So much junk food, so little time

The past couple days have been a whirlwind of impulsively bought junk food.  Look for reviews of:

• Limited Edition Pepsi Summer Mix
• Pringles Bacon Ranch
• Cocoa Deli Belgian Chocolate Caramel Crunch Truffle Bar
• Limited Edition Chocolate Pop Rocks
• Chocolate Bubble Yum
• Spicy Tamari Whole Grain Chips

We also went to a newly opened African restaurant in Naperville called Masala Yangu.  I’ll be writing that up as well.  But, I’ve never met friendlier staff.  And that’s no joke.

Marsala, Marsala, (Tofu) Marsala

A couple weeks ago Katie and I took a break from dining out and actually decided to cook. Our friend Sabrina pointed me to a recipe for Tofu Marsala which seemed interesting. Always up for something new, we gave it a shot. What makes it funny, and gives my family an infinite amount of teasing fodder, is that it’s a mushroom heavy dish.

Now you have to understand. When I was a child, I believed that mushrooms were the devil. Squishy, flavorless and tough to chew, I didn’t see the attraction. And the idea of eating fungus was just gross. Of course, as I child I believed most vegetables were either A) Gross or B) a work of the dark lord Satan. As I grew older, however, I learned that mushrooms are not the work of the devil, only CANNED mushrooms were. I love fresh mushrooms. I love buying a variety of wild mushrooms and using them in place of the typical white or champagne type. I usually can’t AFFORD that, but I love to do it.

This meant that mushrooms were off the satanic-panic list. Now, I may rock with the horned-lord Beelzebub as an adult, but my list hasn’t gone away. You see I still believe that pickles and broccoli are still the work of some dark, evil power, sent to torture taste buds, stomachs and souls with disgusting, gassy food. Do not question me on this. I can sense evil in these vegetables. Lesser demons include beets, brussel sprouts, and canned asparagus.

I digress. The Tofu Marsala is heavy on the mushrooms. We made some mistakes in judgment when preparing a side dish, though. Don’t put this dish over rice. The rice ultimate soaks up the sauce, and takes away the flavor. Also, 6 cups of mushrooms seemed excessive. Maybe that’s me, but the tofu seemed lost to the mushrooms. I’d say go with 4 or 5 to balance things out a bit better. Use your own judgment of course.

Tofu Marsala (adapted from Eating Well)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 package extra-firm tofu, drained, rinsed and cut crosswise into eight 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 large shallots, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4-5 cups sliced cremini or white mushrooms
1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Whisk 1/4 cup cornstarch, flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Pat tofu with paper towel to remove excess moisture.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge 4 tofu slices in the flour mixture, add them to the pan and cook until crispy and golden, about 3 minutes per side. Place the tofu on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven to keep warm. Repeat with another tablespoon of oil and the remaining tofu, adjusting the heat if necessary to prevent scorching.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, shallots and thyme to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the shallots are slightly soft and beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until tender and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in Marsala and simmer until slightly reduced, about 1 minute.

Whisk the remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch with broth and tomato paste in a small bowl. Stir into the mushroom mixture, return to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until thick and glossy, about 4 minutes. To serve, spoon the hot sauce over the tofu.

Serves 4

That Pita Place – Naperville, IL

If it’s one thing Katie and I miss, it’s the falafel from Olive Branch in downtown Naperville. It was a tiny restaurant that could easily be passed up, but if they didn’t make the greatest falafel, falafel sandwiches and stuffed grape leaves I’ve ever had. One day they were gone, replaced by a pizza place, which was then replaced by Olive Branch, only to become a completely empty store front.So, looking for a good falafel sandwich in the suburbs, a friend recommended That Pita Place on Ogden Ave. While not a traditional Middle Eastern restaurant by any stretch of the imagination, they do offer a falafel sandwich, and that’s all I needed to hear.

The restaurant feels more like a sandwich or hot dog joint. You almost expect to see a Vienna Beef sign lit up in the window. The store is small, with maybe only 5 or 6 tables, but with a place like this, are you really looking for a classy sit down joint? Hell no! Pita! Now!

