Have a recommendation? We'd LOVE to hear it!
Salutations Readers!
Kalamazoo has good food.
Great food, in fact. We have made it our mission to check out all the local eateries one at a time - and more for our own poor memories than any other reason, we'll be chronicling our adventures in food here. And some places float our boats way more than others, which is why we have developed the very scientific five golden forks rating scale. Ok. It is not scientific at all. It is actually quite unscientific. But, it is something. And now, you can search all of our reviews by the forks rating. YAY!

But, wait! There's more!
Kalamazoo Foodies no longer just eat at restaurants then review them. There are recipes posted, some easy, some less easy, all delicious. There are, or will be, book reviews, the new Foodie Movie Review-y which will focus on movies about food or ones that have a lot of beautiful food in them. There are other food musings, and hopefully soon contests and so much more. But, Foodie Friends, it is all about food. Because we love it!
And, we want to hear from you!
We want to hear your comments on our recipes and reviews. We want to know where you love to eat. And, we are looking for GUEST bloggers to broaden our horizons a bit. And, if you haven't found us on Facebook, you should do that too. Like our page for other fun Foodies stuff like photos, polls, and more.

SO KALAMAZOO PATRONS - where do YOU love to eat? Because we'd love to check it out and share our thoughts here. Give us a comment below, and quickly! Our tummies are grumbling in anticipation.

A Note from the Foodies about our typical fair:
So, you may notice as you read our blog that we often order the same thing wherever we go. OK, maybe not quite, but we do often order similar things. Kristin has her caprese salads and mushroom dishes. Kate has her baked goat cheese and things with tofu. Well, readers, we wanted to let you know that this is absolutely intentional. A) We love those things, so why not order what you love? And, B) It is a lot easier to compare apples to apples than it is to compare apples to comquats. So, we like to order similar things to have a good sense of how to compare them. Just wanted to let you in on that little secret. Bon appetit!

Monday, July 16, 2012

Taste Love Cupcakes (Royal Oak, MI)

So, Mr. Foodie had some business to take care of on the east side of the state and his buddy, Corey, tipped him off to this Food Network's Cupcake Wars winning bakery. Naturally he had to stop and pick some up to bring home to his pregnant wife, right? Right! Let's not forget that that means that he got to indulge in them as well! 

Anyway, they were truly incredible. And I will dare say they were the best cupcakes I have ever had. As the name suggests, these cupcakes are truly made with love. The cake was moist, the frosting was wonderfully creamy and thick, and the flavors were outstanding. So, below is a breakdown of the cupcakes we enjoyed (ranked in least favorite (first) to favorite (last) order, though all were delicious)...

Pictured are Key Lime Pie (L), Fluffer Nutter, and Sweet Potato

Fluffer Nutter
Peanut butter. Yes, peanut butter. This cupcake was overwhelmingly peanut buttery. Not that I don't like peanut butter. But it kind of took over. The marshmallow didn't even come through, expect for texturally in the frosting, which was light and fluffy. We actually were worried that this cupcake was SO peanut buttery, that it was going to make the others taste like it. Fortunately it did not. If peanut butter is your #1 thing, then this is the cupcake for you. 

Key Lime Pie
A tasty, light cupcake. The flavoring of the key lime was very subtle, so subtle in fact, that it was almost overwhelmed by the vanilla of the cake (I think it was the cake, as I am not 100% sure where all the flavoring was happening). The graham cracker crumbles on top added a very nice crunch. I liked this one, don't get me wrong. It was delicious. I just expected a little more key lime than I experienced.

Double Vanilla Bean
This gal loves vanilla through and through. I rarely opt for a chocolate option when a vanilla one exists (think cake, ice cream, cookies, etc.). So, I was immediately excited about this cupcake, and for good reason. This this was LOADED with vanilla bean flavor. You could see the little black specs of real vanilla throughout the cake AND the frosting.  For some, this might have been too much. For me, it was perfect. The frosting on this one also seemed a little thicker, and more indulgent, for some reason. Which was totally wonderful.

Sweet Potato
Um... what to say about this cupcake? I am almost speechless. Let's start with this... it was INCREDIBLE! Invoking images of a blustery fall day with the spicing in the cake (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, what else???) and the most decadent brown sugar frosting topped with crunchy pralines. Is this heaven? I think it may be. Again, the moist cake with the super creamy and thick frosting punctuated with the crunch of the nuts on top... genius! I could probably eat this cupcake every day of the year, even with its cold days feel, but that is likely not a good idea. Since it is made with sweet potatoes though, it has to be good for me, right? Redeeming nutritional value...HA! If you visit Taste Love, you CAN NOT pass this one up. Unless you are allergic to sweet potatoes or something like that. 

I was blown away by our Taste Love experience. You can see why these ladies won Cupcake Wars. I have to say, I am thankful that they are not easy to get to for us, as I would have trouble staying away if they were! If you are anywhere near Royal Oak, or maybe even not that near, you gotta try them!


five golden forks out of five!




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