dessert

Day 362: 85 Degrees

85 Degrees Bakery Cafe

Sad that fantasy football is over? Go eat at 85 Degrees Bakery Cafe.

My fantasy football season ended tonight.

I was on a nine-game winning streak that led me to win my division and lock up the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. I squeaked by my first-round opponent with a 5-point win, then faced the guy who has become my nemesis.

Mike and I met in last year’s championship game, where he beat me. This year, as Yogi Berra would’ve said, was deja vu all over again, as I lost by 12 points to Mike’s team.

In the Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda department, I sat Todd Gurley and his 15 points for Ted Ginn Jr.’s less than 1 point. I didn’t think Gurley would do much against the Seahawks’ defense (the same defense that locked down my other RB Adrian Peterson a few weeks ago), so I went with the hot hand in Cam Newton and his favorite target over the last three weeks.

Of course, Ginn came crashing back down to earth, thus giving me no chance to win my third championship.

I’d be more upset, but I wouldn’t have been in the game anyway if my kicker Blair Walsh hadn’t exploded for 21 points. Plus, having two titles under my belt some of the sting away from the loss. Just a little.

I drowned my sorrows away with some treats from the phenomenal 85 Degrees Bakery Cafe. Pictured above: walnut multigrain bread, cinnamon twist, green onion bread, boroh danish, and calamari sticks. Not pictured: their extraordinary iced sea salt coffee. It’s all sinfully delicious and my hands-on research has proven that it does wonders for one’s mood when the fantasy football season ends.

Day 342: Snack Time

Seafood City Snack Aisle

Seafood City Snack Aisle

My wife and I enjoyed Korean spicy tofu soup tonight and we were craving dessert. She opted for Jolibee’s delicious peach mango pie (think old school McDonald’s apple pie, but better) while I spent way too much time at Seafood City’s snack aisle (shown above).

I wanted Pocky, but they didn’t have the regular ol’ flavor. Instead, there was strawberry, green tea, and some ultra-thin variety that looked like the regular, but I wasn’t in a trusting mood. I just wanted straight-up Pocky.

I went to the knockoff Pockys next, like Pejoy (no chocolate flavor available) and Jack and Jill (I didn’t like these last time). There was even something called Pretz, but when I saw they had pizza flavor, I decided to go with something else: Lucky.

Lucky wasn’t exactly Pocky, but it had a similar taste and it looked like a chocolate light saber, which is all I ask for in any Pocky rip-off: chocolate flavor and a shaky resemblance to a Star Wars weapon.

Day 233: Alfajor

Alfajor.

Alfajor.

My family had dinner at our favorite Peruvian restaurant tonight and for dessert we had a few alfajores. An alfajor is basically a cookie sandwich filled with dulce de leche and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

In other words, it’s AMAZING.

Day 203: Ube Flan Cupcake

Ube Flan Cupcake

Ube Flan Cupcake

This is my new favorite cupcake: ube with a leche flan topping. The last time I had an ube cupcake this tasty was from the now-defunct The Manila Machine. I’ve tried a few others since then, but Baked Dessert Bar’s was phenomenal. It wasn’t overwhemingly sweet, yet packed with flavor in every bite.

At today’s soft opening, my wife and I also ordered three macarons (Milo chocolate, salted caramel, and ube) that were all outstanding. We spent a total of $10 for the cupcake and macarons, which more than satisfied our sweet tooth. Normally I wouldn’t be too happy about paying so much for such a small amount of food, but I know how labor-intensive it is to make the macarons. For now, we’ll reserve our trips to Baked Dessert Bar for special occasions only.

Of course, I’ll be making up excuses for special occasions much more frequently.

 

Day 149: Summer Craving

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Every year around this time, I crave mango ice cream. Summer is getting closer, but my craving comes from an unlikely source: the Los Angeles Lakers.

I’ve been to the last eight Lakers championship parades, dating back to  when Magic Johnson led a rally in front of the old city hall. I was at the Forum when Pat Riley made The Guarantee. I was on Figueroa and 7th for the ShaKobe years.

After a few of the parades, my brothers and I made it to Little Tokyo for lunch and dessert. We’re fans of a little nondescript ice cream shop tucked away in the Japanese Village Plaza. They serve a delicious mango ice cream and it always tasted the best on warm June days, especially after a parade.