Chocolate Heaven at the 2018 International Chocolate Festival

By: Irene Yang

I recently attended the 2018 International Chocolate Festival at the San Mateo Convention Center this past April. I won’t lie—my favorite part about food festivals is the free samples! There were over 40 vendors all throwing out their wares for the visiting chocoholic. The Chocolatiers are all very happy to talk to you about their work. Where they source the beans, how they make the bars, what kind of flavor profiles to expect; you can feel their passion as they walk you through the different kinds of chocolate available.

Small Batch Chocolate

A Bear-y Good Time at the Care Bears x Sprinkles Party

By; Finance Foodie / Alex Loanzon

In honor of the 35th Anniversary of the cute-as-a-button childhood favorite Care Bears, the awesomely delicious Sprinkles Cupcakes has teamed up with these lovable bears for limited edition Care Bear-themed cupcakes in stores until January 25th.

Entrance

We All Scream For Sugartooth Tours Ice Cream Summer Sundays Frozen Treats Tour

By: Finance Foodie

Summer in the City, back of my neck getting dirty and gritty…what to do about that? Answer: Operation Cool Down! Last Sunday, the Mister and I decided we weren’t going to let the blazing hotness keep us locked in doors – no, we were going to beat Mr. Heat by fighting it with Ms. Sweet’s cool confectioneries on Sugartooth Tours’ Ice Cream Summer Sundays Frozen Treats Tour.

Our sweet tour guide Allyson

Death by Caramel Chocolate Loackers: #PureIngredients Recipe Contest

By: Finance Foodie

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Loacker, an Italian dessert company that makes a wide range of delicious wafer-based treats, asking if I wanted to participate in their #PureIngredients Recipe Contest. As one of 25 selected bloggers, the contest had me creating a recipe incorporating Loacker wafers. So I hunkered down this weekend in my lab (kitchen), and plugged away....

A St. Patrick’s Day Treat with See’s Candies

By: Finance Foodie and Anne Raso

What is St. Patrick’s Day without some gold (chocolate) coins? Our crowd-pleasing bet is always on See's Candies--and not because they have 93 years of experience, great packaging and delicious product that stays fresh for weeks, but they are a company with principals (For instance, they do not charge higher prices at their airport stores).

Lucky Nut and Chews Assortment

A Sweet Valentine's Day to Remember with Sugartooth Tours NYC

By: Finance Foodie

What could be sweeter than spending the day with your Valentine and tasting a variety of New York City’'s finest decadent treats? This past V Day, the Mister and I did just that by partaking on Sugartooth Tours’ Valentine’'s Day tour. This annual 2.5 hour tour featured six tastings that started in the Chelsea neighborhood and covered 1.5 miles of walking, with yummy pit stops along the way. During this "couples crawl", we walked down the High Line, and ended in the West Village. In addition to scrumptious sweets, we also also learned a few tidbits and facts about Valentine’'s Day and its history. Here's a look at where we went!

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Valentine's Day Gift Guide Part 1: "Terrific 3" For Foodies!

By: Finance Foodie

For those of you who have a special someone to share this upcoming Valentine's Day with, the dilemma of what to get your lady/lad becomes omnipresent.....right about now! Never fear, for the team at Finance Foodie has been taste testing products all January to prepare for this delicious holiday (also, we love any opportunity to eat). Below are our favorites to tickle every tastebud. And for those celebrating Single's Awareness Day - don't worry - these gifts are universally applicable - because hey there's no better excuse to celebrate the best person in the world...yourself!

Photo Courtesy: 1-800Baskets

Get Sweet with this Caramel Banana Ravioli Bites Recipe

By: Finance Foodie

During the holiday season, I usually get inundated with invites to celebrations and parties - mostly centered around eating. Tired of showing up with yet another bottle of wine (because us New Yorkers have trouble locating our stoves, if we are lucky enough to even have one in our tiny apartments), I made a resolution to bring only handmade goods to all gatherings. However, given my busy work schedule - the day job and running this site - I needed something that was quick to make yet looked like I spent hours in the kitchen.

Caramel Banana Ravioli Bites

Li-Lac Chocolates: Making The Village Sweeter For 90 Years

By: Anne M. Raso

I was lucky enough to attend the 90th anniversary party for Li-Lac Chocolates, a mainstay in a part of town that is changing rapidly. The first 100 people in the door this past Sunday got to buy four items at 1923 prices--meaning that a classic box of mixed chocolates were only $3.67! Other delights, including fudge and toffee crunch (the store's top selling item) were 23 cents each. Visitors reminisced outside on line--which started more than an hour before start time. Two-hundred people were lined up down Eighth Avenue by the time the doors opened at 1 PM.

Line outside of Li-Lac

Sugar High at the 5th Annual New England Dessert Showcase

By: Jessica Cickay

Shortly after celebrating my wedding in September and my birthday early in October, I continued feeding my sugar high at the fifth annual New England Dessert Showcase at the Westin Waterfront Hotel. There were no shortage of ways for me to continue riding my recent delicious wave of dessert, as bakeries and restaurants from all over the region had their sweetest offerings on display for me taste and, in all honesty, shove in my sugar-loving face.

