax Corner

11944 Grand Commons Ave
Fairfax, VA 22030

NYC Weekend: More Tasty Treats

 

A Taste of Maine

Weekend in NYC = Lots and lots of yummy food!  One stop during my weekend was to Luke's Lobster, a tiny little spot.  Originally I had intended on getting a lobster roll but decided to try A Taste of Maine instead, which is more of a sampler plate.  It consists of mini lobster, shrimp, and crab rolls, two empress claws, chips, and a drink.  This was a great way to try out a good majority of Luke's menu- delicious!  As you can sort of see in the photo, they don't really do fillers here- it's pretty much the seafood with a minimal amount of tweaking- letting the seafood really shine.  If I had to rank the rolls, i would definitely say 1) Lobster; 2) Crab; and 3) Shrimp.  The crab was surprisingly v. tasty- I guess I just assumed I would love the lobster roll the most, but it was v. close between the two.  Fantastic lunch! 

  

Momofuku Honey Nut Soft Serve + Corn Flake Crumble

  

Momofuku Compost Cookie 

Later, we stopped in Momofuku Milk Bar, and after trying a sample of the Salt & Pepper soft serve (um yeah...not sure how many people order full sizes of this), I got the honey nut soft serve with the corn flake crumble topping.  Sweet, salty, crunchy, smooth, Momofuku always does a great job with playing with taste, texture, and overall flavor.  I also picked up a Compost cookie to bring home- a little bit of everything and then some, packed into one handheld cookie.  

  

Two Little Red Hens Bakery

  

Lots of tasty options.

  

Mini Red Velvet cupcake

  

Cheesecake

M and I also stopped by Two Little Red Hens bakery, which also had a frequently positive online review presence.  Lots of tasty-looking options were packed into a tiny spot - seems to be a running theme with the last three places we went to, haha.  The mini red velvet cupcake was really a one-bite deal, perfect ratio of frosting to the bright red, moist cake.  These would be adorable as part of a tea party or cocktail party.  The cheesecake was surprisingly lighter than it might look- really delicious and not too sweet either. 

  

Pinkberrrrrrrry 

There were lots of great things about fitting in a trip to Pinkberry before heading back home: 1) WOO Pinkberry!; 2) You are now allowed to fit in unlimited toppings- as long as it fits in the cup (aka not limited by x number of toppings per size/price); 3) Check out the CUTE cow/reindeer holiday yogurt cup!   

  

Cafe Zaiya goodies 

Lastly, here's my haul from Cafe Zaiya which I stuffed into a lunch cooler-bag to bring back home.  Top row: Curry pan, Pumpkin pan, Mini tsubu an pan.  Bottom row: Chocolate-dipped mochi donut, Sweet potato roll.   All of these were great, and some froze really well for me to eat later - in fact, I think all of the mini an pans are still in the freezer.  The sweet potato roll was fantastic- I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm really happy I tried it. 

I <3 NYC

Back from a fun fun weekend in NYC! Weather held up for the most part, walked around a bunch, good times with good friends!

On to the food... some highlights:

Pork & Egg Bun... Deeeeeeelicious.

Saturday- First stop, Momofuku Milk Bar for some tasty treats. The place is small but jam-packed with so many amazing things. M and I both got the Pork & Egg bun- if we had known how big they were, we definitely could've split one. It was so amazing- pork belly slices, an over easy egg, cucumbers, hoisin sauce. A squirt of Sriracha (available at each table) was great, but isn't necessary to make this taste Awesome.

We also got samples of both the Strawberry Shortcake and Cereal Milk soft serves. Yes you read that correctly, Cereal Milk. And wouldn't you know it, it REALLY tasted like the milk in a bowl after you've eaten all the cereal. So Cool!! I couldn't leave without buying one of their sweets- picked up a Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow cookie- bonus, the one he gave me was broken off on one part so he gave me two, woo. I tried this cookie later on Sunday before I left, and it was just so rich and crispy/smooth/buttery/I'm running out of adjectives, haha. So good!

Vanilla Custard, Shake Shack

After walking around for a while, we hit up Madison Square Park for the famed Shake Shack. I first got a custard, thinking I was still too full from the Pork & Egg bun to get a burger. But since M wanted a shake anyway, we got into the "not custards" line and waited it out, for about 30-45 minutes total.

I could eat my computer screen right now, seriously.

I am so glad we did, and I told myself to just get the burger, since we were all the way here and already waiting in line anyway. Oh. My. GOD. The Shackburger (meat, cheese, tomato, lettuce, Shack sauce) was UNBELIEVEABLY good. Like Wow-So-Glad-I-Got-This-I-Can't-Finish-It-But-I-Want-To-But-I-Might-Explode-But-It's-So-Amazing-I-Wonder-If-I-Can-Take-It-Back-To-MD-And-Save-It-So-I-Can-Extend-This-Enjoyment-For-Another-Day... kind of "good". Seriously, I don't even care if you went to a churrascaria moments beforehand, if you are anywhere near MSP (or not, even), just suck it up and wait in line for this baby. SO AMAZING. In other news, M got an order of fries which I sampled as well- crispy and salty with creamy potato-y insides, a delicious order in itself.

Hello long-lost loveeeeeeeeeee.

Finished off the weekend with some breakfast at Pinkberry before catching the train back to DC. They have a few new toppings, including the Valencia Orange slices pictured above. Even though I've been lucky to have other tart frozen yogurt places pop up nearby, they are just still not the same as Pinkberry. So glad I got some before heading home!

M & E, it was great seeing you both!