By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
What’s so sweet about the Eastside? Quite a lot, if you consider all the tasty goodness from Bellevue’s makers of delectable treats we’ve tried in the past few weeks. Consider all the stops we made on our sweets tour of the Sound.
All the way from the Big Apple, and landing at the Crossroads Shopping Center in Bellevue, are New York Cupcakes (15600 NE 8th, Suite A4, 425-283-5445). We tried a dozen of the flavors on their vast menu of Manhattan landmarks. Here are some of the impressions we had:
Taster Becky liked the coconut on the Coney Island Coconut, as did I.
“It’s such a nice touch to the chocolate cake,” I said, noting that the cake itself was moist and chocolaty.
“This is better than a Mounds bar!” declared Stacy.
Like the infamous black-and-white cookie, of which Jerry Seinfeld waxed philosophically about racial harmony, the New York Black & White came off very similar, though as an authority on all things New York deli, Karen noticed the absence of the hint of lemon. Still, she liked the aesthetic. And the flavor.
Moving uptown to the shopping district, the 5th Avenue, chocolate cake with a butter cream frosting and shaved chocolate curls, got great reviews.
“I like the 5th Avenue,” Leyna said. “I think it’s the best frosting. The frosting is really creamy.”
We all liked the creativity of the Boston Crème Cutie Pie. The white cake had custard infused inside, and then a chocolate frosting and just the tiniest bit of butter cream at the top.
“Oh my God, that’s definitely my favorite,” Stacy said.
Mike knew he had the real deal on this one. “It makes my teeth hurt,” he said.
New York Cupcakes isn’t all New York, though. They have to give some props to their location, and that came in the flavor of coffee, with Seattle Mocha Madness.
“Espresso is the best,” said Susan, who loves any kind of treat with coffee in it.
Moving on from cupcakes to chocolates, we got more than our fair share with a most creative selection of truffles from Oh! Chocolate (10500 NE 8th, also on Mercer Island and in Madison Park, 425-451-1060). Not only were they rich and chocolaty, but they were absolutely gorgeous.
The Pinot Noir had a hint of the red wine inside and red pepper berries on the top, which set the mood for me.
“They’re so beautiful!” exclaimed Karen.
“That’s nice,” said Leyna. “I like the crunch of the peppercorn.”
Susan liked the touch of fruitiness of the blackberry truffle.
“Looks nice inside,” she added.
Stacy really enjoyed the Americano chocolate.
“There’s a nice coffee. I really like it,” she said. “It would be good with a good cup of coffee.”
And then there are the salted caramels. These chewy chocolates are getting more popular; inevitably, some places do it right while others should include a trip to the dentist. Oh! Chocolate does it right.
“Mmmmm,” said Lynn.
“It’s damn good,” agreed Leyna.
“Yummy,” said Karen. “It has a really nice English toffee and a very buttery caramel. You can taste the cream and the salt.”
Speaking of salted caramels, these are the perfectly appointed treats that brought Fran Bigelow, founder and proprietor of Fran’s Chocolates (10036 Main St., also downtown Seattle and University Village, 800-422-3726) to the attention of such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama. And, interestingly enough, Alex Trebek. How could we even compete? By eating them, of course!
“There is nothing to compare,” gushed Karen. “This is perfect. Just the right amount of salt.”
“Agreed,” said Leyna. “It’s the perfect texture of caramel.”
Lest we neglect how these little chunks of heaven are made, a delectable block of soft caramel is dipped in either a thin layer of milk chocolate and Welsh smoked sea salt or dark chocolate with gray sea salt from the coast of Brittany. All organic, by the way.
I’ll take “Pass the chocolate” for $800, please.
Fran’s makes other chocolates besides, and she goes in for the kill. With the espresso, Susan loved the coffee taste and the creaminess in the center. Karen nursed her single malt chocolate for, oh, about four seconds.
“Oh my gosh. You can really taste the single malt,” she said. “It’s a really perfect combination.”
“Oooh, that has good cocoa,” Stacy added.
“The tea really comes through with the chocolate not overpowering,” I declared of the oolong chocolate. “It’s just subtle enough.”
Even the white chocolate, which is often dismissed as a poor imitation of the real thing, got good reviews.
“Really nice, not too artificial tasting,” Leyna said.
Finally, the nice folks over at Whole Foods Market in Bellevue (888 116th Ave. NE, 425-462-1400) brought us a bag filled with gourmet chocolate bars ranging from Theo in Fremont — “There’s a distinctive bread flavor, which is really interesting,” noted Leyna of their 3400 Phinney line’s dark (70 percent cacao) Bread & Chocolate bar. “The crunchiness is very nice, and just a little bit of saltiness, too” — to Green & Black’s basic organic milk chocolate, which had a nice spiciness to it (“tastes licoricy,” said Lynn) to their own 365 brand of dark chocolate with coconut.
“The chocolate is nice,” I said of this one, “but the simultaneous crunch of the coconut coupled with the way its oils allow it to roll off your tongue make for a nice tactile experience as well.”