Anne Marie Panoringan

PB + C

We stepped into a kitchen space known as The Hood (conveniently located down the street from our offices) for a ribbon cutting. This commercial rental space is now the home of Amy Jo Pedone. Her chocolate journey began with the passing of her dear cousin to ovarian cancer. Despite her finance degree and career in real estate, Pedone realized that what mattered in life was living it to the fullest and pursuing her passion. She is now a certified Chocolatier from Ecole Chocolat Professional School of Chocolate Arts.

Valenza Chocolatier creates Italian inspired artisan chocolate and confections. The bonbons, bars and confections sampled were all handmade here, and each showcased a particular ingredient. Her sleek, gumdrop-shaped bonbons featured notes of limoncello, Illy espresso or complex spumoni. We gravitated towards decadent bars, like the PB + C above. Our favorite flavor, the organic peanut butter pairing has a hint of Sicilian sea salt, swallowed up by Venezuelan dark chocolate.

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What does capitalism taste like? To North Korean leaders, like a small, round chocolate-coated cake filled with marshmallow.

The Choco Pie is a packaged confection manufactured by South Korea's Orion. It's delicious--spongy, creamy, and not overly sweet like a Hostess CupCake. And North Koreans can't seem to get enough of them.

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Less than six months after America fake-mourned the death of the Twinkie, we now learn the iconic, cream-filled sponge cakes are returning. Wait, what? It's a junk-food miracle!

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Flickr user lamantin

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Photo by Laila Derakhshanian

Did you know homemade doughnuts are the new health food? You didn't? Well, that's what Brooke Des Prez is telling us. We're liking that diet. Malasadas, lemon poppy seed, rosemary, Devils food and anything else she considers "healthy". Oh, and they are frying up the dough every hour. Count us in!

Read our interview with Brook DesPrez of Sidecar Doughnuts, Part One.
And now, on to Part Two . . . .

We love your sweet ride, er the catering truck. How did you acquire it?
Sumter (Pendergast, her business partner) looked high and low for an old Helm's Bakery truck. The look and feel is exactly what we wanted. It even has all the wooden pull out drawers which keep the doughnuts nice and fresh.

Hardest lesson you've learned:
It never gets any easier. Giving 100% all the time is what it takes.
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Photo by Laila Derakhshanian

When we gave Brooke the option of meeting somewhere besides their much anticipated Sidecar Doughnuts, she requested Noah Blom's ARC at The OC Mix. It was at that moment that we knew (like we have with previous bakers interviewed) that she had her finger on what's trending. We couldn't turn down a wood-burning oven and flaming cocktails with our interview.

Why doughnuts?
Because every culture has a fried dough of some kind (churros, beignets, malasadas, etc.); a snack with a universal appeal!

How did you select Costa Mesa to open your storefront?
A vibrant community with a need for good food. Also my hometown.

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It's that time again. When the days are longer, and the sugar shoppes lure you in with free scoopage. Although with Ben & Jerry, it has to do with a whole lot more. Without loyal fans, their ice cream empire would not be what it is today. Or as Ben says, "Business has a responsibility to give to the community from which it draws support."

Serving over a million cones around the world to celebrate their anniversary, newer flavors include Candy Bar Pie and Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt.The Vermont boys invite kids of all ages to "Cone Together" and have some dessert.

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Anne Marie Panoringan

[Updated, 3/18/13, 10:19 p.m.]
Thanks to Dave Lieberman and reader TuscanBoy for elaborating on the goings on over in Downtown Fullerton. Layer Cake's second location will be housed behind Fuoco. Dave mentioned the Northwest corner. TuscanBoy commented Southwest. We're simply happy it'll be ready between now and Easter.

[Original post, 3/18/13, 9:30 a.m.]
We went out to pick up macarons over the weekend, and came back with a scoop! Our friends over at Layer Cake are about to open a second bakery. There wasn't a Facebook page or Instagram shot of the place to notify us. We discovered the old-fashioned way--asking.

Actually, their website hints at it, but we didn't catch the announcement. We spoke to a friendly salesperson during our transaction for details; turns out, it will be MUCH bigger than their existing space. We can even look forward to an expanded menu. Considering the location, it's safe to assume bank on longer hours as well.
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Sprinkles Ice Cream Facebook

Time to scream

A key player to the cupcake trend, Sprinkles Cupcakes expanded their repertoire to include chilly treats and dessert ATMs last year. Once they took over neighboring Gelato Paradiso in November, it was only a matter of time before good news arrived. And just in time for spring break!

If their website is any indicator of what to expect, hit the gym now. In addition to slow churned, organic dairy scoops, folks will melt over their red velvet waffle cones. We're curious about one other menu component: Cookies.
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Strickland's Ice Cream, a winner in way too many of our Best Of issues and other listicles, is at it again. It's doing what it does, which makes us like it so much: introducing a cool new flavor. Just for and only during Valentine's Day, it will be churning out rose ice cream. See also:
- A Review of Strickland's Maple Bacon Ice Cream
- Strickland's Ice Cream Bought "MANY Pounds" of Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Bark; Making Ice Cream With It This Sunday
- Strickland's Ice Cream's Way of Celebrating St. Paddy's Day
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