Hot & Crusty

New York $ ***
After suffering through "Where the Wild Things Are," my friend and I definitely needed some chocolate. We both walked straight into Hot & Crusty, which seems to be a New York chain. There were two huge cases of pastries. We were in heaven. We both ordered some crunchy chocolate pastries that I forgot the names of. Pretty good, but nothing amazing. However, we did slightly recover from the movie. I'd have liked to try their bagels, which must be good since people kept coming in for them, even late at night.
Hot & Crusty (Upper East Side)
1276 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10028

Palio Dessert & Espresso House

Portland $ ****
This cozy, surprisingly large cafe would have been perfect if it hadn't been for a certain waitress (she was rude and messed up my friend's order!). Now that I got that out of the way, I can continue praising this place.
Palio is located in adorable Ladd's Addition. Even if you don't come to Palio, you should drive around Ladd's Addition in southeast Portland. Ladd's is a square made up of diagonal streets, tiny homes, and lots and lots of roses. This is why Portland is considered Rose City. Palio offers the typical cafe items: soups, sandwiches, coffee, and desserts - all moderately priced. What makes this place so great is coming up next.
There are three distinct sections at Palio: one is the main room where you purchase the food and can sit at some tables; another is a separate room that looks like a perfect study area with lots of large tables; the last section is the one my friend and I chose. In the back of the main room, walk up a few steps to an elevated platform. Here, there are about 3 tables, bookshelves full of random books, and games. Yes, board games!
So, instead of reading about families in the South, my friend and I played two rounds of checkers and one round of my favorite: Scrabble! It was wonderful. We had a variety of dictionaries to choose from to help us in our intense game. Ther were various magazines and poetry books that were fun as well. My ham and cheese sandwich with bar-b-que chips were delicious (although, our awful waitress took forever), while my friend enjoyed her meal even though it was the wrong dish.
For dessert, we both ordered the tiramisu, but their version of tiramisu is definitely not a proper tiramisu. It was more of a chocolate cake. However, it was a good chocolate cake, and so we were quite pleased regardless.
Palio is open late for Portland standards, and the atmosphere was great: cozy, laid-back, and I could definitely imagine coming back to study sometime. The waitress sucked, and two of our dishes were incorrect, but everything else was perfect.
Palio Dessert & Coffee House (Ladd's Addition)
1996 SE Ladd Ave
Portland, OR 97214
Mon-Fri 7am-11pm
Sat-Sun 8am-11pm

Pastini Pastaria

Portland $ ****
After a successful shopping day in downtown, my friend and I somehow thought we still deserved some dessert. Unfortunately, 7:30 pm is late in Portland, so we had trouble finding a suitable place. Finally, after roaming Broadway and a few more streets, we saw the neon sign of Pastini Pastaria. I had read about it before and had been on its website multiple times. It was a straightforward Italian place, not quite interesting enough to put it on my List. However, we were desperate, and so we walked in and asked to see their dessert menu.

Tiramisu AND chocolate tartufo - both for less than $6?! Okay, we're sold. The atmosphere was what I was expecting. Looks like a chain (because it is - there are 8 in total), and the crowd consisted of the typical annoyingly mainstream crowd with which I try not to mingle. But hey, we're here. Let's try their dessert.
I'm glad we did! I ordered the chocolate tartufo. Yummm. I'm sure all they had to do was microwave the cake and plop scoops of vanilla ice cream, but still. It tasted great. The warm center of the chocolate cake was oozing out and tasted great with the TWO scoops of vanilla bean ice cream and some whipped cream. Gluttony in a bowl. My friend also enjoyed her tiramisu, although she did admit that it did taste packaged and was nowhere near the authentic tiramisu we had at Veritable Quandary.
Service was decent, and the noise level was kind of loud because we were sitting next to two high school girls. Overall, I would recommend coming here when you, like us, are stuck in downtown craving dessert after 7 pm. Great price!
Pastini Pastaria (Downtown)
911 SW Taylor at 9th Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
Mon-Thu 11am-9pm
Fri-Sat 11am-10pm
Sun 3pm-9pm

Beachhouse at the Moana

Honolulu $$$$ *****
Another amazing restaurant at another amazing hotel. Walk straight into the Moana Surfrider (Hawaii's oldest hotel), into the relaxing, oceanfront restaurant. My friends and I came for dessert on a Monday night. Our host told us to sit anywhere, so we looked at our options. We could sit inside (but who wants that on such a beautiful night in Waikiki?) or outside on high chairs or on low chairs. We chose the cushy low chairs that we immediately sank into.
We ordered the tiramisu and cheecake bon bons(?). I'm glad we ordered only two for the three of us because the sizes were huge. The tiramisu was wonderful as usual. I'm not really a cheesecake person, so I didn't particularly care for the bon bons, but my friend loved them. The bon bons consisted of three chocolate, three shortbread, and three strawberries.

