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desserts

Downtown Sweet Shop Now Open

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A new dessert cafe, Me’Yanna Berry Co., will officially open to the public this Friday. They are a family owned one of kind dessert café located in the heart of the city of Dayton with Positive Vibes & DOPE (Delicious On Purpose Every-time) Desserts. Their specialties are gourmet cupcakes, desserts, and novelties.

Me’Yanna Berry Co. is located in the newly renovated Biltmore Building at 15 E. First St. Owner Kia Wilson considers herself a buttercream and dessert artist, and will have an assortment of homemade desserts for sale. Owner Kia Wilson, a Dayton native and former school teacher began baking in her home kitchen and selling her sweet treats as “Kia Cake and Co.”

Me’Yanna Berry Co. will also offer carry-out gourmet wines, apparel, prayer candles, and other gifts and accessories. The treat shop will be open for its first day  from noon-6 pm on Friday, Feb. 25. Regular business hours will then be Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 am.-3:30 pm, Fridays 10 am-6 pm, and Saturdays 9 am-1 pm.

 

Me’ Yanna Berry Co.

15 E. First Street
Dayton, OH 45402

(937) 723-6928

Indulge Your Sweet Tooth Sunday!

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Sweet Treats Poster 2016Get ready to satisfy your Sweet Tooth at the Sweet Treats Festival this Sunday, March 20th.

This epicurean adventure will showcase over 20 of the area’s top bakeries, chocolatiers, pastry artisans or home-based businesses known for creating decadent desserts.  Attendees will be asked to help  select Dayton’s Best Sweet Treat by voting for their favorite at the event.  The line up for treats so far includes cookies,  cupcakes, candies, truffles, pralines, macaroons, chocolate dipped fruit, fudge, toffee, peanut brittle, cake pops, brownies, baklava and so much more!

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Cupcakes from Cake, Hope & Love

Held at The Coliseum at The Montgomery County Fairgrounds,  the event will run from 2 – 4pm.   Tickets will be sold for $25 in advance, $30 at the door.  There is even a special group ticket deal- buy a bakers dozen (13) for the cost of just 10 tickets ($250).

 

Admission covers 13 taste tickets, one vote for favorite festival sweet, a bottle of water and insights and lessons from the vendors on the Demonstration Stage.  Every booth will have a taste available, and many will have full size treats on sale, just in time to fill your Easter Basket.

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Cookies from Gracie’s Baking

Sweet Treats  was originally conceived as  an opportunity to showcase the growing number of small independent cup cake shops that have popped up in the Miami Valley in the last couple of years.    The first Sweet Treats Festival was held in 2013 and was a huge success with over 350 in attendance, but in 2014 we got snowed out and a little discouraged.  So many people asked about this event, we’re brought it back for 2016,” says Planned2Give organizer Jeff Jackson.  Jackson shares, “One of the best parts of the festival is helping small entrepreneurs expose their products to a larger market.” Purely Sweet Bakery owner Dawn Valor shares “Sweet Treats Festival is near and dear to my heart since it’s where I got recognized and got my spot at 2nd Street Market.”  For 2016 there will be bakers that will be offering up sugar free treats, gluten free goodies and even vegan  sweets .

 

Sweet Treats is made possible with support from Garland & Johnson Dental and Planned2Give and DaytonMostMetro.com  Hope LogoThe charity partner for the 2016 festival is  The Hope Foundation of Greater Dayton. Their mobile pantry provides food to those in need, distributing food to 1000+ families in Montgomery and Greene Counties.  They provide groceries that feed around 3,000 people EVERY MONTH!

 

Tickets can be purchased online or picked up at Cake, Hope & Love, Signature Confections and Fronana for $25.

