Dessert | fabliss

Dahlia Lounge | Downtown Seattle, WA

dahlia lounge was kyle’s choice. it sits in between dahlia bakery and serious pie…so we walked passed it several times. not one of those times did i even think to dine here. truth is, it looked dark and old…and not my thing. also, i figured the two things i want (coconut cream pie and donuts) can be purchased at dahlia bakery. so why go to a moderate to highly priced restaurant to get those things? i was so wrong. so very, very wrong. good thing kyle felt like having a nice dinner after gorging on bar/stadium food.

based on solid recommendations from our waitress, we ordered:

five spiced duck ($29)
dungeness crab cakes ($32)
crème caramel with rice puff krispie ($10)

the main entrees are definitely on the expensive side. when i saw the prices, i was contemplating possibly just ordering an appetizer but kyle pushed me to get a full meal. both dishes were excellent! the duck was moist and packed with flavor. freaking amazing. mushrooms and cranberry jam were a perfect combo. crab cakes…dungeness crab cakes? even better!

the crab cakes sat on top of potatoes and topped with a fennel remoulade. perfect crab cakes.

i came here thinking…actually determined to get the donuts or coconut pie. but our waitress suggested that we try tom douglas’ famous crème caramel. when i heard caramel… i thought extremely sweet. well, holy crap! it was delicious! think flan/panna cotta. delicious. easily one of my favorite desserts.

atmosphere: dark wood, red walls… older feel.
service: this place usually has a long wait. even when we strolled in at 10pm, there was a 15 minute wait to get seated. our waitress gave us some awesome recommendations and was patient despite our indecision at times. it was appreciated.
overall: the food was an amazing experience from beginning to end. i would recommend this any day.

Dahlia Lounge
2001 4th Ave
(between Lenora St & Virginia St)
Seattle, WA 98121

By fabliss | November 19th, 2013 | Dessert, Food, Restaurants, Seattle, Travel | 1 Comment

Best Desserts: Los Angeles

i am a huge dessert person (i usually hold back on dinner in order to make room for something sweet). however, being a non-chocolate lover limits me when it comes to desserts… lucky me! my husband usually researches restaurants who have non-chocolate desserts! (he rocks, i know)

i decided to make a list of my favorite in los angeles! here are the top 5:

sara j – strawberry shortcake
firefly – banana bread pudding
green street tavern – white chocolate croissant bread pudding, blueberry and white chocolate sauce
salju dessert – best shaved snow
prosecco trattoria – best panna cotta

green street tavern – white chocolate croissant bread pudding.

prosecco trattoria – panna cotta.

for a complete list of my favorite desserts, please click here!

By fabliss | November 13th, 2013 | Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Dessert, Food, Restaurants | 1 Comment

Dahlia Bakery | Seattle, WA

the dessert lover in me had to look up a popular dessert spot in downtown seattle. top on the list was dahlia bakery.

after spending a few days in the city and talking to locals about our “downtown seattle to do list” (new friends, happy hour patrons, bartenders, uber drivers, lyft drivers, waiters/waitresses, baristas,etc), we found out that dahlia bakery is one of 12 tom douglas establishments. who is tom douglas? um, just the chef of seattle! 12 popular/successful restaurants in one city. one chef/owner? stud.

dahlia bakery. we ended coming here 3 times in 5 days to get three things:

coconut cream pie – we first had a slice at serious pie (tom douglas’ pizza joint around the corner) and then became hooked! the special thing about getting the pie at the bakery is that it is available in a bite size!
fresh small donuts – first had these at lola… became hooked. do you see a trend?
chocolate eclair – kyle thought this was the best eclair he’s had. i know. i cant even tell you if that is true because i am not a fan of chocolate!

i would put the coconut cream pie and donuts on my top 10 desserts. no hesitation. i would note that the coconut cream pie is pretty coconutty. lots of shavings. i have heard the comment that it needs more coconut cream, less whipped cream and less shavings… i get it… but it’s still pretty awesome.

side note: kyle got the hazelnut tart. he thought it was ok. pretty rich. don’t eat one by yourself… you will feel sick. sharing is definitely caring on this one.

the donuts come with a vanilla bean dip and the homemade jam of the day! i’ve had both the strawberry and peach jams and they are freaking wonderful. although not really a traditional donut (they are pretty much square donut holes… but not cakey), i would consider this my favorite donut. can i even do that?! nothing beats fresh, hot donuts that melt in your mouth. dusted with sugar, these babies are on the messy side… but in the wise words of carl’s jr… if it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face.

tom douglas, you did us a solid with your bakery. that is probably why in our time here, we knocked out 4 out of 12 of your establishments. we were impressed.

