From the pink-painted storefront to the hearts-filled window display, Lawrence's Pink Box Bakeshop (727 Massachusetts) is frosted in cloying sweetness. But the treats inside temper the visual blood-sugar spike.
If I could find an all-carbohydrate diet that wouldn't shorten my life span, I'd sign up in a healthy heartbeat and let cinnamon rolls have their own food group. So when I saw a pan brimming with a freshly baked batch, I had to have one.
When you think of cotton candy, it might bring back memories or the circus or the county fair. Well, Golden Corral is about to crush all of those memories.
According to Restaurant News, the buffet company has already placed machines in two of its restaurants, with plans to put them in all of its venues.
People no longer scream for just ice cream -- there seems to be plenty of demand for snow cones.
With bakeries, it's all too easy to get into routines. I get my povitica at MeMa's (unless I'm near Strawberry Hill), my lemon cookie at JaWa Le's Bakery-Bistro, and my mini muffins at the Classic Cookie.
When you start to have the exact change ready or the counter staff doesn't even bother to ask what else you want, you might be in a bit of a rut. To that point, I've never walked out of Boulevard Bakery & Pastries with anything other than decorated cookies.
The bakery in the Northeast (2815 Independence Avenue, a few blocks west of Van Brunt) is a step back in time, with checkerboard linoleum floors and a long pastry case that dominates the L-shaped counter. This is where I go when I need cookies for a birthday party or a get-well gift -- just as countless Kansas Citians have done since the bakery opened in 1991.
But in an effort to explore what's to the right (creamhorns, chocolate fudgies and Radar bars) and to the left (pastries, danishes and turnovers), I was determined to walk out with a white box that didn't contain a red ladybug or yellow bumblebee cookie. The two pastries that follow might have just been added to my regular order.
The next time you need to decorate your tree because world leaders are coming over for Christmas dinner, you should call Kodi Malott.
Malott, of Kodi's Cakes in Kansas City, Kansas, was recently asked to create a series of cookie ornaments for the Christmas tree at the Blair House -- the President's guest house, across the street from the White House. It's where foreign heads of state stay while they're visiting and this month, they'll see Malott's creations.
"It's exciting to think that something I made is going to hang from a
Christmas tree and be seen by all of these world leaders and potentially President Obama," says Malott.
Gum has become complicated. The packaging is slick and the flavors are complex. You don't just get bubble gum-flavored gum any more.
Wondering whether it was worth the hype and price ($1.49 for a 14-pack), I picked up two packages of new Trident Layers Gum. And my expectations were high based on the current ad campaign which suggests people would be happy to be paid in gum. It also promises "layers and layers of flavor."
The world of pranks has come to jelly beans with Bean Boozled Jelly Beans -- the latest product from the Jelly Belly Candy Company.
It's a clever repackaging of the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans -- a licensed Harry Potter candy that featured ear wax, vomit and bacon flavors. (The bacon was kind of tasty in an artificially bacon sort of way.) But with Harry Potter leaving movie theaters shortly and the books having ceased publication in 2007, Jelly Belly needed to find a use for its collection of nasty flavors.
Booger is still included, thank goodness, in the customizable tins that pair two identically colored but very differently flavored jelly beans (such as black jelly beans that taste like either skunk spray or licorice). In case you were getting tired of barf or baby-wipes flavors, you can enjoy centipede and canned dog food in the second edition.
It's about time the prank candy market was updated. We've been dealing with gum that turns your mouth black, blue or red since my childhood. Or the hard candy that once the outer coating dissolves is suddenly a fish-flavored lozenge. And dirty-worded fortune cookies should have been retired long ago.
Now we can have the sophisticated joy of the bait-and-switch and watch our loved ones suffer through pencil shavings and moldy cheese flavors. But this kind of humor comes with a steep price -- a half-ounce customized tin is $3.49.
[Image via Flickr: goobimama]
It was a wicker basket, roughly the size of a birthday sheet cake. The bags of bulk candy were placed next to it, awaiting the traditional layout to maximize space and presentation -- an effort to be neither appreciated nor acknowledged by the first group of trick-or-treaters who would tear my efforts asunder in their desire to get to the Snickers faster.
I'm talking about the candy bowl of my youth -- the basket that seemed to appear just before Halloween -- taken from a cupboard where it rested in preparation for the biggest night of the year.
It is not necessarily a fancy bowl. In many cases, it's simply the largest one you have. But the act of filling it and giving away the contents to your neighbors elevates that bowl's status. If candy has a hope chest, this is it.
| Union Station celebrates the art of chocolate |
The exhibition is a multi-sensory experience and features the aroma of chocolate wafting through the air in various settings. A variety of tastings are scheduled through the run, including chocolate and wine pairings and chocolate and vodka tastings.
Union Station is also seeking chocolate-loving volunteers to serve as greeters, ticket-takers and exhibition attendants.
(Image via Flickr:(c)pacificist)
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