As you may have realized from my actual cooking blog, I don’t always stick with the different blog categories I set up. This stems from my own history of having stream of conscious type writing. I usually write exactly as the thoughts play out in my head and this tends to me having eureka moments and then constant months of writer’s block. Perhaps it’s why it took me so long to write papers in college. Anyway how does this lead me here? I am inspired by the new Food Network show The Best Thing I Ever Ate. While watching the show it got me thinking about really good things I have eaten at various places around the country and I feel the need to share.

I would love it if you shared your favorite desserts, etc. as I will try to update each week! So here is my first edition. The best dessert I ever ate came from Louisville, Kentucky. It was the Spring of 2007 and I was at a convention. Several of my colleagues and myself went to one of the famous eateries near our hotel called Maker’s Mark. Appropriately named for Kentucky! The food was fabulous, but the item I remember most is the dessert. I have a passion for Dunkin Donuts. I know you may be rejecting my claim right now, with a desire to express the reasons why Krispy Kreme is better, however I can tell you this. I have tried many selections of both and I still love Dunkin Donuts. Their light and airy donuts feature a plethora (many, a lot, a whole bunch..why couldn’t I think of these while writing my thesis?) of selections, however, I have two favorites in particular, sugar raised, and chocolate (not chocolate frosted, chocolate).

So how does this relate to Maker’s Mark. While I was mulling over whether or not to get a dessert, one of my colleagues told me “to go for it”, and the waitress pointed to one on the menu the “Wide Awake”. “Try this one, you won’t be disappointed” she stated. After reading the contents, chocolate espresso torte, I decided that it would be worth the try. I made my colleagues promise to share it with me, as I was pretty full from dinner. When our waitress brought the torte out it looked unassuming. However, after one bite I was hooked. I ate every last bite of the torte and would have ordered seconds, except I wasn’t paying. It had the taste of the chocolate Dunkin Donut I mentioned earlier, except with an extra kick of espresso and something that made it chocolatier, “more chocolatey?”. And even though I woke up two hours after going to bed ready to get up and go for the rest of the day (I did say espresso were in the contents), I think if the restaurant hadn’t closed for the night I would have marched back over there and ordered a second. And that is the best dessert I ever ate.

Sidenote: If you ever happen to go the Maker’s Mark: Bourbon House and Lounge in Kentucky I believe the dessert is now called Homage to Keller.