Dahlia Bakery
2001 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121

By fabliss | October 23rd, 2013 | Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Dessert, Food, Restaurants, Seattle, Travel | 3 Comments

Doughnut Dolly | Oakland, CA

oh, doughnut dolly in oakland, why were you not around when i was in college? at $3 a piece, you have a variety of flavors to choose from. the filling flavors change on the regs but the naughty cream is a constant. we went here on a saturday morning… the line wasn’t too long.

my favorite is the naughty cream filling (which is similar to the cream filling you would find in a cream puff). pris and stella enjoyed the raspberry lemon jam and the dark chocolate fillings.

my doughnut was perfect with a black cup of coffee. don’t expect the most exceptional coffee…but a still a good pair with the doughnut. note that the raspberry lemon is on the sweeter side…so you definitely will need the coffee to offset.

so, i am a fan of this doughnut. the doughnut is soft and fluffy and the cream filling is a plus!

atmosphere: very cute doughnut shop that will steal your heart. on top of that, the alley that it’s located in is stupid cute. i wanted to spend all day here. go oakland!
parking: only street parking.
service: one woman shop. very nice and quick service.
food: doughnuts are great. i would come back here. i didn’t know this at the time of ordering but you can actually request mixed flavors. i’m sure the naughty cream / coffee is amazing!

Doughnut Dolly
482 B 49th St
Oakland, CA 94609

By fabliss | September 29th, 2013 | California, Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Dessert, Food, Restaurants, San Francisco / Oakland, Travel | 0 Comments

Prosecco Trattoria | Toluca Lake, CA

after i came back from a pretty long trek to the east coast and kyle was just coming off a 72 hour shift, we thought… lunch date time! our decision to prosecco trattoria was last minute (and by last minute, we mean but driving down riverside and pulling over). thank goodness for that guy who puts up with my indecisiveness when im hangry (hungry and angry, get it?). this ended up being the perfect decision since i think i have found another top ten dessert! more on that later…

i’m not a huge drinker but after a long week… we just needed a glass of prosecco. isnt that a big glass of wine? or should i say a very full pour? we thought so too.

they have great olive oil. kyle and i both agreed. this reminds me of italy. oh, we miss you, italy.

kyle got the farfalla with sweet italian sausage and porcini mushrooms in tarragon cream. (apologies for the picture. kyle had a truckload of parmesan cheese dumped on top of his pasta before i could take a clean picture. rookie.) he loved this. pasta was al dente. this is on the heavier side but he loved it.

on the day that we went… i want to say there were 6-8 specials. yep, we were a bit overwhelmed when they were recited to us. one of the many specials was this dish: scallops with a cantaloupe puree sauce. i love scallops and i wanted to get this dish but i was scared that the cantaloupe would make the dish uber sweet (good thing our waitress reassured me that it was not). great, great choice. go me! scallops were done perfectly! they were nicely glazed and went very well with the light cantaloupe sauce! yum.

the panna cotta ($6) was glorious. awesome texture. not too sweet…and berries so that you meet your daily suggested serving of fruit. i could eat this all day. all day. nice presentation, huh? this officially is now on my top 10 desserts.

service: our waitress was very knowledgable and had some great recommendations. staff as a whole was charming and attentive. we came here at an odd time (late lunch/early dinner) and were the only ones in the restaurant. i would assume service would still be great when it gets busy for dinner.
ambience: very cute place. it’s one of those places that surprises you when you walk in. when we would drive by on riverside, our reaction was “oh, another italian place” because from the street, this place doesn’t wow you. inside is obviously an italian theme but not over the top. fresh flowers. quaint and homey but still very classic and elegant. go toluca lake!
parking: street parking. some free spots but mostly metered.
overall: this is a great restaurant. the scallops were amazing. the pasta was everything we wanted it to be. great place to take a date but also great for big groups since they have a larger, darker back room. also, get a prosecco (or wine they have a large selection) and unwind. this place is a bit pricey. $70 lunch (thanks to my $30 scallops). yikes, i know…but sometimes you just have to treat yo self. yolo.

Prosecco Trattoria
10144 Riverside Dr
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Neighborhood: Toluca Lake

By vivilinh | September 7th, 2013 | Dessert, Food, Photography, Restaurants | 3 Comments

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