cookies and code

After a very satisfying meal at Nash’s Restaurant, we walked across the street to Olde Tyme Cakery, Creamery, and Candie Shoppe to look for something sweet for later. At Old Tyme’s they produce all types of cakes, sweets, ice cream, and candy, but the speciality of the shop, according to shop girl, is red velvet cake and wedding cake. My wife, mother, and aunt were pretty excited upon hearing this for two reasons: they love wedding cake and where there is wedding cake, there are usually petifores. Sure enough, the shop had chocolate petifores made with red velvet cake and chocolate filling as well as the traditional white petifore with white wedding cake and butter cream filling. We grabbed a few of those (~$1 each) and a slice of a red velvet cake made that morning (~$3) along with a brownie that was calling our name (~$2). The cake was delicious, very silky in texture with a cream cheese frosting that was very rich in flavor; some of the best red velvet cake I’ve had to date. The brownie was coated in chocolate frosting and topped with pecans and very moist considering it had been pre-cut that morning. I didn’t get to try the petifores unfortunately, but I did hear a lot of, “Oh, you won’t like this…” and “You shouldn’t try this, its terrible…” accompanied by lots of laughs so I’m guessing they were a hit.

From a quick glance at the display counter, it looks like Old Tyme’s also does custom spun sugar sculpting as well as custom cakes and day-to-day sweets. There were a few shops in the same building as the “cakery” but I’m not sure if they were affiliated with Old Tyme; that being said, they had a lot of Cajun trinkets that were fun to peruse though. Although, we didn’t try the dessert at Nash’s, if you find yourself in a similar situation to us (being stuffed with no hope to eat dessert directly), then give Olde Tyme Cakery, Creamery, and Candie Shoppe a try. I think you won’t be disappointed.

Olde Tyme Cakery, Creamery, and Candie Shoppe is located at 210 N Morgan Ave, Broussard, Louisiana.

My wife and I stopped by Oasis Shaved Ice this evening and the owners told us that they are going to be extending their hours until 9:00 PM daily with the exception of 10:00 PM on Fridays. For anyone who has driven by after 8:30 PM on a weekday looking for a snack, this is great news! If you haven’t had an opportunity to swing by and give them a try then take the time support a great local business.

As we were walking around the historic district in St. Augustine, the aromas from the candy stores and ice cream shops are pretty intoxicating. We set out on a goal to find a peanut encrusted caramel apple as well as some mint chocolate chip ice cream in one of those fresh waffle cones. We stopped by a few stores but the prices were pretty high, averaging ~$8 per item. That was a little high for us so we kept hunting and found Kilwin’s Chocolates. As you look into the windows you can see people making the waffle cones and there are tables for candy making (maybe in the mornings?). The shop is small but the line was out the door; if there one thing I’ve come to trust when I travel is to look for where the most people are eating, usually you’ll end up with some form of “good eats” (hopefully Alton Brown won’t sue me for using that). We got a huge caramel green apple covered in chopped peanuts (~$6) and a fresh waffle cone filled with mint chocolate chunk ice cream (~$4). Considering what you pay at places like Cold Stone, we figured it was a good compromise on price. The sweets turned out great too, so it was a nice treat for the afternoon. I know Kilwin’s is a national chain, and there are a couple in the historic district, but we really enjoyed it. Guess I have to break my rules every now and then, forgive me :’(

Kilwin’s Chocolates is located at 140 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida.

Recently some friends of ours have been raving about this place beach side that has amazing shaved ice. My first reaction was, “Um, it’s ice that has been shaved into small pieces with juice … wow, sounds great.” Let me tell you, I am idiot for ever doubting them. The place they spoke of is Oasis Shaved Ice. Oasis opened up around last October and slowly has been gaining popularity with the locals. Oasis has a menu of over 20 flavors of shaved ice, each of which can be topped with condense milk (a snow-cap), topped with melted marshmallows (frost it) or have a scoop of ice cream thrown in before hand (stuff it). Flavors range from tropical fruits to sweet extracts to cake-based (that’s right) and can be served in 4 possible sizes, ranging from kids to large. Oasis also offers a variety of coffees and sodas for those, who for some reason, came to a shaved ice stand for something other than shaved ice.

My wife and I drove out on a Sunday afternoon and found cars in the drive-thru as well as one free space in the, all be it small, parking lot. Oasis instantly gave us that great beach side vibe that we’ve come to expect from the area. After about 10 minutes pouring over the choices, we went with a medium, half and half, blue raspberry and pina colada, and a medium Mardi Gras King Cake ($2.50 each). We had heard the cake flavors really tasted like cake but how would it taste in shaved ice? We weren’t disappointed. The pina colada tasted like fresh coconut and the blue raspberry didn’t taste like candy but raspberries. The Mardi Gras flavor was just like biting into a king cake; so much so, that it even came with a little plastic baby at the bottom.

It’s not hard to guess that we had a good experience, but here’s the kicker. While we eating, the woman working counter (she may have been the owner) drove away, drove back, walked up to us and asked, “I know this was your first time visiting, what did you think?” Wow, talk about the personal touch. This is why I love local businesses and will always patronize them. It looks like they can even take the business on the road with their own refrigerated truck. If you haven’t been by Oasis Shaved Ice, then do yourself a favor and go. Not only are you in for a refreshing treat, but it’s something you don’t get everyday with a great side of service.

Oasis Shaved Ice is located about a quarter-mile south of the Pineda Causeway on A1A in Satellite Beach, FL.

NOTE: Oasis Shaved Ice doesn’t take debit/credit cards, so make sure you bring CASH. Also, since this post was written we’ve tried Strawberry Cheesecake, Mango, and Grape which were equally great.