Yo Adrienne! - A trip to Philly

A co-worker and I had the opportunity to take a business trip to Philadelphia recently and we of course made a point to eat well while we were there.  A search of Yelp reviews led me to Barbuzzo, a restaurant serving small Mediterranean-inspired plates, so we went there for a late dinner when we got into town.  The food was amazing!  We sampled the sheep's milk ricotta on country bread, the pan-seared Brussels sprouts with pancetta and bread crumbs, and the heirloom squash and Gorgonzola angolotti.  Everything was fresh and delicious and I can't wait to go back.  Unfortunately I don't have pictures because the lighting was low, but that was part of the great ambiance. 

We also had gelato, not once but twice, from Capogiro, which has several locations in the city.  The servers allow you to try anything you want, very generously, and every flavor is fantastic so it could be hard to make up your mind.  My favorites were Burnt Sugar and Cioccolato Scuro, a very rich and dark chocolate.  Next time I'm in town, a trip to Capogiro will be a must!

Confections opens in Woodbridge, Va.!

Remember the great review we gave Confections last summer?  Well, they've upped their game by opening a brick and mortar store in Woodbridge!  They opened their doors on January 7 and we were there bright and early to see what it looked like.  The store is open and sunny and has a lot of seating for customers, which is really nice and not typical of the majority of the shops in this area.  There was a short line and the staff were all very friendly and took our order quickly.  The coolest part was that other staff were actually making the cupcakes in the front of the shop - I have never seen this before.  Someone was grinding up carrots in a food processor and we could see the tins being filled and put into the professional ovens, which are just behind the counter.  Very cool!

We took 5 cupcakes home with us:  chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, and 2 peanut butter chocolate.   Clearly they were too good for us to take a picture before tasting!

All were delicious and fresh!  I was happy to see the chocolate icing was more chocolatey than when I tasted it last year - great improvement! - and the peanut butter cupcake rivals our local favorite from Hello Cupcake.  I think this shop is going to do really well and I'm glad to see a great cupcakery in this area.  Congratulations Confections!