Whoopie Pies

A Sweeter Easter with Sucré Macaroons and Chocolates

By: Finance Foodie

During the recent Mardi Gras holiday (yes, us Southern folk think of Mardi Gras as a holiday), I was recently introduced to Sucré, a New Orleans based dessert shop that IMHO serves up the best sweets and treats in the South. Literally one bite of their famous king cake and I was hooked! Not only is the cake one of the most gorgeous king cakes I'd ever seen (complete with shimmery purple, green and gold frosting on the outside), the taste is also out of this world delicious - especially when served warmed in the microwave after a long night of celebrating. Style and substance - now that's a winning combination.

The Famous King Cake

A “fun.” Time at Ben and Jerry’s Campus Consciousness Tour Preview in the Bowery Ballroom

By: Finance Foodie

Over the last two weeks, the band fun., the non-profit REVERB and the tasty Ben & Jerry’s held a two-week Campus Consciousness Tour that allowed all fans attending the opportunity to connect with their campus LGBTQ organizations, to learn how to be an Ally, get involved in the fight to get corporate money out of politics, and of course, sample free Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.

My New Best Friends

Sweet Surprises at Francois Payard's FP Patisserie Preview Party

By: Finance Foodie

Last Monday night, renowned pastry chef Francois Payard held an opening party for his return to the Upper East Side with his brand new concept, FP Patisserie. Located on 3rd and 74th, this shop offers not only a variety of Payard's well known decadent desserts, but also French bistro style savory options - much like his old haunt, Payard Patisserie & Bistro. I had a chance to check this place out during my visit to NYC - so here's sneak peak of what to expect!

Champagne - a staple for any party! 

Sugary Sweetness at the 2011 New England Dessert Festival!

By: Jessica Cickay

Bottom line, dessert makes everything better. Upon arriving at the 2011 New England Dessert Showcase at the Sheraton Hotel in the Back Bay, it had been “one of those” weeks. One of those weeks when waiting for the T meant waiting for an eternity. One of those weeks when you get on the elevator to go up six floors, and it immediately shoots down to the basement. One of those weeks that when you show up to said Dessert Showcase, you realize that your camera is deader than dead. But do you remember my bottom line from above? It really is true: dessert makes the T come at lightning speed, the elevator elevate you instantly and mobile technology (ah gotta love camera phones) all the more impressive – aka dessert makes everything better.

3 Cheers for 3 Scoops Ice Cream Brighton

By: Jessica Cickay

On a hot day, on a cold day, on a rainy day, or even on a snowy day, what’s better than a big scoop of ice cream? How about 3 Scoops? I recently screamed for some ice cream from my tiny Coolidge Corner apartment, but before I could say chocolate chip cookie dough, 3 Scoops in Brighton answered my call with a variety of creamy concoctions, sinful sundaes and bigger-than-my-belly-could-handle homemade baked goods.

Jimmy Fallon Helps Launch Ben & Jerry's Newest Flavor Late Night Snack in NYC!

By: Anne M. Raso

On March 2nd, Ben & Jerry launched their newest flavor, Late Night Snack on the set of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon at the famous "30 Rock" building. Late Night Snack is flavor that is unusual not only because it stemmed out of a comic song about Ben & Jerry's performed by Jimmy Fallon and The Roots on his late-night talk show, but because it contains chocolate covered potato chips.

Fallon (center) with Ben & Jerry Founders

Flour Bakery Book Release Party in Cambridge

By: Jessica Cickay

I admittedly went into Joanne Chang’s cookbook release party at Flour Bakery in Central Square with a plan— eat a meal beforehand so as not to embarrass myself by juggling a cupcake in my left hand, a cookie in my right and a sticky bun on my nose all while trying to devour a raspberry bar with a “Look Mom! No hands!” kind of maneuver. Given my notorious nature to overdose on sucrose on the regular, it was no surprise that the tempting treats this confectionary crowd celebrity served up more than fufilled my delicious-quota for the day. From the fill-your-own Oreo bar to the savory snacks that outdid my expectations, I’ve taken a cue from her infamous sticky sticky buns themselves and gotten myself stuck on Joanne Chang’s Flour Bakery.

Do Good and Do Well: Greyston Bakery Tour New York

By: Finance Foodie

During the past two years writing Forays of a Finance Foodie, I’ve had the opportunity to attend many fantabulous events – from restaurant openings to fashion shows to grand tastings. Although all were fun-filled and electrifyingly awesome, none of these experiences touched my heart as much as my recent visit to Greyston Bakery, a company that epitomizes the crux of social entrepreneurialism at its best.

New England Dessert Showcase 2010 [Boston]

By: Finance Foodie

Last Saturday, I died and went to heaven – dessert heaven that is! The New England Dessert Showcase, held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel, was a sugar lover’s paradise that was brimming with sweet treats -- including the World's Largest Creme Pie! This event, which drew everyone and their mothers (literally -- the line to get in was almost a mile deep at one point), featured dessert samples from all of Boston’s top bakeries and had a wide variety of offerings to please even the pickiest palate. I arrived near the close of the event, so I missed out on a lot of the samples (including the cool sounding beer-flavored ice cream that my friend Megan sampled. Boo)!  Not to fear though, because there were still other options still available to taste.

Among them were:

Ravel Hotel's Penthouse 808 - Revisited [New York]

By: Anne M. Raso

I had to check back into the Penthouse 808 as their expanded dessert menu (mentioned in our previous visit) never left my mind. So last Sunday, back out to Long Island City I went - sweet tooth shivering in anticipation!