Everything from falafel, to stir-fry to meat kabobs is, like the name says, stuffed into a pita. You’re given your choice of toppings, Subway style, it’s wrapped, and you get to eat. It’s a nice alternative from the typical fast food burgers or sub sandwich fare, which is an even nicer break for me, since I’m tired of having my choice between Subway or Potbelly (I don’t like Quiznos or Jimmy Johns).

But how does the food, and in particular the falafel, stand up? Not bad. The falafel sandwich was good, but not amazing. It felt a little light on the falafel to be honest, and the falafel that were in there were a bit dry. On the plus side, the toppings were fresh, and it was a decently sized meal, leaving me full, but not disgustingly so.

Katie’s chicken kabob sandwich earned approval, but she also felt it was missing something. She said the chicken was good, and prepared properly, but overall she wasn’t wowed.

The most disappointing thing about That Pita Place is that it’s simply okay. It’d be easier to say it just wasn’t good at all, because I wanted to really like it. I would go there in a heart beat if I had to choose between them or a chain sandwich shop, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get there.

It’s a mild recommendation. If you’re in the area looking for a quick bite to eat, and you don’t like the usual fast food grease, give it a shot.

That Pita Place
1603 North Aurora Rd. #113
Naperville, IL 60563
630-369-7482

Crispy Waffles (now Tasty Waffles) – Romeoville, IL

Determined not to relive our: A) underwhelming, B) depressing, c) disgusting…experience at Oxford Street Cafe from the previous week, Katie and I decided that come hell or high water we would find Crispy Waffle and have a REAL meal…dammit! Of course, if I would have bothered to double checked the address and NOT assumed I knew where it was, there wouldn’t have even been a review of Oxford Street Cafe.

But I did it for you. WE did it for you. Sacrificing our fragile minds for the betterment of suburban humanity, and RomeoVILLAINS in particular.

Crispy Waffle, located at 638 S Weber Rd #642, is in a developing area of Romeoville. That’s nice way of saying, “There ain’t shit else out there, yet.” It’s in a small strip mall area that also houses China China, and Cilantro Mexican Grill (review coming shortly). You can tell the surrounding area is going to be built up like mad though, because the ground has been razed, and “Retail lots available” signs mark the empty spaces. For all the folks who don’t want to drive to Bolingbrook, Romeoville is getting a Target in that area. Suck on that, world! We’re getting a Target!

So, short review: Crispy Waffle equals delicious.

The restaurant is open and bright with plenty of natural lighting. The atmosphere *feels* friendly and relaxed, if such a thing is possible. We were quickly seated, and our waitress was at the booth every few minutes checking to see if we were ready to order or had any questions.

The menu is wide and varied, making a choice difficult. There were plain waffles and specialty waffles. There are pancakes and oven-baked pancakes. I don’t even know what that means, but I’m willing to wait the 45-minute baking time to find out. There blintzes and French toast and crepes! Nutella-filled crepes! With a pleasant surprise, they even offer a vegetarian eggs benedict. What’s better? I’ve only covered 1/3 of the menu. You could make several trips to Crispy Waffle and still not repeat yourself. That doesn’t happen at a breakfast place often, especially if you’re vegetarian. You usually have the same few stand-by’s and nothing else.

My breakfast selection was the European Crepes, which were stuffed with Nutella chocolate and fresh cherries. That’s right, I said fresh. They were also HUGE. 3 of them filling a 12″ plate huge. Dusted with powder sugar and topped with more cherries, I was full before I was 2/3 done, but didn’t want to leave any behind. The crepes were light and fluffy, the cherries just the right level of tart, and the Nutella was chocolatey delicious.

Katie tried their chocolate chip waffles, which were done the proper way. The batter was filled with the chocolate chips, and it was generously doused in mini chocolate chips on top. The waffle was huge, and as the name of the restaurant says, crispy.

As a side dish we ordered some hash browns, which were grease free, and packed with red and green peppers, as well as onions. Quite tasty.

Some of the prices are a bit…uh…pricey, although that was mostly for their specialty dishes. The best part of the meal though, aside from the food, was that our waitress actually stopped by to talk to us about our meal. She asked what I thought of the crepes, because she has a customer who comes in every week and only orders that, but the waitress had yet to try them herself. It was just one of those things that made you think, “This place is pretty okay.”

You know how I know this is a good place? Writing this review made me hungry to go back. I’m upset that we didn’t go there yesterday or today, because now I want there Oven-Baked Large Apple Pancake. I must know what it is, and how it tastes. It’s large! With apples! And it’s a baked pancake! I must have it!

