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Famous Ice Cream Sandwiches at Diddy Riese – Major YUM

By Dessert Darling · January 26th, 2012 · Comments (1)

After indulging in the Pizookie at BJ’s in Westwood (post here) I sauntered across the street to try a famous Diddy Riese ice cream sandwich. Diddy Riese notoriously has a long line of UCLA students waiting for their buck fifty ice cream sandwich. As if that weren’t cheap enough for two delicious cookies encasing premium ice cream, a lone cookie itself is only 35 cents. Amazing.

I ordered an m&m cookie top with a White Chocolate cookie bottom and filled it with Butter Pecan ice cream. This sweet and buttery combination was Heaven. Mmmmmmmm- SO good! Ice cream sandwiches can be tricky to pull off: sometimes the ice cream freezes the cookie, thus neutralizing it of its flavor. Other times, all the ice cream squirts out to the sides when you eat it, making it a messy and tricky ordeal. Somehow, Diddy Reise’s treats avoid these pitfalls, making them the quintisential ice cream sandwich. With superior ingredients, this cookie- ice cream delight clearly triumphs over the Pizookie across the street. While I grant Diddy Reise 5 cherries now, they will surely win the Golden Cherry by the end of the year! Delish!

My friend snapped this photo of me shooting the outside of Diddy Riese- there, you can see me in action.

For more information on Diddy Riese, click here.

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Low-Cal Doughnuts from Starbucks

By Dessert Darling · January 25th, 2012 · Comments (4)

Today I dropped into Starbucks and sampled the 130 cal, mini-doughnuts. They never looked that appealing to me, but thought it my duty to at least try them and report back. Verdict is: they taste just like they look.. dry and uneventful. That said, the glaze on top is still nice and sweet if you want a quick, low-cal fix, and eat just the top off like I ended up doing.

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The Pizookie at BJ’s Brewhouse in Westwood

By Dessert Darling · January 20th, 2012 · Comments (6)

If you’re familiar with the BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse chain, you’ve surely had a run-in with the Pizookie. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, a Pizzokie is a Pizza Cookie, of course! Also known as one of the greatest dessert inventions ever. However, as beautifully conceived as this concept is…a hot, melting, gooey cookie in your own little pan, topped with heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream, BJ’s falls short of brilliant by using crappy ingredients. I could tell that they didn’t use real butter in the cookies and the vanilla ice cream could not have been more bland. Really, it’s hard to mess up vanilla ice cream, people. Alas, I did nail the order by getting half Chocolate Chip cookie and half Red Velvet Cookie with White Chocolate Chips. The combo was awesome and the Red Velvet cookie better masked the poor quality of the ingredients. After the Pizookie, I went across the street to Diddy Riese for a good ol’ comparison. Ooooh, Very interesting. Tune in next week for the results!

PS: Freak-out alert- the Pizookie has roughly 1,120 calories. WTF!? I NEVER count calories or fat, but freaking BJ’s has it right there on the menu. I would have totally inhaled the whole thing had I not known. (Sigh) Ignorance is Bliss~

For more info on BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, click here.

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Organic Gummy Bears by Yummy Earth, DD Approved!

By Dessert Darling · January 19th, 2012 · Comments (2)

You may have seen my recent posts about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in our food and my deep sadness over how sick they are making our nation (for more, click here). When I was a kid I ate my share of sugary cereals and Candy Candy Candy everyday! Yes, everyday I would go to am-pm after school to buy a treat!! And then go home and eat Lucky Charms! And while it wasn’t “good” for me then, it wasn’t the same grade of poison that today’s candy is with its High Fructose Corn Syrup made from corn seeds that were cross-bread with insecticides by Monsanto’s scientists. Bleh! I wonder how I’ll feel someday, letting my future kids go trick-or-treating when I know how detrimental today’s candy is to their health. It really bums me out as Halloween is a holiday that is near and dear to a DD’s heart! In this vein I’ve kept my eyes peeled for candy that children can have now that won’t alarm their systems with a barrage of chemicals, artificial colors, unpronounceable substances, and GMOs. I came across these Organic, Gluten Free Gummy Bears by Yummy Earth at Whole Foods and they are totally delicious! They even have that perfect, tough consistency that a Haribo Gold-Bear has (my childhood favorite). Sure they don’t come in the same technicolor rainbow as other candies, but they also don’t have those toxic colors that contribute to ADHD (see here). I’m really glad that I found Yummy Earth. They carry other organic candies that I hear are phenominal… particularliy the lolipops. Yummy Earth is DD Approved with 5 Shiny Cherries!

Ps: I like to freeze my Gummy Bears. It takes longer to eat them and I enjoy how my mouth has to melt each one.

Pps: Click here to ask the FDA to label foods with GMOs so that you don’t have to shop in the dark.

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Carrot Cake at Oliver Cafe in Beverly Hills

By Dessert Darling · January 17th, 2012 · Comments (1)

Oh aren’t you so fancy with your orange ribbon carrot and mint spriggy floof! And yet Dear Carrot Cake from Oliver Cafe, you taste tragically mediocre. Like many things in Beverly Hills, you are all show and little substance. You need a pep in your step, a bounce in your cake. Tone down the waxy decoration with artificial colors and amp up the frosting with real cream cheese. Then give me more frosting in the center! Yes, you’re well kept, but in an artificial way. Your high sheen icing with groomed ridges doesn’t fool me. I want a natural cake and textured frosting that’s slathered on with wild abandon. Alas, I know you are a Beverly Hills native, so what can I say, you go your way, and I’ll go mine.

