Dessert Paradise!

Every night: dinner at Mosaic restaurant at The Cove. It is a full on buffet set up - of course the most interesting section to me is the dessert bar and every night I pile on my plate these little treats. Like small treasures, I just can't resist any of the them - truth be told, often prettier than tasty, I nonetheless have to try each one, except of course the sugar free purple jello - no sorry, you lost me with that one.....the most wonderful of all of these is the Guava cheesecake. Not fancy, in fact the golden rectangle might be overlooked - but SO delicious. The smooth cheesecake filling sits atop a crunchy cookie crust, the topping is a Guava fruit gelatin - my favorite part! Too yummy! And I looked perfectly natural taking several photos of this dessert at my table.

Disclaimer: can be messy when attempting to smuggle out multiples in the purse/pockets. Also do not attempt to nonchalantly walk out with a handful if you are going to forget the exit doors are glass and pull inward.....

Perfect and Free....

This is a tiny square of Manna for Nani. Chocolate and anis, a combination so delectable and perfect, it could only be tasted, well, unexpectedly.

This is how it found me......

One night, not so long ago, driving down the main road of Emerald Isle with my most beloved The Rock Star beside me, we came upon a shop, still opened, with a row of various, multi-colored, non-matching beach and rocking chairs alligned in front.

The later it gets, and as he is want to do, The Rock Star craves the coffee. Nani always craves the sweet: this shop said "ice cream" in the window. Oh yeah, we were going in.

Upon entering, I might have been momentarily distracted by the assortment of homemade chocolate fudge pieces by the door. I might have paused longer than necessary in front of the "pick your own" colored jellies and candies a few farther steps in. I might even have glanced fleetingly to the left as I passed the boxes of carolina toffees.....But still and somewhat, I was unwavering in my beeline to the back of the store and the ice cream section.

As I paced back and forth in front of the cold flavors there, I noticed a small basket of chocolate squares. Chocolate and Anis together, the two parfums together in a most splendid, bite size, package? I knew instantly I MUST INGEST! I picked through the cinnamon/curry and sweet/hot pepper combos and got myself a handful. Turns out these treasures were free as the "acquired taste" was never acquired by the natives or the tourists.....more for me...

In the end, sitting there, on a warm night on Emerald Isle, swinging in the chairs in front of this shop - we could only look out upon an asphalt sea of parking lot, but it didn't matter. I had a pocket full of the sweetest squares, shoulder to shoulder with The Rock Star, our ocean was beautiful and sweet....