Crispy Waffle
638 S. Weber Road #642
Romeoville, IL 60446
815.439.8185
Open 7 Days a week 6 AM – 4 PM

Spicy Cocoa Sloppy Joes & Whole Wheat Buns

With Katie starting a new CNA position she’s been working every other weekend, which leaves me with more time on my hands than usual. What does this mean? Time to experiment with some frakkin’ baking! The weekend usually means I prepare meals for the next week. I try to make something that is: A) Cheap, B) Tasty, C) Makes at least 5 servings.

Friday, I stumbled upon a Hershey’s recipe for Spicy Cocoa Sloppy Joes. The recipe fit 2 out of my 3 requirements, and I was hoping it would also taste good. I was a little frightened at the prospect of using chocolate in a savory dish, as the last time I had some savory chocolate, I was at the Chocolate Festival in Chicago, and let’s just say the photos of me trying the Mexican chocolate need to be burned. But oh, my friends did laugh.

But hey, I’m not one to give up on something. So, I attacked this dish with gusto. I even searched online for a hamburger bun recipe as well. If I had the time, I may as well learn a couple new recipes as once.

I started with some whole wheat buns. The recipe was simple enough, although I would have rolled the dough out to 1/2 inch thick instead of 3/4 inch. Either that or cook them for longer than the ten minutes the recipe calls for. While cooked, the buns were a little heavy as the dead centers were still a little too moist. Live and learn. The recipe said it made 10 buns, but I was only able to pull 7 (and a tiny baby one) out of the dough.

I adapted the recipe for the sloppy joes to meet my vegetarian needs. The only other difference was I added a little extra ketchup to make the joes a little juicier. The final result is a tasty, tangy meal, with just a hint of the cocoa. You can actually smell it more than you can taste it.

I’ve packed and frozen individual servings of the dish, and I’ll get to try the final result tomorrow. But, from the samples I snook, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.

And on a side note, I quite like the new Diet Coke Plus.

Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
1 1/4 cups warm water (about 100F)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 scant Tbsp yeast
4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
Melted butter
Sesame seeds (optional)

Combine water, oil, sugar and yeast. Mix thoroughly and let rest for 15 minutes. Mix in the salt, egg yolk, whole wheat and bread flour and combine until mixed (at least 10 minutes). On a floured board, roll the dough out until it is about 1/2-inch thick. Cut circles of dough about 4-inch in diameter with a cutter (mine were 3 1/2 inches).

Place the buns on a cookie sheet, brush the tops with melted butter, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and allow to raise for 30 minutes.

Bake at 425F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes between 7 and 10 buns (depending on thickness)

Spicy Cocoa Sloppy Joes (adapted from Hershey website)
1 1/2 pounds (2 packages) Morningstar Farms vegetarian meat crumbles
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Cook vegetarian crumbles and onion in large skillet on medium heat until onion is tender. Add a teaspoon or two of water as needed to help saute the onion.

Stir in ketchup, cocoa, mustard, chili powder, pepper and salt. Heat 10 to 15 minutes on low heat or until hot. Serve in buns. About 4-1/2 cups sandwich filling or 6, 3/4 cup servings.

Cho Dang Tofu – Naperville, IL

For the longest time, I was convinced Chinese, or any Asian, food was all the same. You could get fried rice, egg foo yung, or any of the other typical dishes from anywhere and they’d all look and taste alike. I live in suburban hell, it’s all I knew growing up. As I got older though, and more importantly, got my own car, I started expanding my horizons.

I’m no snob when it comes to Chinese food, because I still love me a MSG induced comas; but you’d be hard pressed to get me into any of the Chinese buffets that litter the local landscape. The last time I ordered from one, 1999, their “fried rice” consisted of white rice, corn and broccoli. I wish it was a joke. Gimme places like Lao Sze Schuan in Chicago/Downers Grove, Fabulous Noodles or Grand Mandarin in Lisle, Wild Tuna or now Cho Dang Tofu in Naperville. The food is more authenticate, and the flavors have actual, you know, flavor.

