Flirty Cupcakes

If Mollys is my number 1 cupcake stop, Flirty Cupcakes is definitely a close second. when I first heard about flirty cupcakes, I was in awe. A van that drives around and brings cupcakes to people?? That's basically the adult equivalent of the ice cream truck for children! It was like a dream come true for me. and remember, this is before food trucks became the next big thing and you started seeing them all over the place. I started following them on facebook and waited patiently until the day that they said they would be stopping nearby. and finally, the day arrived. I logged into facebook to see that they would be arriving in about an hour. I waited not so patiently as the minutes ticked by, and i was out the door on my way to meet the van right on time. When I got there, I realized that I guess I should have prepared for a head of time because there was already a long line ahead of me. I ended up being even more disappointed when they called out that they had run of out cupcakes before I even got to the front of the line. It was a sad day for me and i had to wait at least another month before I got another chance at flirty cupcakes. I was more prepared this time, I think I got there as they were pulling up. i was basically jumping for joy while waiting in line behind a mother and daughter, who was also clearly very excited about her cupcakes. When i got to the front of the line, the girl in the van made some comment along the lines of "oh to be young and easily excited again..." I laughed along but truthfully, I was that happy to be getting cupcakes too.  I had already memorized what I was going to get; the curious george, s'more me over. It took some self control but i didn't eat all the cupcakes at once.

s'more me over: this is a chocolate cupcake with a graham cracker crust and frosting that's kind of a mix between frosting and a s'more and topped with a Hershey's chocolate. The cake itself was moist and delicious (not over powering like i think some chocolate cakes can be) and the s'more frosting was light and fluffy. The cupcake is a little messy with the crust but still super delicious. I don't know if i would go so far as to say its better than real s'more though..

the curious george: this is a banana chocolate cupcake with salted buttercream frosting. The cake is perfectly chocolatey and moist with just the smallest hint of banana, but its definitely there. The buttercream frosting tastes slightly more processed than i would prefer but still oh-so-yummy that i really don't care all that much. The saltiness balances out the frosting and chocolate and makes me want to consider sprinkling salt on every cupcake i eat. I have gotten this cupcake time and time again and it never gets old.

Check out their website here!

Kanela Breakfast Club

I first read about kanela breakfast club in the redeye, made a note in my phone that I should check it out sometime, and the promptly forgot about it for a few months or so. Months later I came across the note again and my phone  and though ohhh yeah, I should go there sometime. So on a Wednesday morning during spring break, I told my boss that I was going into work late and we headed up to Clark street to kanela breakfast club. I'm not entirely sure, but I think this is the kind of place that gets super crowded on the weekends, but since it was a weekday, there was only one other group in the restaurant, and we were seated right away.


While we were looking at the menu, the waiter came over and poured our waters, assuring us that all of their water is filtered for extra purity (something I guess I don't worry about too much, but apparently its quite a concern to some and now that I do think about it, with Chicago water you really cant be too careful). So we drank our filtered water and looked through the menu. The selection itself is pretty small, around 10 things to choose from probably, but everything sounded delicious. BF and I usually share whatever we order because i have the (not so?) endearing habit of wanting to taste everything that everyone around me ordered. I decided to go the sweet route with the bacon waffles (go ahead and drool right now...) and he went savory with the lorraine scramble.

We hardly had to wait at all for our our food, probably because there was no one there so it came out really quickly. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with the chocolate covered bacon waffles but it ended up not only being waffles with little bits of chocolate and bacon mixed in, but also three HUGE chocolate covered bacon pieces setting atop the whipped cream on the waffles. For all those people who swear that bacon and chocolate should not go together - let me tell you - you are wrong! the savoriness of the bacon goes perfectly with the sweetness of chocolate. this is probably one of my favorite breakfast things I've had. The heaviness of the waffles and the richness of all the flavors was a little much after a while so I couldn't finish the entire thing on my own, but it was absolutely divine.

Overall, its a little on the pricey side, but I've found that to usually be the case with specialty breakfast places, and the food makes it totally worth a few extra dollars! They have some awesome juice blends too so I definitely recommend checking those out too!!


Check out their website here!

