Pichet Ong’s New ‘Spot’

 If you werent looking for Pichet Ong’s latest venture ‘Spot‘, you might not find it. Nestled in what looks like a basement at first glance is a dessert bar whose products are a mix between Asian street food and American Comfort. Upon entering the cafe, I immediately fell in love with the faux grass on the floor. Ong tries to replicate a barn with his grass floor, raw wood furniture, and stone accents. Its really cute and kinda comfy too.

Onto the desserts, the wide array of sweets at this joint made deciding difficult: cupcakes, cookies, puddings, ice cream, bubble tea, coffee floats, and even dessert tapas. I decided to go with the cupcakes and a Thai milk coffee since I was in a semi-hurry and wanted a treat I could eat on the train.

Here’s the taste rundown:

Mocha Maldon Salt Caramel cupcake has mocha buttercream, salt caramel middle, and a moist chocolate cake base. This cupcake was a delicious salty/sweet mix with a hint of slightly bitter mocha. The frosting itself isnt really super out-of-the-ordinary BUT it did have edible glitter ontop of it: HUGE PLUS. Verdict: enjoyed this one quite a bit!

Chocolate Green Tea Fruit Jam cupcake has an apricot jam, soft green tea icing, and again a moist chocolate cake base. This frosting was much different in consistancy than the Mocha cupcake. It was softer, smoother, and much more interesting plus it had the same edible glitter ontop. The fruit jam paired wonderfully with the hints of green tea and chocolate. Verdict: He’s got himself a winner here! Possibly Ongs best cupcake.

Vanilla Caramel Vietnamese Coffee cupcake has a coffee-ish type buttercream frosting with a salty caramel liquid middle and a moist vanilla cake base. This is a great cupcake for those of you who like vanilla since the actual cake is so delicious. My only problem is that is tasted very much like the Mocha Maldon Salt cupcake. I think they are the same cupcake with different cake bases – which is fine with me, just change their names. I was expecting a real punch of Vietnamese coffee in this one and was sorely disappointed. Verdict: Very good, but probably wont be back for this one.

My only real issue was with the container holding the Thai Milk Coffee. Out of the few sips I was able to get while walking to the train station, the coffee was very good.  But by the time I got off of the train and to my final destination half the cup had leaked out and all over my bag! Ugh!! I couldnt even pinpoint where the coffee leak was coming from! I threw out the rest out of  anger. If you are getting coffee at Spot – get it to stay. Or if you dont mind getting coffee all over yourself and your clothes  then by all means get it to go.

Alices Tea Cup

I know I’ve blogged about Alice’s Tea Cup before but I have to do it again. That’s how much I love coming here.

Is it the food? Kinda. Is it the atmosphere? Maybe. To be honest, I’m not sure why I love it here so much. One things for certain: I love scones and the people here make pretty damn good ones. Although the scone lineup changes daily, they almost always have my personal favorite: pumpkin. Now I know you’ve probably had pumpkin scones before. Just about every bakery makes them when the leaves begin to fall. Why is this one so different? Because it is MORE than just a dry scone. It’s a bakery wonder. Circular instead of the traditional triangle, it has the consistancy of a moist pumpkin loaf with the added bonus of a thin sheet of caramel glaze ontop. When its warm, there is no better accompaniment to a cup of ginger tea.

Speaking of tea, lets talk about the kinds of tea they have here. Well, they 100′s. At least it seems that way. They’ve got all your typical tea types: black, green, red, white, herbal, tisane, organic, and decaf. Each category has about 20 different flavors with all the standards like ginger, chai, chamomile, french vervain, peppermint, vanilla bourbon, jasmine, rose, and genmaicha. Along with some other outstanding teas such as Hawaiian Paradise (apples, berries, apricot, orange peel, rosehips, and hibiscus), Mango Mate, and Herbal Detox (alfalfa, dandelion, nettle bush, and mint). They basically have a tea for every palate and they are all delicious.

So if you are in the neighborhood come on over to Alices for a pot of tea and a blt…unless it’s a national holiday and kids are off from school…then be prepared to wait in a sea of 5 year olf girls.

Argo Tea

If you are going to Chicago and love tea like I do – go to Argo Tea. I make a point to go to one everytime I’m in Chicago or Evanston I stop by and grab yummies. Its like the Starbucks of tea but only in Illinois (for some ungodly reason!). Why arent these hear? C’mon! Vosges Haute Chocolat branched out to NY. Why can’t Argo?? They literally have over a dozen locations in Illinois so find one wherever you’re going. If they arent near by – grab a cup while you’re at O’Hare…cuz odds are you’ll be there for awhile (shakes fist in anger at O’Hare Airport).