The laid-back atmosphere was a perfect way to end our night. The chef came around and asked how we were doing. Live music and great service - none of us wanted to leave. I'm definitely adding the Beachhouse to my list of favorite dessert places, and sometime I'll try the high tea.
Beachhouse at the Moana (Waikiki)
2365 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, HI
Breakfast: Sun-Sat 6am-11am
High Tea: Sun-Sat 1pm-4pm
Dinner: Sun-Sat 5:30pm-10pm

Satura Cakes

Honolulu $ ****
This is a cute little Japanese dessert chain specializing in cakes, which they make lighter than usual. My brother and I were looking for a place to get dessert in Waikiki. We were considering the typical ice cream shops, e.g., Coldstone, Dreyers, Häagen-Dazs, but then I remembered that I've been wanting to try that place in Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. So we walked past Moana Surfrider, west to the newly-renovated shopping center.
There were about 10 different cake flavors available. All were $3.95, and all were about the same size as a Cold Stone like it. Not bad. I had a hard time choosing between kona-misu (tiramisu), chocolate, and red velvet. I ended up getting kona-misu and was glad I did. We sat outside and watched the world go by. The cake was as light as I expected. There's a smooth layer of cake on the bottom, and the rest of it is almost like a mousse-whipped cream mixture with powdered chocolate on the top. Next time I'll try red velvet. They also make wedding cakes!
Satura Cakes (Waikiki)
2233 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
Daily 9:30am - 10:30am

JJ Bistro & French Pastry

Honolulu $$ *****
My family used to be regulars at JJ when it was just starting a few years ago, but now we only go about once a year. Since opening, JJ has doubled in size, hired new workers that I don't recognize, and has become renowned throughout the island. Fortunately, its chocolate pyramids taste the same.
Yes, that's right. CHOCOLATE PYRAMID - JJ's specialty and the reason why this place exists. Sure, JJ also has a small French menu for lunch and dinner, and, sure, there is a huge glass display of their other amazing desserts. But the chocolate pyramids are a must. These pyramid-shaped mousse cakes are for chocolate lovers only. There is a chocolate cookie-like texture layering the bottom. The rest of it is pure rich chocolate mousse, and the entire thing is covered with cocoa powder. Yum. The regular size can feed 2 people and is $4.50. JJs offers bitsize ones (but why would you only want one bite???), 1/2 a pyramid, and larger-than-life sizes that you should probably bring to a party so you don't die of chocolate right there.

JJ Bistro & French Pastry (Kaimuki)
3447 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
Mon–Sat 9am–9pm
Sun noon–9pm

Sweet Masterpiece

Portland $$ ****
Wonderful little dessert place in the Pearl District. Friendly service, soothing atmosphere, great desserts. I order the chocolate molten cake every time.
Sweet Masterpiece Chocolate & Coffee Bar (Pearl District)
922 NW Davis St
Portland, OR 97209
Tue-Thu, Sun 9am-11pm
Fri-Sat 9am-12am

Sweet Melissa Patisserie

New York $$ *****
Sweet Melissa is exactly what it says it is: sweet. Located in adorable Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, this little restaurant is quaint and cheery. I had a delicious chocolate souffle cake.
Sweet Melissa Patisserie (Cobble Hill)
276 Court Street
New York, NY 11231
Mon-Thurs 7:30am-10:00pm
Fri 7:30am-midnight
Sat 8:00am-midnight
Sun 8:00am-10:00pm

Magnolia Bakery

New York $ *****
Do I even need to write a post for this? In case you live in a bubble and/or don't watch Sex and the City (good for you!), Magnolia Bakery is a New York chain specializing in cupcakes. Huge, delicious cupcakes. I will have fond memories of this place regardless of the cupcakes' taste because I am in love with New York. However, this place is actually quite good.

Magnolia Bakery
401 Bleeker Street (West Village)
New York, NY 10014

200 Columbus Avenue (Upper West Side)
New York, NY 10023

1240 Avenue of the Americas (Midtown)
New York, NY 10036

Yogurtland

Honolulu $ ****Hawaii is finally getting into the yogurt craze - soon we'll be seeing more gelato and creperies. This particular yogurt place is right next to UH. You get to customize your own yogurt, add whatever you want on it, and pay according to its weight. There are some pretty interesting flavors, such as green tea, Irish mint creme, and toasted coconut, but since I am a wuss I got chocolate.


Yogurtland (Manoa)
1810 University Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96822
Daily 10am-10pm

Papa Haydn

Portland $$$ *****


Hands down, Portland's most popular dessert place. I haven't tried any of their other meals, but Papa Haydn's desserts are definitely their specialty. For about $8 you can have an autumn meringue, cassata, boccone dolce, chocolate hazelnut torte, lemon chiffon cake. Every time I go, I have to first look at the dessert case and see which one I feel like having that day. Upscale setting. There are two: one in Nob Hill and one in Sellwood.


Papa Haydn
701 NW 23rd Ave (Nob Hill)
Portland, Or 97210
Mon-Thurs 11:30am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11:30am-12am
Sun 10am-10pm

5829 SE Milwaukie Ave (Sellwood)
Portland, OR 97202
Mon-Thurs 11:30am-10pm
Fri-Sat 11:30am-12 am
Sun 10am-9pm

Waiola Shave Ice

Honolulu $ *****This is possibly the best shave ice I've ever had. Shave ice, in case you are not a local, is the same thing as snow cones. Smooth and flavorful, Waiola's shave ice are on another league, not to mention dirt-cheap. Just be prepared - seating consists of two benches right outside the order window and a little grocery store.

Waiola Shave Ice (Kapahulu)
2135 Waiola Ave corner of Paani Street
Honolulu, HI 96805