Magnolia Bakery

I was SOO excited when I found out that the famous Magnolia Bakery of New York had opened up a storefront in downtown Chicago. You can probably tell that I LOVE cupcakes and I rarely find one that I don’t like. That being said, I was sadly disappointed in Magnolia Bakery. The store itself is located right in the middle of downtown Chicago on State Street (right by Macy’s) and it really is adorable inside with kind of an old soda shop feeling. We went on a Saturday afternoon so naturally it was extremely busy. The line moved quickly so that wasn’t a problem at all, but the seating inside is very sparse. They had probably less than 10 tables with only 2 or 3 chairs each. Maybe it was just bad timing with when we went but there were at least double that amount of people inside the bakery at that moment so we ended up not being able to eat there, which wasn’t a huge deal. 

The thing that I was most disappointed about were the cupcakes. I got a red velvet cupcake with cream The cheese frosting and the BF got a pumpkin spice whoopee pie with maple cream cheese frosting. The cupcake first…the cake was dry and almost flavorless in my opinion. Usually red velvet cupcakes are very strong in flavor compared to other cupcakes, and this one was sadly bland. It was also crusty and hard around the top -  maybe just a bad batch but it seemed extremely over-cooked. Unlike normal cream cheese frostings, which I usually find to be smooth and creamy, this was conjealed and lumpy, like it was mixed with the butter at the wrong temperature. Needless to say, it was one of the worst cupcakes I’ve had. The whoopie pie wasn’t much better..the frosting was about the same texture as that of the cupcake, but the pumpkin spice cake had a really good flavor which wasn’t over powering but definitely had a strong hint of pumpkin. 

I was really disappointed by my trip to Magnolia Bakery because I had heard so many good things about it and I just left feeling unsatisfied by what we had gotten. I am willing to give it one more try because suppodly their banana pudding is famous so maybe I’ll have to revise my opinion a little bit based on my experience with that but for now I give Magnolia Bakery (in Chicago) a big thumbs down.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Yesterday I made these amazing prosciutto cups with veggies and a baked egg that I found on Deliciously Organic, one of the blogs that I regularly look at. I had some prosciutto left over so I decided to make prosciutto wrapped asparagus to go alongside the eggs benedict that I made tonight! If you are in a rush, this is a great side to prepare because it takes literally five seconds to prepare and then you can just stick it in the oven to cook! I had some of the honey Dijon mustard dressing left over from the eggs benedict and it ended up pairing really well with the asparagus.

 

 Makes 2 servings

Calories per Serving: 109

Total Fat: 4.1 g

Carbs: 9.2 g

 Protein: 8.5 g

Ingredients  

• 4 slices prosciutto (I buy the packaged kind)
• 1/2 bunch  asparagus 

Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing

• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard

Directions

1. Wash the asparagus thoroughly and cut off the bottom half inch from each stalk. I prefer thin asparagus, but if you are using the thicker stalks you may want to use a vegetable peeler to remove some of the tougher skin towards the bottom of each.
2. Wrap about 4 or 5 stalks with a slice of prosciutto.
3. Place each bunch on a foil lined pan and bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the asparagus is tender.
4. Top with Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing.

Ham & Cheese Eggs Benedict with Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing

You would think after the Easter holiday I would be sick of eggs but for some reason I just cant get enough of them! And when the BF brought home a whole big bag of ham from celebrating Easter with his family, I started thinking of what I could make to combine the two. Normally I’m not too crazy about ham but I do enjoy the occasional ham and cheese sandwich. I decided to combine that with the egg and came up with an open face ham and cheese eggs benedict with honey Dijon mustard dressing. It’s really just a small twist on the classic eggs benedict, and just a little bit more healthy with the addition of the greens and without the hollandaise sauce. 

 

Makes 1 Serving 

Calories per Serving: 232

Total Fat: 10.3 g

Carbs: 16.1 g

Protein: 18.5 g

Ingredients 

• 1/2 english muffin (I actually used half a Arnold Sandwich Thin but the english muffin is probably the more traditional route)
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2 slices ham
• 1/8 cup cheddar cheese (I use the Jewel fat free mild cheddar brand)
• A handful of spinach
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey 

Directions 

1. Boil a pot of water for the poached egg. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat by about half and add about 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar for every liter of water to help the egg keep its round form.  If this is the first time you’ve poached an egg you may want to keep an eye on it the whole time, but if you are already an old pro you can start getting the other stuff ready. The perfect poached egg has a rounded shape and is firm but the yolk should still be runny. You can test if its done by using a slotted spoon to raise the egg out of the water and poking it. The center should bounce back to the touch while the outer white portion should feel more firm. When done, remove from the water and blot dry.
2. Heat up a skillet on the stove top and place the slices of ham onto the skillet. Sprinkle the cheese over the ham to melt.
3. Toast the English muffin.
4. Place the ham, cheese, and poached egg onto the English muffin. Combine the honey and Dijon mustard and drizzle over the sandwich.
5. Enjoy!

