The yummy Frosted Cupkery: Minutes from CSULB, seconds from Cindo de Mayo!

Yummy! Frosted Cupcakery, found minutes away from Cal State Long Beach, tucked along a street cruising off the ever-popular Belmont Shore strand (at Second Street and Claremont Avenue), you can find this tasty cupcake (yeah, the one in the picture), lovingly dubbed the Flavor of the Month.

I stopped in today to try it. The cupcake's fluffy white cake is frosted with a rich, "Mexican-inspired" frosting (officially "Mexican chocolate buttercream"), flecks sprinkled around. There's even a miniature paper Mexican flag swinging on top. But, don't be scared that you'll miss out. The cupcakery worker assured me that the cupcake would be around well past the Cinco de Mayo holiday. (Durrr... Flavor of the Month, Barbara.)

As soon as I bit into this cupcake, anyway, I immediately identified this taste. My mom has used this chocolate at home countless times, I was sure. And, yes, if I had to describe the taste of this chocolate, I'd tell you to try Nestle's Abuelita, a rock hard dark chocolate that's laced with cinnamon and covered in coarse sugar.

Stop by Frosted Cupcakery to try it! (And, by the way, they also blog.) In the meantime, I'm curious...

How are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo?

Photos by Barbara Navarro.

Zephyr Cafe reintroduces cupcakes to menu

This Long Beach cafe gets more exciting with every new visit that I make. Zephyr first surprised me with their art collection of Skullphone banners strewn across their walls when I first discovered them about a month ago. Then, their food... Zephyr's vegetarian, vegan and raw dishes mak me want to switch over to a whole new way of life! (I always look forward to returning to this place. It's a constant!) And now, they've topped my list of restaurant places in Long Beach with their addition of cupcakes to their Tuesdays and Fridays menu.

Zephyr's Cupcake of the Moment: "Cookies and Cream"

Zephyr features a variety of cupcakes on their Tuesdays and Thursdays menu. Here's a list of just some of their different, tasty offerings:

• Chocolate with peanut butter frosting
• Pumpkin chocolate chip topped with a hard chocolate shell
• Chocolate, chocolate chip with chocolate mousse frosting and coconut
• Chai latte with cinnamon spice frosting
• Vanilla filled with cinnamon banana custard and topped with chocolate mousse

Call ahead to double check...
562-435-7113

Or, simply stop by!
340 E 4th St. (at Long Beach Blvd.), Long Beach

Hours
Tuesday through Saturday: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Photo by Barbara Navarro. Yum! ;) Clearer pictures for the next time!

A Tasty Blend at Surf City Squeeze

Monday's '5 to Try'...

Surf On Over
Cruise over to Surf City Squeeze at the University Dining Plaza for a thirst-quenching chiller or smoothie.

You're still not sure where or what I meant? Here's a video to remind you...

In the video, Jennifer Lee, 18, a SCQ worker and sociology student of the university, blends my favorite drink: a small smoothie made of strawberry, apple, bee pollen and ginseng. Jennifer shared her favorite drink with me too—the blueberry banana smoothie.

What's your favorite drink at Surf City Squeeze?

The Oscar Gold Gleams at Sprinkles

All photos and video by Barbara Navarro.

After a full year of watching (or not watching) great movies and living through the hurly-burly of the writers' strike, we've finally made it to the day before the Oscars. With all this, I was especially delighted to hear about Sprinkles Cupcakes' Red Carpet flavor and hurried over to the Bevely Hills hotspot for my sweetest, non-celebrity way to celebrate the Oscars. I'll be looking forward to seeing James McAvoy and Keiry Knightley, the stars of "Atonement;" Jason Reitman, Diablo Cody and Ellen Page, the director, fierce screenwriter and star of "Juno;" and Marion Cotillard, the great actress from "La Vie En Rose."

For a full list of the categories and nominees, please visit the offical Oscars website.

Also, you can vote for your favorite movie in my first ever poll (find it on the right). The question is: Who will take the Oscar statue for Best Picture? *Update: Polling is over. Read about the results.*

(To get your own batch of cupcakes, and perhaps somewhere way more local, read my previous post on Frosted Cupcakery by clicking here.)

Who are you mostly looking forward to seeing at tomorrow's 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony?

It's the Time of the Season: Strawberry Cupcakes!

Photos by Barbara Navarro. Yum!

Visit Long Beach's best cupcakery, Frosted Cupcakery, for all these sweet cupcakes and more. ;)