Ladies and gentlemen, your local food challengers are back with another edition after a very long two-month hiatus. Why the wait? Well, after Aaron broke new records at the blood pressure machine, and the doctors told us to take a six-month cleanse to let our bodies settle back down, we decided to listen, so we’re back…four months shy of our directives. The show must go on! For this article, we also have a very special announcement. We have officially made it “BIG TIME.” Meaning, we now have a professional photographer on board to document our excursions. On top of that, our new professional has a name, AND she is also going to be contributing to our article from a more…foodie-isticle sense. Without further ado, let us introduce Victoria Putzeys. Victoria is a professional food photographer and graduate of Florida State University.
So, now that we have our dynamic trio of food professionals complete, and fully introduced, let us present to you this month’s order of business. We decided to poll our followers on Facebook about their favorite post-dinner delights, and the suggestions came pouring in (another reason we felt we needed a third person to help us dine). The order was tall, the list was long, but nothing is beyond the budget our producers at Nonahood News will allow us to fully commit to an edutainment article (I thought I made up that word, but apparently Webster’s does recognize educational+entertainment). Desserts, people! I’m talking about desserts! The best way to finish a fantastic dinner, or the best way to be sure you fall asleep as soon as you finally choose a Netflix show. We wanted to try the best in the area and tell you our absolute favorites.
Our first stop was our local hangout, Canvas. Chef Bryan Thoman highly recommended his new seasonal cheesecake. Pretzel crust, peanut butter cheesecake, chocolate cake, caramel, peanut butter icing, pretzel crumbs, chocolate drizzle and a hunk of peanut brittle (yes, this is the description of one item), the cake looked as crazy as it sounded. If gluttony is your favorite sin, this cake is for you – rich, decadent and completely worth the obscene amount of calories it surely contains. The cheesecakes here are seasonal, and this one is worth a stop at Canvas. We also tried Canvas’ Key Lime Toasted Meringue Tartlette. This has been on the menu since day 1 for Canvas, and there is a reason why. A classic, creamy key lime pie, the flavors are bright and the balance between sweet and tart is spot on.
Stop number two was a short trip down the road, Chroma. Chroma’s desserts follow the small plates theme of their menu; it’s best to get a few and share with the table. There are five desserts to choose from. We decided to stick to just three, as we had a long adventure ahead of us. Dessert number one was a hit with all of us. Butterscotch Bread Pudding, served warm with a brown sugar sauce and a side of caramel ice cream, this (spoiler alert) was decidedly Matt’s favorite of the night – comfort food at its finest. Second choice was the Chocolate Pot de Creme – luxurious smooth texture, rich chocolate flavored with an orange liquor. This one was also a winner. Choice three was Banana Pudding…Nilla wafers are awesome.
We took the short walk from Chroma to Bosphorous for stop number three. Two desserts was our limit here. One of the most unique desserts of the night was the Kunefe: Turkish sweet cheese baked in shredded filo dough topped with a citrus syrup and crushed pistachios. This was one of Aaron’s favorite desserts of the night. The second offering from Bosphorous was the baklava cheesecake. The cheesecake was light and had a wonderful lemon flavor, although it could have used more baklava in order to be called a baklava cheesecake.
For our next stop we headed down Narcoossee, as one of the recommendations submitted to us was the Zeppolis from Nona Tap Room. As usual, the staff at one of the neighborhood’s favorite watering holes was welcoming, friendly and ready to pour a beer from their abundant selection. The Zeppolis came out of the kitchen piping hot. They were stuffed with brownie batter and covered in a raspberry sauce. Bring a friend to share them with because there’s plenty, although one could tackle this dessert alone if you weren’t planning to have actual dinner.
Off to Piazza Italia. The staff and atmosphere are always great. It feels like you’re family inside this authentic Italian ristorante. We ordered two classic Italian desserts here, Tiramisu and a cannoli. When our server discovered we were in for dessert only, he was very insistent that we order the profiteroles as well. The made-in-house Tiramisu was spot on – lady fingers with just enough espresso and lightly sweetened whipped cream. The cannoli was classic. The shell was fresh and crunchy, and the creamy filling was sweet and dotted with chocolate chips. The profiteroles, basically a cream puff topped with chocolate, were very nice as well – light and flaky with a sweet cream filling and a generous amount of chocolate on top. The desserts here definitely match the ambiance of the location, like you just finished dinner at your Italian grandmother’s home, and she just brought over a big plate of sweets, “C’mon, have anothah!”
On to the most highly recommended dessert from our facebook friends, Nona Blue’s carrot cake. We were skeptical that a carrot cake could really live up to all the hype, but even during our travels we had another recommendation that night that we “have to go try it.” The slice delivered to us was huge, easily enough for three people. There was a reason this cake had so many fans; it was fantastically awesome. It was warm, and perfectly moist, definitely the best carrot cake any of us has had. The layer of frosting on top was perfect, enough to add some sweetness without overdoing it. If you’ve lived in Nona for years, and like us, never had Nona Blue’s carrot cake, you need to get in your car and drive directly there because now you have no excuse.
Our last stop came at Matt’s insistence, Wendy’s french fries dipped in a Frosty and eaten while driving down the road. Matt was the only one who had stomach left to partake in this apparent ritual and seemed to stay quiet for the rest of the drive home, so let’s all just assume he knows what he was talking about.
So, you’re probably thinking this is dessert information overload, way too many desserts to try, and you’re sort of right. Don’t do it all in one day, but they are all very well worth your attention. However, we have decided to each pick a favorite and leave you all with that. As stated before, Matt’s pick: the Bread Pudding at Chroma. Aaron’s pick: Baklava Cheesecake at Bosphorous. Finally, Victoria’s pick: the Key Lime Toasted Meringue Tartlette.
If you have a food challenge you would like us to try, please submit it at: http://nonahood.to/foodchallenge.