For mor information on Oliver Cafe, click here.

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Apple Tart and Chocolate Stout Ice Cream Float at Churchill on 3rd St.

By Dessert Darling · January 15th, 2012 · Comments (1)

I get giddy when a new establishment opens its doors on 3rd Street in my Beverly- Grove neighborhood. The other night I had dinner at Churchill, a rustic, two-story gastropub with a cozy and masculine vibe. Despite the hip environment though, the service and desserts were so disappointing, I wonder if I’ll ever return. When my order finally did arrive, I was greeted with this average, lemony Apple Tart enveloped in a bland blanket of thick crust. To improve upon this item they need to calm down on the lemon, add more apple filling, sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on the crust, and drizzle more of that caramel sauce on top.

Far more interesting, though not that much more palatable, was the Chocolate Stout Float. Don’t let the word “Chocolate” fool you. The stout was a hoppy beer with hints of caramel flavor and the saving grace of the operation was the vanilla ice cream. I attacked the ice cream spoon first, letting most of the beer spill off to the sides for just a hint of flavor and soupy texture. Otherwise, creamy beer? Not my thing.

((Sigh)).. I really wanted to love this place, but Churchill needs to revamp its dessert menu, hiring, and staff training to lure me back.

For more info on Churchill, click here.

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Elaine’s Toffee Company makes Seriously Addicting Toffee

By Dessert Darling · January 13th, 2012 · Comments (3)

CRIKIES, is this CRACK!? A twitter friend sent me some seriously addicting toffee by Elaine’s Toffee Company and I CANNOT stop eating it. I think I have to march myself to the garbage can right Now and throw it away before I consume all 8 servings. Yikes, what to do?! It’s so yummy, crunchy, fresh and homemade. Can you blame me?! Ok, I’m wrapping up this post to hop on the elliptical machine. I’ve been indulging in way too much yumminess!

For more info on Elaine’s Toffee Company, click here!

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Cako Cupcakes in San Francisco

By Dessert Darling · January 12th, 2012 · Comments (1)

On a whirlwind trip to San Francisco this week I managed to hop into Cako Bakery by Union Square to sample some cupcakes. I recognized this bakery name from one of the eight cupcakeries that my husband used to surprise me with 200-plus cupcakes for his proposal (story here)! Just seeing all of those cupcakes in the window brought me fond memories (happy sigh).

To cover my bases, I bought a Carrot Cake, mini Red Velvet, Vanilla, and mini a Chocolate.

I loved the flavor of the Carrot Cake, but the cake itself was a bit dry. The sweet cream cheese frosting had a high sheen which can irk me with frosting. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I’ll think on it! Ultimately I prefer a little more rugged texture and sour taste for a great cream cheese frosting. The Red Velvet had the best execution of the bunch, but still underwhelmed me. I loved the bouncy cake and hearty taste of the Vanilla cake, but the frosting was overly sweet and bland. And finally, mint flavor had seeped its way into the Chocolate frosting, which made that experience null and void for me.

Wow, it sounds like I’m tearing Cako apart! Really, these were delightful cupcakes that would surely satisfy a craving if you’re in the ‘hood. I just think that there is room for improvement.~

For more information on Cako Bakery, click here.

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Kozy Shack Pudding

By Dessert Darling · January 11th, 2012 · Comments (2)

Compared to bold and popular ice cream, pudding is an overlooked and unassuming treat. That said, it can be equally soothing and delightful when done right. For store bought varieties, Kozy Shack does pudding best. With all natural ingredients, they dominate in every arena, covering rice, tapioca, flan, chocolate, and even soy and sugar-free options. I especially enjoy getting the single serving sizes to help with portion control.

Mmmm, 5 Cherries to Kozy Shack for all around excellence!

For more info on Kozy Shack, click here.

XOXO

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Chocolate Cake at Oliver Cafe in Beverly Hills

By Dessert Darling · January 9th, 2012 · Comments (7)

The other day my girlfriends and I met at Oliver Cafe, the lounge adjacent to the $25-million former Sports Club LA, now Equinox. You know, the one where Posh Spice works out in full make-up (and high heels, did I hear someone say?!?).

While the indoor/outdoor space isn’t that large, the bright and airy venue boasts a comprehensive menu with delicious options, including a spa section that’s guaranteed to satisfy the most health conscientious Beverly Hills housewife. With such attention paid to veggie-steaming and calorie-counting, I doubted that they’d have a satisfactory dessert menu.

This is where I was wrong, aside from some awful sounding low-fat Tiramisu that’s made with Splenda (bleh), they had delectable options including red velvet, carrot, and chocolate cakes. Mmm, chocolate cake it was!

This selection completely captivated all three of us with it’s perfect consistency, cool fudgy icing, and strip of chocolate sauce on top for good measure. Unlike the dry and terrible chocolate cakes that I’ve had lately, this slice of heaven had a rich and full bodied flavor, enhanced by a kick of amaretto liquor. Mmm, an easy 5-cherries!

For more information on Oliver Cafe, click here.

XOXO

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Famous Ice Cream Sandwiches at Diddy Riese – Major YUM

Low-Cal Doughnuts from Starbucks

Organic Gummy Bears by Yummy Earth, DD Approved!

Carrot Cake at Oliver Cafe in Beverly Hills

Apple Tart and Chocolate Stout Ice Cream Float at Churchill on 3rd St.

Elaine’s Toffee Company makes Seriously Addicting Toffee

Cako Cupcakes in San Francisco

Kozy Shack Pudding

Chocolate Cake at Oliver Cafe in Beverly Hills

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