Fun Finds

I just love to discover new little off the beaten path fooderies (not sure that is even a word) and here are my latest two finds:

A friend of mine told me about this new cupcake shop called "So Cupcakes". I'm not really sure what the name means except that it is just all about cupcakes. You have to know exactly where you are going to find it because it is in an obscure location at the back of a mostly empty office building. The shop itself is darling: very pink and frilly and it smells just heavenly as soon as you step in the door. I heard about it Friday night so I had to check it out on Saturday. I was having family and the Elders to Sunday dinner so that was my excuse for indulging. I got to the shop about 4 pm on Saturday afternoon and I was actually afraid that I was too late and that it would be already closed. Not so. The little shop was bustling. There are several tables and chairs for in-shop eating and most of those were full. The line infront of the cupcake display cabinets had about 5 people lined up. The 2 women in front of me were requesting so many cupcakes I was getting nervous there wouldn't be any left for me. Their total came to about $120! While this was going on up front, people were streaming in the door behind me. By the time it was my turn, I'll bet there were 12 or 15 more people in line. I was thrilled to be able to chose a variety of cupcakes: Chocolate Peanut Butter; Cinnamon Sugar; Carrot Cake and RED VELVET -- my favorite! They pack them up in these really substantial card board boxes that have an insert with individual holes for each cupcake so they don't roll around or tip over in transport... very thoughtful. I was pretty happy when I walked past that long line with my cute cardboard box and was all ready to treat my guests. I should have transfered them to a plastic container when I got home since I was not serving them until the next day but still they were delicious. I hope this shop can survive and thrive. I know I'll be going there again.

Then Monday evening Cam and LaRane took Paul & me out to dinner to a fun pizzeria that I have been wanting to go to for a long time. It is called Settebello and it is in downtown Salt Lake. They have an authentic wood burning stove direct from Naples, Italy and they specialize in Napolei-style pizzas -- the ones with the super thin crust and crushed tomatoes as the sauce and fresh, fresh toppings. Paul ordered a pizza with arugala and it looked more like a salad than a pizza -- he loved it! The pizzas are intended as individual servings and they are seriously about 14" in diameter. No worries, most us were able to pound them right down. They were fabulous! If you get chance you should definately treat yourself.