Last week I picked up a large bag of cherries at the farmers’ market. As much as I love to just stand over the sink and spit pits as I eat, I have managed to hold off on demolishing the bag (read: I only eat every third cherry while I’m pitting them) long enough to make this simple, delicious dessert.

Balsamic Cherries over Ice Cream

This is an adaptation of a healthy dessert idea from Ellie Krieger. Unfortunately, it does not include ice cream in its original form. To practice portion control, I use the small party cups of vanilla ice cream I used to eat at birthdays. The balsamic cherries lend a slightly sweet and tart topping, and making them is a snap.
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I was back in Charlotte last weekend and Mario and I got a chance to meet up with some of my high school buddies that are new to the area. I’ve been debating on whether or not to do some name-dropping in this post, but I think I’m gonna go ahead and drop away One of my besties just moved to Charlotte to be with her longtime boyfriend and my old friend, recently acquired Bobcats player Tyrus Thomas. They requested a soul/Southern food spot, and after some debate, Mario and I decided to meet them at Boudreaux’s Louisiana Kitchen in NoDa. Obviously Boudreaux’s is not the name of this post, and that’s because I didn’t feel motivated to write a full post after our disappointing meal. The crawfish and spinach dip appetizer was the highlight. I had an oyster po’boy that was unseasoned and borderline gross. There was one interesting point on the menu–their selection of hurricanes. We couldn’t decide whether it was in poor taste or kind of funny/clever that they named their different hurricane concoctions after actual hurricanes. The Hurricane Katrina was made up of spirits from locations that followed the course of the hurricane. Hmm…

Anyway, toward the end of the meal, my friends asked if we had heard of Amelie’s French Bakery, also in the NoDa area. When we said no, they both insited we go right away. Tyrus, usually a pretty goofy guy, got extremely serious when he started to describe a fruit tart they serve. “Jessica. Ok they have this graham cracker crust. And then this custard that is really, really good. Then on top are these perfectly sliced strawberries and berries and stuff, gracefully arranged and topped with this apple jam….ok we have to go right now.” And so we did:

Amelie's French Bakery

Quickie post…not much to say besides: the strawberry cheesecake popsicle was fab and GO GET SOME NOW!!

King of Pops @ the Irwin Street Market

Strawberry Cheesecake Pop

I stopped into the Irwin St. Market (The King of Pops’ current home base) for my fix, but owner Steven Carse also has a roving cart (currently on the corner of North Ave. and N. Highland). Check out his interview on Scoutmob for more details on the King and what sparked the idea, and follow @thekingofpops on Twitter or check the Facebook page for daily menu updates!

And get some more lowdown from FoodieBuddha!

On my recent visit home for Mardi Gras, my brother Spencer and I went cruising around New Orleans the Sunday before Fat Tuesday and ended up on Magazine St. in the Garden District. This is the neighborhood you see in romanticized versions of New Orleans: tree-lined streets, mini-mansions, and old-school architecture. Luckily, because of its location on high ground, most of the post-HK damage here was caused by wind and not water, and the vast majority of the residents have returned to the area. Anyway, on our slow stroll up and down Magazine, I happened to notice a sweets shop and of course had no choice but to stop in.

Sucré touts itself as an emporium of artisan sweets. According to their website, “unlike a traditional bakery, Sucré serves plated desserts with custom garnishes in addition to boxed treats.” As soon as I walked in the door, my eyes became the size of dinner plates. It took me a full 10 minutes to decide what I was going to order, and during that time I snapped a ton of pictures of Sucré’s offerings (not including the storefront below; it is from Sucré’s website):

Sucre

My selections

I finally decided to go with a gelato and 2 macaron flavors suggested by a staff member: lemon and the “Valentine’s special” raspberry & white chocolate.
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I am coming to terms with the fact that I am apparently on an unofficial mission to try all of Atlanta’s cupcakes. My latest endeavor was CamiCakes Cupcakes, which originated in Florida and now has 3 locations; 2 in Florida, and one here in ATL. My friend Tracie and I made an impromptu stop after noticing the storefront in a shopping center on Peachtree on our way back from lunch one afternoon.

Camicakes

All of the cupcakes looked really delicious, but I finally settled on a Strawberries -n- Cream (strawberries cream cheese frosting on yellow cake) and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream (chocolate cake topped with peanut butter cream cheese frosting). Prepare for drooling after the jump:
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The day I lunched at Parish in Inman Park was one of those horribly cold and dreary days Atlanta experienced early in the new year. To warm myself up, I decided to visit Cacao and try their “Aztec Aphrodisia Sipping Chocolate”, which I first caught wind of via The Blissful Glutton‘s blog. In a hidden nook off N. Highland Ave, I found a little heaven in a cup:

Aztec Sipping Chocolate

As of last week, I have sworn off cupcakes until Thanksgiving. For real. Depending upon my willpower this hiatus may even be extended through December. So for my last hurrah, I visited Vinings cupcakery Sweet Pockets.

Sweet Pockets

Sweet Pockets, like Noon Midtown, is also a product of a daily-grinder (architect) turned chef. I tried their red velvet cupcake, and Mario got one of their specials, pecan pie:
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I’m about 99% sure I found the exact doughnuts that make Homer Simpson drool. Sublime Doughnuts is located in the shopping center on the corner of Hemphill and 10th St. I’ve been checking it out for a while, but I’m not gonna lie, I mostly haven’t been because the exterior looks kinda sketch:

Sublime Donuts

I’m starting to think I have a legitimate fear of strip mall eateries. However, I’ve heard so many good things about it that I finally decided to stop by.
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Here’s a quickie post while I study for two tests, write a fellowship proposal, and make more substantial posts on a girls’ night out last weekend and Taste of Atlanta.

It’s probably no secret now that I’m a certified cupcake addict. Well, I’ve found my new pusher, and she’s fortunately/unfortunately in walking distance of my place. Caryn’s Cakes appears to mostly be a wedding/special events cake shop (think “Ace of Cakes”), but they also have some amaaazing cupcakes, which I discovered when I walked over to pick up 2 last week:

Caryn's Cupcackes

As a quick follow-up to my Vickery’s dinner post, here’s a little blurb on a little cupcake I had from Chocolate Pink Cafe for dessert.

Mochaccino Cupcake

The Mochaccino cupcake (vanilla chiffon cake, coffee cream filling, chocolate ganache, coffee buttercream) was moist and flavorful. I especially loved the coffee buttercream on top (but frosting is always my favorite). I also love cupcake fillings and was really looking forward to biting into the coffee cream filling, but I was disappointed because I didn’t get much flavor out of it. I think the buttercream may have overwhelmed it.

Zifty delivered my cupcake as well, but I hear Chocolate Pink has a really fabulous space that can be enjoyed cafe-style or rented out for events.

www.chocolatepinkcafe.com