My Favorites

Iced Pom Tea^TM – pomegranate juice and iced red tea. Simple and Delicious.

Red Velvet^TM – red tea, raspberry and white chocolate. What a surprising combination – I love it!

Chocolate Mint Tea – a mixture of chocolate milk and mint tea. It sounds weird but this is the best tea drink ever. I crave it monthly.

Mojitea - mint tisane with lime juice over ice. Probably the most refreshing thing to drink when its warm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diet Desserts I Love

I have always had weight issues  – ever since I was a pudgy 10 year old girl eating almost an entire bucket of KFC in the backseat of my parents car before we got it home for dinner (true story). I love food too much – flavors both sweet and savory. Here a few treats that help me get through the day when I am in serious snack mode.

1 – Weight Watcher’s Smart Ones Chocolate Eclair Frozen Food

These are amazing snacks. 3 points each and they are so tasty. If you love eclairs get these. The only problem is that I STILL haven’t figured out the right microwave temperature. At 25 seconds (recommended on the box) there are cold spots and at 30 seconds you burn your mouth on lava creme. I wish you better luck!

 

 

2 – No Pudge Brownies

Another chocolate item but a huge winner. Even my husband likes these moist brownies (and he is NOT a chocolate fan). The batter is super thick so don’t be alarmed if it seems WAY TOO THICK. I simply puree a pint or less of raspberries/strawberries and mix them into the wet brownie mix. It gives it a delicious berry kick and adds no fat. Want to add a scrumptious antioxidant kick? Mix in a tbs of powdered acai or 1/3 cup of acai juice

Not looking to reduce ALL the fat – add cream cheese instead of yogurt with a little bit of vanilla and soymilk.

3 – Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookies

These are a real cookie treat to munch on with a nice cup of lemon tea. I can’t normally stop at just 1 – but at least I feel better about having 2 of them. I also dont follow their expiration dates: there I said it! Only with this product though. I’ve eaten them even 3-4 weeks after the expiration date…don’t judge me!

4 – Orville Redenbacher’s 100 Calorie Smart Pop Mini Bags

These are great salty snack thats not going to break your diet. They aren’t really what I would call ‘jazzy’ but you can make them zippy with a handful of stuff in the house. Wanna make an Italian style popcorn? Mix together some pecorino/parmesean/locatelli (whatever you have in the house), oregano, and garlic powder and add  onto the popcorn. SINFUL!

5 – Frozen Bananas

So simple but this is a great summer treat. Freeze bananas in plastic bags wrapped in parchment (so they dont stick together). If you want to make them extra yummy – dip the bananas in sugar free chocolate sauce and then freeze flat on a parchment covered flat board/pan.

6 – South Beach Living Snack Bar Delights: Whipped BerryI don’t know how ‘New’ these are (at least the box tells me they’re new) but they are delicious!!! As a child I loved the

Dark Chocolate Roman Nougat in the Russell Stovers box (you know, that yummy cherry flavored nougat one with chopped nuts inside??) and this tastes exactly like it! Except this one is 100 calories and has 5 grams of protein. Hooray!

Boston Tea Stop

I spent many years in and around Boston. Not because I went to school at Harvard or MIT (although sometimes it feels like I have) but because I spent 4-5 years of my life as a college recruiter for an Investment Bank. Boston, Chicago, Philly, New Hampshire, and Montreal were some of my regular destinations.

As you’ve probably guessed I adore tea so I automatically look for a great tea spot wherever I am – lucky for me Boston is FILLED with tea cafes. Boston Tea Stop just happens to be my favorite so here’s my review. Ask any local college kid walking around – they’ve got the best bubble tea ( or ‘boba’  as its called) in the neighborhood. Way better than Lollicup. Its also really conveniently located in Harvard Square.

The taro slush is great and the black tea with rose flower and lychee jelly is a deliciously different beverage but perhaps my personal favorite is the hot green apple tea. Its sooooo gooood and perfect when you’re wandering around the area in early December waiting for your Internship presentation begins. They also serve dumplings (which I haven’t had) and mochi ice cream (which I have had).

In summation: if you love tea and/or bubble tea, and you’re in Boston. GO HERE!

54 JFK STREET
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 945-0017