Located at 1271 E. Ogden Ave #119, next to the Ogden 6 Cinema, Cho Dang Tofu Village feels pretty authenticate to me. The small, no frills, restaurant with cafeteria lighting wastes no time in delivering the goods. We sat down and were given a rice soup, the base for all the side dishes that were about to be delivered to our table. With items like kim chee, pickled sprouts, raw eggs, and even squid delivered on a tray, we were instructed to mix in the items as we saw fit to create our own soup. Our party was both impressed, and a little weary of all the potent flavors that had been thrust upon us. The results were mixed, seeing as how we didn’t know what the perfect combination would be to create the perfect bowl of soup. But we enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

Appetizers consisted of a gourmet tofu salad. Soft tofu and almonds sat atop a variety of lettuces, all covered in their delicious house sauce. Katie ordered steamed chicken dumplings which she gave a mighty thumbs up to.

The main menu consists of several soups, from pork to vegetable dumplings, with the main ingredient being tofu. You can select one of three rices to go with it, along with your level of heat. I found the medium spice was a nice burn, but am still curious to see if hot would bring the heat. Katie ordered the beef, while I naturally ordered the vegetable dumpling. Along with our rice we were also given a couple more raw eggs, and were told to enjoy.

My food was delicious. Beyond delicious. I offered up a sample of the salad to everyone, but only reluctantly. I could have eaten that as my main dish. The dressing, oh the dressing. It was just so tangy and sweet. The soup was delivered in an individual-sized bubbling cauldron, and was also quite tasty. Having tofu as the base, the soup was quite mild in flavor, but still filled you up.

Katie’s experience with her soup was a little different. She thought the beef was a little chewy, possibly because the meat had been stewed or steamed as opposed to typical American cooking. She preferred my soup over hers.

But we all agreed that Cho Dang provided a great experience. Our table was full of empty bowls (pictured), and none of us complained about going home hungry. The staff was friendly, explaining anything we didn’t understand, and constantly making sure we were happy. We’ll definitely be making a return visit.

Oh, and although I’ve been a vegetarian for over a decade, I decided to dive in head first and try the kim chee squid. It was surprisingly tasty. I used to hate the chewy texture of squid and calamari, but this was cooked to a crispness even I could applaud.

As an aside, if your mouth is on fire (with passionate love?), there is a gelato cafe only a few store fronts down. While not my favorite gelato place in Naperville, it was still quite tasty.

Oxford Street Cafe – Romeoville, IL

I’m sorry Carrabba‘s, I didn’t want to take your title away from you so soon. You really were the worst meal I’ve had in ages, until this past Friday. The new reigning champ is Oxford Street Cafe here in Romeoville. With the double whammy of bad food and apathetic service, with a dose of poor managerial skills, Oxford takes the crown of “Worst Dining Experience Ever”

With Katie having the morning off, we decided to go get some breakfast. We haven’t eaten a breakfast out in quite awhile, and decided to treat ourselves. With full intentions of checking out Crispy Waffles, also in Romeoville, I, pardon my French, fucked up the address. We were starving, and about 3-4 miles where we were supposed to be. Instead of making the trek, we instead settled for trying out Oxford Street Cafe instead. We should have driven the 4 miles.

Located at 38 S. Weber Road next to the Jewel in Romeoville, Oxford Street Cafe is very much your typical family owned restaurant. It may be a stereotype, but it felt like every Greek family restaurant I’ve ever stepped into. The menu also reflected that. There was nothing special about it, yet nothing stood out either. We were seated by the manager’s 8-year-old daughter after yelling she wanted to do it, and grabbing the menus from his hand. Our waitress stopped by asking if we wanted anything to drink, and then told us we would have to wait because they were out of clean glasses. Never mind that it was just turning noon.

I glanced over the lunch/dinner menu, but there wasn’t much or anything there for vegetarians. Looking at the breakfast menu, their Greek omelette (spinach and feta cheese) caught my eye, but I ultimately chose the apple cinnamon Belgian waffle. Katie went with the chocolate chip Belgian waffle. We also ordered a side of hash browns, because who doesn’t love shredded potatoes?