Confirmed Vendors Include:

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French Toast w/Bacon (cinnamon cupcake, maple buttercream icing and topped with bacon) from Ella Bella

3rd Perk Coffeehouse & Wine Bar
Awesome Yogurt
Cake, Hope & Love
Communitea
Ella Bella Gluten Free
Fronana
Geau to the Moon
Ghostlight
Gifts Arranged
Ginniebug Creations
Gracie’s Baking
Maui Mae’s
Moore Dessert Please
Redémarrage Patisserie
Savorie Gourmet Café
Signature Confections
Sweet by Kristy
Tina’s Sweet Treats
Whole Foods Market

 

Homemade Pies at Ghostlight Coffee

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Pumpkin Maple Pie – A new Vegan twist on a Thanksgiving favorite

Need homemade pies for Thanksgiving?  Consider a new source: Ghostlight Coffee on Wayne Ave.  You can place your order now for pickup just in time for the holidays.
Dayton Dining and Food Adventures were lucky enough to get some pies from the ladies behind these  made from scratch pies,   Mandy and Mara.  Delivered in custom made personalized  boxes, the packaging alone set our expectations high and we have to stay these pies really get high marks!

Here is your chance to take some pressure off of your Thanksgiving cooks, and let Ghostlight’s bakers do the work.

 

 

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

— Order pies in person at Ghostlight Coffee at 1201 Wayne Ave. or go to GhostlightCoffee.com

— Your pie order can be picked up on your choice of 3 days (11/23, 11/24, and 11/25/15)

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Mara and Mandy, bakers at Ghostlight Coffee, hostedt a dessert tasting event last Monday.

These are the eight featured foods on this new “pies from scratch at Ghostlight Coffee” menu.

NEW TREATS:

— MAMA SMITH’S FANTASTIC APPLE PIE:  A perfectly made dutch apple style pie.  Old fashioned, and an American tradition.  Chef House is on record as saying this is her favorite of the pie selections.

— THE KENTUCKY BOURBON PECAN PIE:  Crunchy and creamy, with an almost honey taste, this pie is terrific.  The Big Ragu and Lisa from DaytonDining are on record as liking this one best.

— THE PUMPKIN & MAPLE PIE: A unique combo, the pie is soft and luscious.  Dairy free and egg free, it is a twist on pumpkin pie with a maple syrup combo.

— GLUTEN FREE CARAMEL APPLE PIE: Tina’s Sweet Treats makes this flavored pie for Ghostlight Coffee.  It is covered with a nice coating of handmade caramel sauce.

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The Big Ragu enjoyed Ghostlight Pies From Scratch

— THE GHOSTLIGHT THANKSGIVING PIE:  A 10 inch Pumpkin and Maple pie with a Kentucky Bourbon Pecan pie stacked underneath.  This is like Dayton’s pie version of a Tur-duck-en.  We love the no rules approach and inventive boldness!  This is a Food Adventure item for sure!

— PUMPKIN SNICKERDOODLES: The classic cookie is back for the holidays.  The traditional taste with a pumpkin mix.

— FALL TONIC AUTUMN BLEND COFFEE: A special coffee featured as a blend with any of these desserts.

— GLUTEN FREE DINNER ROLLS:  From Tina’s Sweet Treats, these rolls are in just in time for the holidays.  We may ruin the health factor by adding some butter…

Some of these items may be available at Ghostlight to eat, right now.

Thank you to Ghostlight Coffee and owner Shane Anderson for sharing these sweet comfort foods with us.

Food Adventures thinks many Daytonians will take advantage of this special, limited time pie offering.

 

Want to take advantage of more food scoop around the Miami Valley?  Then, ” like Food Adventures on Facebook” by clicking HERE.

Limited time !

Look at those Bourbon Pecan Pies !

Outside of Ghostlight Coffee

From Scratch by Ghostlight Coffee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pies can be ordered to be picked up 11/23-11/25/15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since 2011

The Big Ragu and owner of Ghostlight, Shane Anderson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie

Mara and some baked Ghostlight goodies

Pecan pie twist like no other

Barista Capital of Dayton

Pumpkin Maple – a twist on an old favorite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Pie

Pumpkin Maple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Order Form

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buckin’ Donkey Grille: The Menu Will Kick Your …

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Beef on Weck – Old Style Taste

The Food Adventure Crew have been tackling the only Polish-Irish Pittsburgh Bar cuisine in Dayton for months now.  Today, we share these experiences with you.

Our weekly Food Adventure installment brings us to The Buckin’ Donkey Grille at 3808 Wilmington Pike in Kettering.  Sure, being Cincinnati Bengals fans, we have to stomach the Steelers posters, but the food is worth it.

