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CENTRALLY-LOCATED SWEETS
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By Linda F. Jarrett
The Central West End (or CWE to hometowners) does not lack for
places to shop, places to browse or, maybe most important, places
to eat.
Now, the area has enriched its atmosphere with not one, but
two exquisite places designed to tempt the palate, either post-dinner
or for an afternoon get-away.
BISSINGER’S: A CHOCOLATE EXPERIENCE
Walking into Bissinger’s: A Chocolate Experience, the heady
aroma of rich chocolate and hearty coffee tempts the nostrils,
calling the customer to take a seat, relax and enjoy the moment.
Dark wood walls lend an intimate air to the cozy room. Rich
leather chairs and low-tiered tables are arranged in small groupings
perfect for long conversations
Bissinger’s President Ken Kellerhals knew that St. Louis was
ready to enjoy the chocolate experience.
“I had seen some places similar to this where they were serving
food,” he says. “I thought that to be a chocolate company like
we are, if we opened a place, it would serve chocolate.”
Pairing chocolate desserts with coffee seemed to be a natural.
However, Kellerhals, who has a passion for wine, decided to
add wine pairings. “Wine and chocolate go together because of
their antioxidant properties. It seemed like a natural.”
Pairings include Crème Brulee, a traditional chocolate custard
with caramelized sugar finish, ($9.95) with Billecart-Salmon
Brut, Paul Hobbs “La Garta” Merlot with The Coccocino, an oversized
latte mug filled with warm chocolate soufflé ($8.95), topped
with a vanilla bean crème anglaise, or Bissinger’s Chocolate
Gooey Butter Cake with Miner Viognier “Simpsons” 2005.
The aforementioned “heady” coffee is a special blend selected
by Bissinger’s baristas and made solely for the Chocolate Experience.
“This is another area that differentiates us from everyone else,”
Kellerhals says. “We take the time with a local company to blend
our own coffee. Everything we do goes with the Bissinger model.
We have selected the coffee and wines to go with the chocolate,
we make our own desserts and, of course, our own chocolate.”
The Chocolate Cheesecake ($8.95) sends taste buds soaring, and
while you might be tempted to inhale the dessert, allowing each
bite to melt in the mouth, followed by a sip of coffee prolongs
the incredible delight.
Besides amazing chocolate desserts, The Chocolate Experience
offers “flights,” an assortment of plated chocolates that can
be paired with wine or coffee.
Those who prefer to drink their dessert can choose a liqueur
to sip from an edible Bissinger’s dark chocolate cup, or try
a Raspberry Truffle Mocha ($6.95), a Chambord blended into their
special coffee.
This is a place where one lingers, where one savors the sensation
of rich chocolate and fine wine on the tongue, where one can
imagine sitting at a European coffee house and watch the world
go by.
The Chocolate Experience offers indoor seating for 20 and outdoor
seating for 12.
Customers on the go can also buy their favorite Bissinger’s
confections at the candy counter.
THE CUPCAKERY
Cupcakes have become the “dessert du jour,” since Carrie Bradshaw
(of Sex in the City fame) discovered these small delights at
the Magnolia Bakery in New York. In St. Louis, however, cupcakes
remained the domain of birthday parties and school functions.
No more. The Cupcakery has arrived bringing the joys of the
small cake to our denizens.
The blackest of chocolate. Buttercream that sends you back in
time to your grandmother. Erica Frank has the secret.
She discovered at the young age of 12 that she loved baking
and decorating cakes and, in fact, did her first wedding cake
when she was 14. She started her business, The Cakery, out of
her home, and when the demand increased, she moved to a storefront
at 1420 Tamm Ave. in 2005.
Then, Cupcake Madness reached St. Louis, and she and business
partner Nicole Panepinto opened their walk-in store, The Cupcakery,
at 28 S. Maryland Plaza.
“Erica is diligent in her pursuit of excellence and she doesn’t
settle for less,” Panepinto says. “At that time, I didn’t know
that buttercream would change my life! Our cupcakes taste like
the kind you always wanted to make. They’re made from scratch
with loving care.”
Frank says she baked throughout high school and college. “Any
excuse I could find, I would decorate! It’s very relaxing. I
love the creativity that goes into the cakes, but I like the
repetition of the cupcakes. And some of our best recipes have
been through trial and error.”
The Tuxedo, in particular, recalls the wonderful chocolate cake
with buttercream that you might have eaten in your mom’s kitchen.
A moist black chocolate cupcake with a velvety buttercream topped
with crumbled Oreos©, or that same chocolate cupcake with peanut
buttercream and crumbled Reese’s© will put you on the cupcake
trail forever.
She will not tell how she gets a chocolate that dark or a buttercream
that creamy. She only smiles.
Besides the Tuxedo and Peanut Butter Cup, The Cupcakery features
six varieties daily, including the classics such as French vanilla
cake with chocolate icing, and the Gold Rush, a yellow cake
with chocolate buttercream. They also have a weekly special
which could be the Grasshopper, the dark chocolate cupcake with
mint buttercream; the Mocha Cappuccino with buttercream and
chocolate covered espresso beans; the red velvet with cream
cheese icing, or the yellow cupcake with coconut buttercream
topped with coconut.
Another popular feature is the “Cakewich,” ($2.50) two dark
chocolate layers separated by luscious vanilla buttercream—for
the chocolate cake diehard!
Besides cupcakes, the Cupcakery offers muffins ($2.25), cookies
($1.25 for plain, $2.00 for decorated) and coffees and espresso
drinks. Inside and outside seating is available. Cupcakes are
$2.25.
Walk-in orders are limited to one dozen cupcakes. For larger
orders, Frank suggests two days’ notice.
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The
Chocolate Experience
32 Maryland Avenue
St. Louis, Mo. 63108
(314) 367-7750
Monday through Wednesday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday through Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 12 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Cupcakery
28 Maryland Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 367-6111
Monday through Saturday: 8 a.m. to 8:30
p.m. |
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