Kickass Cupcakes

Last night I went down to see the Boston Massacre versus Montreal's New Skids on the Block. This is roller derby people. I totally have the biggest crush on the New Skids, as they bring together an enormous amount of fun and skill to their league. They have been beating teams that are ranked higher than them left and right in the 2011 season and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings for them. The last time I went down to see the Boston Massacre play they had cupcakes for sale in the entryway. There is a bakery in Somerville (http://www.kickasscupcakes.com/) that makes these amazing cupcakes. It was quite difficult to get a good photo of both of them (YES I HAD TO HAVE TWO), since I took it with them balancing precariously on my lap, with roller derby fans on either side of me.



The chocolate cupcake had caramel in the middle. It was good, but not as fantastic as this one:



THE COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKE!!! There is cookie dough in the middle of this cupcake! It's crazy amazing delicious.

The Bar of Chocolate

Last night my friend DeAnne and I went to The Bar of Chocolate on Wharf Street. It was our grand scheme for a few weeks to do a tour of "DeAnne's Favorite Bars", both of them I had not been to before (the other being the Armory). Our first stop was to The Bar of Chocolate. DeAnne had been there a few times and mentioned that sometimes they had cupcakes, so it was definitely something that I wanted to check out. They didn't have any cupcakes last night, but they did have a delicious boca negra, which was a bourbon chocolate torte. It was amazing. The torte was like the inside of a Dean's Sweets truffle. So decadent and rich.

DeAnne and I both had the torte and also absinthe, as you can tell from the pictures. It was the first time I have ever tried absinthe. The whole process was what I liked the most about it. We had to pour water over the sugar cube a couple of times for it to melt into the liquor. It was very sweet, if you have never had absinthe it has a licorice taste to it, and a nice pairing with the torte. The flavors balanced each other out really well. I really liked the whole atmosphere at The Bar of Chocolate. We sat in cozy chairs next to the windows, where we could see fancy patrons for Cinque Terre coming and going, while we enjoyed our treat. I can tell that for future ladies night's out on the town, we will definitely be hitting it up again.

The only thing that is getting me through this week is the fact that I can, on my one day off (Sunday), have a cup of soup at Kamasouptra, a fresh squeezed lemonade and a Tulips Cupcakery cupcake for lunch. Then, before my group meeting at five, you better believe I'm getting some gelato as well! Strange how the life of a full time graduate student and accountant during tax season makes you just wish for the simpler things in life. Like soup and cupcakes. Now if only Bangkok Thai was still around so I could have my old stand by tax season staple, Rama Tofu.

Valentine's Day Treat

Red heart shaped bagel from Mister Bagel in Brunswick, with cinnamon raisin tofu.

Tulips Cupcakery: The Perfect Valentine

I went into Kamasouptra today to get some soup after a particularly long group meeting for my MBA Practicum course. I saw a few cupcakes from Tulips Cupcakery that I had not seen before! One with adorable pink frosting and another one that looked like red velvet cake. I asked what flavors they were and found that the adorable one was champagne with raspberry frosting and the other was in fact a red velvet cupcake. The champagne cupcake came highly recommended from the woman working at Kamasouptra, so I had to try it. She let me know that in the middle there was raspberry curd, which I think was the perfect complement to the cupcake. It was just the right amount of tart to offset the sweetness of the cupcake. The cake itself tasted almost like a sugar cookie. It was a nice base for the frosting and the raspberry curd in the middle. None of the flavors had to compete with each other, which is a nice change of pace from some cupcakes that are a little too overwhelming. The frosting was creamy and not too sweet, to the point that I could have a bite of just the frosting and not feel an immediate cavity coming on, like some frosting makes me feel.

One thing that I love about Tulips Cupcakery is the fact that most of their cupcakes look like a little flower. Seriously, look at how adorable that cupcake is! These champagne with raspberry frosting cupcakes would make the perfect Valentine's gift for a loved one. I was trying to save my red velvet cupcake that I bought for tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure after dinner tonight I will be eating that one as well.

Gorgeous Gelato

Caution: This entry has little to nothing to do with cupcakes, but everything to do with my other love, gelato. My love affair with gelato began at the ripe old age of sixteen. I was fortunate enough to take a trip with my high school to Greece and Italy, which was where I had my first exposure to the delicacy that is gelato. I’m quite sure that not many people, at least in the great state of Maine, can say that their first taste of gelato was in Rome. To say that I was thrilled when the Gelato Fiasco opened in Brunswick would be an understatement. Their gelato is utter perfection in my mind. That is another review waiting to happen though.

Today I will be focusing on Gorgeous Gelato! I heard that they had opened earlier this year, but for some reason it took me a little while to actually make the time to go down to their Fore street location (434 Fore St.) Upon walking into their shop, I was immediately impressed by the décor. I also really liked that you could see into the kitchen where they make the gelato.

They had a selection of gelato that was smaller than I am used to, Gelato Fiasco has a massive selection on a daily basis, but what they did have was more than adequate. I am sure as they continue to build as a business and have more customers they will add more flavors on a daily basis. I'm not sure they even need to though, as the flavors they had were really good. I asked the man who was working (who I am assuming was one of the owners) if I could have multiple flavors in my serving. He agreed to my request, probably thinking that I might want two, maybe three at most. However, I like variety as I have stated before. My love of tiny cupcakes has to do with the fact that I can have multiple flavors and yet not overeat. So I decided on having four.

Gorgeous Gelato allows the customer to taste test different flavors before deciding on the final one (or four) that they will purchase. I love this about gelato places, as the Gelato Fiasco also does this. After testing out the berries cream, I decided on the four flavors that would make up my small sized serving. Of course after my first taste of the berries cream I had to have that, as well as rum chocolate, orange chocolate and Oreo. When the man handed me my selection he said “here is your gelato puzzle!”

Both of the chocolate flavors were dark chocolate with a hint of either orange or rum. I could actually taste the rum in the rum chocolate, which was impressive. I’m not sure what I expected when I ordered it, but I didn’t actually expect to taste the rum. I think my favorite flavors (all of them were fantastic) were the berries cream and Oreo. The Oreo was much better than any Oreo ice cream I have ever had. I’ve always been a fan of Oreo ice cream, but after having Gorgeous Gelato’s version of Oreo I’m not sure I can ever have the ice cream version again. Once you’ve had the best, you can’t settle for the rest.

I’m fairly certain that Gorgeous Gelato will have a cult following through the winter and once the summer months start to show up there will be nonstop lines. Seriously, if you want to get in on a good thing before the crowds start to appear go there now. I am so excited for a fantastic gelato place to be in Portland.