Our friend, owner Sean Mckown, has worked in various restaurants, but honed his skills cooking for his buddies.  Over the years he has tweaked recipes and invented menu items that are remarkable comfort food.  Sean is a laid-back guy with a great sense of humor.  You can often catch him mingling with patrons as he is in and out of the kitchen.  Sean is our kind of guy, making food that his friends love.  He experiments in the kitchen, and has perfected his dishes over the years.  This is yet another locally owned spot, where almost everything is made from scratch.

Sit back, saddle up as we take you for a ride on the Buckin’ Donkey menu highlights.

 

Here’s the Skinny:

Sean McKown, Pittsburgh Native and owner of Buckin’ Donkey Grille

— Inventive, homemade menu with one-of-a-kind items or Chef Sean’s twists on standard favorites.

— One section of their menu is Breakfast, served all day

— Locally owned, sports bar atmosphere

—  Great drink specials:  In May, bottles of Corona are only $2.  Last month, Red Stripe beers were only 2 bucks.

— The large outdoor patio will get some good use this summer.

 

Must Eats:

— The Jumbalaya – spicy and addicting, Sean has been making this masterpiece in a cup for over 15 years.

Banana Peppers Stuffed with Chorizo and Cheese

— Old Style ChicagoWeck – A favorite of most of our friends.  Slow cooked Italian beef, marinated in au jus.  The weck bun makes the sandwich along with a dash of horseradish.  You want authentic, you got it.  Get your kimmelweck on.  Stop slobbering and order one.

— The Pork Belly Burger. – This is a favorite!  It is a burger of 80/20 beef, topped with cheese and strips of pork belly.  Inventive and delicious.

— Stuffed Banana Peppers – Stuffed with chorizo and cheese, these long sliced banana peppers melt in your mouth.  Warning: Your taste buds aren’t going to believe this.  Talk about original, try these on for size.

Frosted Flake French Toast – They serve breakfast all day

— Frosted Flake French Toast – It is what it says.  French toast, coated with Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal.  So good and rich, that Tony the Tiger himself would be proud.  It is a savory breakfast item that immediately makes you feel like you are at home.

— The Pierogie Burger – A burger topped with a couple of pierogies.   Big Ragu loves these so much, it makes him want to dance to polka music.

— Shrimp Po’ Boy – We recommend the grilled shrimp version.  It is an amazing take on this Louisiana style sandwich.

— Homemade Desserts – Not many restaurants have the chef’s mom making the pies from scratch.   Buckin’ Donkey Grille does.    There is no set dessert menu,  so whatever she made that day, is what’s available.  Don’t worry though, they are all good.  You have to try the peanut butter pie, strawberry shortcake and the cheesecake.   We would run topless across lanes of traffic on Wilmington Pike to get a taste of these.  Another incredible unique favorite is their homemade walnut pie.  We are willing to bet that nobody else in Dayton serves walnut pie.  If someone else does, we will let you kick us in the walnuts.

Homemade Walnut Pie

There are so many great flavors on this menu, it is hard to pick just a few favorites.  Other honorable mention specialties that we recommend include The Reuben Sandwich and The Cuban Sandwich.  The grilled wings are great and so are the hand breaded deep fried pickle slices.  Also, the thin sliced onion rings are so good that we have been known to arm wrestle over the last forkful.  If you are feeling sassy, try the Porky Pig Burger, a pork/beef mix burger served on a doughnut!  It was definitely a unique tasting sandwich.

Also, don’t forget that Buckin’ Donkey Grille has $1 hot dogs and $2 chili dogs during every Cincinnati Reds Game!   They also feature live music on Saturday nights and trivia on Wednesday nights.

There really is no secret to this place.  The formula is great food at fair prices.   The servers are also very personable and attentive.  Sean McKown did it right.  Many Daytonians are grateful that he has brought a sampling of Pittsburgh to the Gem City.  Make sure you visit this seemingly typical sports bar, with the uncommon fare.  We know why they named this place the Buckin’ Donkey Grille, because the menu is kickin’ ass.