  

Food truck food truck, where for art thou food trucks?

Every since Flirty Cupcakes popped up on the food truck scene in Chicago about two years ago, new food trucks have been coming and going left and right! I love it - the food can be a little pricy but what better way to see a big variety of the foods that Chicago has to offer than having a truck bring it right to your doorstep (or down the street at least)?! Sometimes it's hard to keep track of all of them and where they are at any given time. 

I just found this great website, Food Truck Freak, that tells you just that every day! This blog is great because you can plan out when to try and go meet up with one of them and try out their food! Such a great idea! Although this may become an unhealthy obsession of mine...

Sabor Express

This is one of the first of a string of newer places to open up along Taylor street in Little Italy. I came in not really knowing what to expect at all because i had never really eaten Brazilian food before. Walking in the first time i was a little over-whelmed because you order before sitting down. So i stood there for a while, looking stupidly at the menu and finally decided on the steak Picanha sandwich with mango ($7.95). It sounds a little strange, i know, but i absolutely love mango so i figured I'd give it a try. I also ordered the chicken pasteis ($1.75) and sweet potato fries ($1 extra in place of regular fries that come with the sandwich). I tried the chicken first. its a little like an empanda with some shredded chicken, corn, and garlic inside. Alone, it didn't have too much flavor, i thought it was a little bland. It came with a small container of salsa which i ended up dipping it in. the salsa made a world of difference, it was spicy but not too much, and has just a small amount of tanginess to it. 

Chicken Pasteis

Next - the sandwich. the sandwich is served on a bun with sliced steak and chopped mango, with a little bit of lettuce and tomato and a mayo spread.I wasn't sure what to expect but seriously, it was like heaven in a bite. i sometimes shy away from steak in sandwiches because it can be extra chewy, but the steak in this sandwich is perfectly tender. the mango pieces are always perfectly ripe and the mayo melts in between the pieces of steak perfectly. I've gotten this sandwich several times since and its always just as tasty. (they have another option with pineapple instead of mango and its delicious as well, but not quite as good). 

Steak Pichana Sandwich with Mango and Sweet Potato Fries - yum!!

And finally-- the sweet potato fries. I love sweet potato fries and if i see them on a menu i will always order that over regular fries. these do not disappoint. they are crispy on the outside and moist and mushy on the inside -- the epitome of all that a sweet potato fry should be.

Check out the website here!
Location: 1230 W. Taylor St. Chicago IL 60607

Molly's Cupcakes

These cupcakes are by far, the best cupcakes i have ever had in my entire life. Even though I've lived in the city for almost 5 years, the first time I had Molly's Cupcakes was about a year and a half ago. I'd heard about it before, but living in the south loop i never really had much reason to go all the way up to Lincoln Park. Now, I wish that I had because i missed out on over three years of these delicious cupcakes! anyway, when I realized that my boyfriend had moved less than 10 minutes from Molly's cupcakes, I didn't even wait a full day before dragging him over there! 


The place itself reminds me of some old timey ice cream shop (minus the ice cream) with board games for people to play and swings to sit at along the counter. Basically, I was in love with this place before I even tasted the cupcakes. after some careful consideration, I chose the peach cobber cupcake. the cake part itself is pretty average, although perfectly moist. Inside that cupcake though, is where the real treat is -- peach puree. With just the perfect amount inside the cupcake, it really spices up the plain vanilla cake. The frosting though, is my favorite part. more like a whipped cream topping, this frosting is perfect for all those people who claim to hate frosting (although, really, how can you hate frosting?!). Never the less, it goes perfectly with the peach puree and makes the entire cupcake lighter and more refreshing rather than heavy like some cupcakes can be.


I've gone back to Molly's countless times and have tried just about every cupcake they have, but my favorite is still the peach cobbler. No matter what you get though, you really cant go wrong! The one quip (if you could even call it that) is that Molly's gets insanely busy during some parts of the day. If you dont want to wait in line I'd suggest going earlier in the day because for some reason the line gets ridiculously long after 7 pm. Even so, waiting in a line for a few minutes is definitely worth it for these yummy cupcakes!
 

Butterscotch Caramel	Kahlua	Ron Bennington

Check out the website here!
Location: 2536 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614