Dough Donuts Blood orange donut: Brooklyn Donut shop Dough Donuts serves ginormous donuts with vibrantly colored glazes. This blood orange donut came with a candied slice of blood orange. Brioche-based dough makes the donuts neither light and fluffy nor overly dense - somewhat middling as far as small-batch donuts go. Blood orange glaze was very sugary but had a decent citrus flavor. Best part was definitely the candied slice, with its sharp tart flavor. 3.0/5.0
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Saigon Bakery Che Ba Mau: I’ve always been curious about the array of brightly colored pre-made beverages / desserts at Saigon Bakery in the Tenderloin District of SF and decided to finally try one. This one was a pastel mint green color, but others were a muted violet. They are typically covered with saran wrap, even though there is a plastic lid on the cup. The drink itself has an aggressively sweet coconut flavor, and on the bottom is a mix of chewy and soft textures, including green gelatinous strips (similar ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks vietnamese dessert saigonbakery che ba mau 3.0 sanfrancisco
Kekou Almond tofu gelato: Tofu jelly with canned fruits is a classic Chinese banquet dessert made not with actual tofu but with gelatin, sugar, water, and almond extract. It was one of my favorite sweets to eat growing up, so I was excited to see the flavor at the menu at Kekou, an ice cream shop off Spadina in Toronto specializing in asian flavors. Kekou doesn’t use any stabilizers, which translates to gelato that’s more fresh but not quite as smooth. The tofu gelato was a little icy and a bit too sweet for my palat... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream Toronto kekou almond tofu gelato 3.0 dessert
Gjusta Lemon Cake: This slice of lemon cake from Gjusta in LA is thickly sliced and has a decently tart flavor. Texturally, though, it eats a bit dry. In the landscape of lemon desserts, this one falls somewhere in the middle - not bad, but not particularly notable. 3.0/5.0
losangeles pastry dessert gjusta lemon cake 3.0
Detroit Water Ice Mango and watermelon ice: Seeking a local treat, I found myself at Detroit Water Ice, a store specializing in flavored ice that falls somewhere between Italian ice and Icee. After sampling their intensely and unappetizingly sweet cinnamon horchata, I inquired about their least sweet options. With a Kiddie combo of watermelon and mango in hand, I left with a not-so-kid-sized cup of generally smooth shaved ice - soft but not watery, and fully saturated with fruit concentrate. Reminded me of otter pops in flavor, rather... (read more) 3.0/5.0
frozen sweet dessert detroitwaterice mango watermelon ice 3.0
Morgenstern’s Fourth of July special with strawberry and buttered popcorn softserve : Two summer treats, swirled into an unlikely softserve combination, topped with a smattering of patriotic sprinkles and a blueberry syrup. Individually, the two flavors were pretty compelling - the strawberry was sweet and refreshing, and the buttered popcorn was creamy and had a distinct salted savory flavor. Together, though, they didn’t quite work - and it was expensive, at $7. I don’t think we’ll see strawberry-flavored buttered popcorn on the shelves anytime soon. 3.0/5.0
nyc softserve icecream dessert morgensterns fourth of july special strawberry buttered popcorn 3.0