After delivering the food, we saw our waitress only once briefly, which was probably for the better. Katie’s waffle had maybe 2 dozen chocolate chips tossed on top, while my waffle seemed to have 3/4 of a can of canned apple pie filling dumped onto it. Katie took a bite of her waffle, looked at me, and whispered, “This isn’t good.” Not having paid attention to my waffles, I didn’t notice they were shimmering with gelatinous goo. It clung to my fork as I spread it around the waffle, and yeah, it was apple pie filling. If there was cinnamon, I didn’t notice it. The waffles themselves were nearly flavorless, relying heavily on the topping. Unfortunately, the hash browns didn’t carry any flavor either. While they weren’t greasy, they weren’t really anything.

We ate quickly, but not quickly enough to watch the manager yell at one of his staff not once, but twice on the floor in front of the few customers he had. The first time he reprimanded him for using the wrong type of container for soup. The second time Katie heard him grumble to the kid, “There’s 4 or 5 more just like you.” If the food didn’t makes us lose our appetite, the poor managerial skills did the trick.

To makes matters all the worse, it looked like the entire extended family was hanging out at the bar. When we went to pay our bill, some random guy wearing a ball cap and sweat shirt rang us up.

I couldn’t help but turn to Katie went we finally got out that it was the worst meal I’ve possibly had. The restaurant felt like it was about to close due to lack of business, and after getting mediocre food with a shocking floor show, I’m not surprised if that was the case.

Finding a good breakfast joint here in the suburbs isn’t easy. The best we’ve found so far has been Egg Harbor in Naperville. But, until we discover otherwise, we’ve easily found the worst.

Root Beer Float Sandwich Cookies, Part Two

As promised, I’ve returned with the recipes for the Root Beer cookies. This recipe garnered the most responses I’ve received over on my other blog in a long while. Apparently, people like food, and LOVE sugar.

When I first read about the root bear float cookies on Culinary in the Desert Country I was intrigued. I’m always looking for unique new ideas to play with. Some work out, some don’t (like my honey lavender biscotti); but even in failure I have fun.

The final cookie reminds me of a light and fluffy snickerdoodle, or at least the snickerdoodles I get from Noodles and Co. (Tasty!) The main difference being, of course, is that the cinnamon is replaced with a light root beer flavor provided by the crushed candies. I thought they needed more root beer flavor, but after testing them out on my army of culinary guinea pigs, I was told it was just right; too much more would over power the cookie, and more importantly, the enamel on your teeth.

The other mistake I made was stupidly putting the glaze on these cookies, but not refrigerating them afterwards, leaving a mess in my container. It was like try to peel your skin off a leather car seat during the height of summer. It wasn’t pretty. They were still tasty, but not pretty.

I wasn’t satisfied though. They were called Root Beer FLOAT Cookies, but I didn’t think they tasted ENOUGH like a root beer float. I started working on ideas. At first, I thought making a vanilla dip would work. People could simply dip the cookies into a bowl of creme to get that soda fountain taste. But what if you weren’t hosting a dinner where you could plate things properly? I needed to make the creme transportable. And the idea struck me. Sandwich cookies! They come FILLED with creme.

I scoured the internet for the type of recipe I was looking for, before settling on a simple one found on the Food Network website. After a three day process (due to my own time constrictions), the cookies were done.  My culinary guinea pigs jumped at the chance to try these new cookies out, and I received all thumbs up from the crowd.  I was told they were, at different times, “like an orgasm in my mouth” and “This is one step down from heroin!”  One friend even asked what I was doing wasting my time at my current job when I could obviously be making a mint baking.  There are days when I ask myself the same thing, but unless a bakery can get by only make 3 or 4 things, I haven’t gotten to a sellable point yet.  But that’s neither here nor there.  Onto the recipe!

Root Beer Float Sandwich Cookies  (adapted from Culinary in the Desert)

Cookie
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 cup packed brown sugar
8 tablespoons butter, softened
2 eggs
1/3 cup finely crushed candy root beer barrels

Vanilla-Cream Filling:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cookies
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture and crushed candies.

Place dough in a bowl, and refrigerate or freeze overnight.  You could probably just drop 1-2 tsp of dough onto the baking sheet as well, skipping this step entirely, but I was being meticulous, as I tend to do.

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees.

When dough is still cold and firm, take half the dough and roll it out on flat surface until it’s 1/4 – 1/3 inches thick.  I used a 1 1/2 inch square-shaped fondant cutter to guarantee uniformity*.  Place cookies on a greased baking sheet, giving enough room for the squares to expand.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  I baked mine for 8 to guarantee softness.  While the first batch is baking, repeat the rolling and cutting for the second half of the dough.  All told, you should get about 48 cookies out of the dough.

Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on a wire rack, but make sure they’re soft enough to cut with the fondant cutter again.  Take each of the cookies, and press the fondant cutter into the middle, guaranteeing the uniformity we lost in the baking process.  Allow the new squares to cool completely.  You now have a 48 strong mini cookie army!

While making the creme, refrigerate or freeze the cookies, making them firmer for the construction process.

Vanilla-Cream Filling
Put the butter and shortening in a mixing bowl.  At low speed, slowly mix in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until well blended. Turn the mixer up to high and beat for 2 or 3 minutes, until stiff, but fluffy.  It make take more than 2 minutes.  You be the judge.

Cut the tip off a pastry bag and pipe teaspoon size (or larger) blobs of filling onto the smooth bottoms of half the cookies. Keeping the smooth bottoms of the cookies facing up, flip the remaining cookies on top of the filling and lightly press to form the sandwiches.

Makes about 24 finished cookies.

 * Don’t feel you need to use a square cookie cutter to get the job done.  Hell, you can make two large cookies, fill those with frosting, write your suicide note, and die a happy person.  Ladies?  Looking for a bachelorette favor?  Cut these into fun penis shapes!  It’s really up to you.

Leave a comment if you make them.  I’d like to see how your version turned out.

Root Beer Float Sandwich Cookies

Root Beer Float Sandwich Cookies

Originally uploaded by twobites.

Sorry I haven’t posted in the last couple days (for those few that read this), but I have good reason! I’ve been experimenting with food, and just finished my newest creation. Using a recipe found online (which I’ll post soonish), and a recipe for vanilla sandwich cookie cream filling, I created a Root Beer Float Sandwich Cookie. They taste like a drink of root beer with a mouthful of ice cream.

As my coworker D.B. just said, “This is the next closest thing to heroin. I can feel the sugar going down.”

That’s going on the packaging.

Carolina Caramel – Chicago, IL

Indulgence. That’s usually the keyword when we hang out with our friends N8 and Elaine in Chicago. And our visit to Carolina Caramel was no exception.

Located in the South Loop area (3 blocks south of Roosevelt Road), Carolina’s is easy to miss (as I did the first time we were looking for it). It’s a small space in the South Loop, with simple storefront signage.

Inside, the space is cozy, with a few tables set up by the windows in the front and a dance floor set up near the register. Yes, you read that right, a dance floor. The draw to Carolina’s is that they offer something sweet to eat, something good to drink, and someplace fun to chill out with your friends. A DJ plays live music each night they’re open, taking requests from the customers. The night we were there (Sunday night), we were the only people in the place and after a few requests, the DJ started playing music geared specifically for us.

And that’s what really sets this place apart from everywhere else. The customer service and care is AMAZING. We were walked through the menu, told about the specials, and were than given time to make our decisions. Each of the cakes can be purchased in either a cupcake form, or a large slab of cake. And that weekend was St. Patty’s Day, so as a special they were offering key lime pie, which is really all they needed to say.

Katie and I went, what’s the word, crazy. We doubled up on everything, wanting to try it all. We made sure to order the caramel, red velvet, double chocolate and key lime pie cupcakes, trying to make sure we weren’t acting TOO gluttonous in our portion sizes. Cupcakes are smaller, and that makes them healthier…right?

After ordering at the register, we sat back down and they brought the food out to us. Katie thought the caramel cupcake was the best of the evening, while I loved the double chocolate. My red velvet cupcake was a little dry; although I was told by N8 the red velvet cake was perfect. The key lime cup cake was the most disappointing, as the flavor seemed to reside only in the frosting.

But as I said, while the desserts may not have been the best I’ve ever had, good customer service can go a long way to winning me over. Carolina Caramel was one of the most welcoming restaurants we’ve ever been to. And with a little recipe tweaking, they could really prove to be an outstanding little place to go when you just want some good dessert, and a chill place to talk to your friends.

P.S. For those that drink it, they brew only Intelligentsia coffee.

Carolina Caramel
1511 S. State St.
Chicago, IL 60605

312.922.5007

http://www.carolinacaramel.com