"dessert bar" news and stories

While American foodies have long cast an envious glance across the Atlantic to Europe (French cheese! German beer! Italian pasta!), fans of fast food have generally contented themselves with the notion that if the U.S.A. has a lock on anything culinary, it's figuring out how to satisfy all manner of gustatory cravings in a flash.

So what gives!? First we find out that while Americans have to content themselves with the McRib "for a limited time only," Germans get to feast on the cult classic year round. Now we learn, courtesy of Burger Business, that both McDonald's and Burger King are testing entirely new restaurant concepts -- but only in Europe.

Craving a Caramel Mocha McCafé but don't want to stand in line behind a woman ordering half a dozen Happy Meals? Head to the UK, where not only has McDonald's started operating stand-alone McCafés, it offers a whole slew of tantalizing sweets, from brownies to doughnuts. Apparently in Germany, that includes a menu of cupcakes named (ironically) for New York City neighborhoods.

Not to be outdone, Burger King is testing its own dessert-driven concept: the aptly named Dessert Bar. No burgers here -- just a mouthwatering array of delights, from BK Fusions ice cream treats to brownies, cakes, cookies and muffins. It's enough to make you feel like a kid in a candy store, but only if you're a kid in London or Spain, because those are the only two places you'll find The Dessert Bar.

Ok, Europe -- you can keep your cathedrals, culture, palazzos and palaces, just give us back our fast-food firsts.

As traditional wedding activities such as throwing the bouquet and finding the garter come and go in popularity, so too does the traditional wedding cake. Jon and I are not cake people -- we're more the brownie, cookie, doughnut and ice cream types. So when it came time to make the decision of whether of not to have a wedding cake, we initially shrugged it off. Cakes can range anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars. With flavors ranging from classic chocolate and vanilla to dulce de leche and s'mores, the options have certainly kept up with the times. Yet, even when you do find a great tasting cake, most people don't even touch it once it's sliced and on a plate.

That said -- call me a traditionalist -- part of me still wants to actually feed my new husband on our first wedded day together. We started playing around with options -- cupcakes (been there, done that), bars, mini pies -- we just can't pinpoint what we want.

Did you offer a dessert bar or cake or both at your wedding? Especially if you offered something out of the ordinary, please share your sweet ideas with me in the comment section.



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