Cupcake times...and dumplings too

I had a m-o-n-S-T-E-R craving for cupcakes the other day...and nary a Flour or South End Buttery in sight! My favorite is SEB's carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting, after a certain Katie's delicious carrot cake. Mmmm. I prefer any cupcake at Flour and SEB over the highly hyped, but rather disappointing ones I've tried during my cupcake R&D period in NYC - Billy's Bakery, Magnolia, Two Little Red Hens, Crumbs all came up short. Either too dry and/or too sweet. I had a yummy one once at Blue Dog Bakery, and then another pretty good one on 7th Ave and 20th..I think. If Chikalicious or Kyotofu had cupcakes, I bet they would taste awesome. If you're ever in NYC, you absolutely have to try the black sesame tofu dessert at Kyotofu. Any dessert at Chickalicious will make you swoon.

It's so funny, but since moving abroad to the land of food, I've been obsessed with...American and Asian foods. And I'm not alone!

Les soldes

Over the Christmas holiday, I experienced sticker shock when I went food shopping! Is it me, or have food prices along with everything else risen by 15-20% over the past 8 months? The cost of food and dining out was on par with French prices...but clothes and gasoline are still comparatively cheaper in the US than France, and much much cheaper compared to Switzerland.

Anyway, with the Euro rising against the USD (bad news for me and R), I was happily surprised when I returned home to find Les Soldes have started. Youpie! In France, sales are regulated. Stores are allowed to have major sales twice a year, and the first one starts in mid-January and lasts to mid-February. When we went to Annecy the other day, I noticed huge prominent SOLDES signs everywhere, with additional 40-70% off the lowest prices on the tags. I looked for shoes but haven't found anything that I LOVE yet and if I don't love it, I'm not buying it.