Browse through all of our original food photos from Buckin’ Donkey Grille in the album below.  Drool bibs not included.

Who else is ‘buckin the trends’ and settin’ the trends? … Food Adventures!  Ride us and ‘like’ us on Facebook by clicking HERE !

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Dessert Alert! Sweet Treats Festival Recap

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A Beautiful Cake from Kinder’s Kupcakes

It was a dessert lovers playground and a chocoholics dream.  We give you Dayton’s first ever “Sweet Treats Festival.”   Held at The Commander Aero Building in Springboro on Sunday January 27th, the event drew a nice crowd on this winter afternoon. There were confectioners, bakers, chefs and restaurateurs.   In fact over 30 vendors participated in the Sweet Treats Festival.   Every vendor booth had samples set out of various “sweet treat” specialties.   Festival goers could browse each display and sample to their heart’s content.  What a  surprise, the “foodies in their forties,”  The Food Adventures Crew tasted treats from each and every booth.   A few days later, the Food Adventurers are out of their sugar comas and here with a recap of the day’s festivities!

You know the old saying “Like a kid in a candy store?”  Well, here you had us BIG kids in a sweets festival which is a dangerous combination.  Sponsored in part by Dayton Most Metro, the festival featured some amazing displays that would have impressed Willy Wonka.

Junebug’s Cupcakes- deliciously decorated treats

Each vendor booth was set up in a circular setting to allow easy flow of the hungry crowd.  There were some many sweets and such talented people.  Below are the festival vendors and our impressions of each company.

  • 3 Leees Cupcakery – Incredible tasting desserts.  Some choices were vegan and gluten free.  Some of the best tasting cupcakes we tried.
  • Aim To Please Home Cooking – Specializing in various unique flavors of delicious rock candy and more.
  • Amy Cakes & Cookies– Some of the tastiest “cake pops” you will have and delicious cupcakes.
  • Baked – The friendly staff served up some very complex cupcake flavors that blew us away.
  • Cake, Hope & Love – Wonderful “chocolate mustaches” were a hit with the kids.  We loved the gorgeous cupcake display with beautiful toppings.
  • Cheryl & Co. – Turning sugar cookies into works of art.  The staff could not have been nicer.
  • Dee Dee’s Gourmet Peanut Brittle – Generous samples of delicious peanut brittle that seemed to melt in your mouth
  • Edible Arrangments – About as healthy as you can get at this festival.  The chocolate covered apples were a nice twist.
  • ele Cake Co – A Dayton Icon whose chocolate covered cake bites are a perfect gift to get your Valentine drooling.

    “Over The Top Productions” had some inventive displays

  • Homemade by Heather– Amazing mini-pies, made just for this festival.  Full sizes on sale for full blown taste!
  • JuneBug’s Cupcakes– Icing decor on these cupcakes were matched by a rich tasting cake.
  • Kilwins – Located at the Greene, this vendor had a huge variety of top notch items including hand dipped caramel/chocolate apples.
  • Kinders Cupcakes – Not only did they have fantastic cupcakes, but their two display cakes were the most gorgeous in the house.
  • LongHorn Steakhouse– Local kitchen chefs have kicked up this restaurant.  They Key Lime cheesecake, apple strudel and chocolate brownies were homemade and not “chain” like.
  • Maria’s Buckeyes– The richest buckeyes ever.  Good eats, nice owner !
  • Moore Dessert Please – Local celebs from “Cupcake Wars” didn’t dissapoint with some mouthwatering cupcake treat.
  • Over The Top Productions–  Arguably the best display of the event. The decor was unique as they specialize in weddings and party events.
  • Sweet By Kristy– Cupcakes with ice cream in the middle. Genius!  One of the most popular items at the event and created a lot of buzz like birthday cake and ice cream all in one.
  • Sweet Eats Bake Shop – Intricately topped cupcakes led to creamy tastes across the board with this baker!
  • Sweet Nothings– Hands down, the best toffee we have ever eaten.  All flavors of the sea salt toffee are addicting!
  • The Rustic Loaf & Patisserie– From the chocolate crunch cake pops, to the cupcakes that looked like royalty.  These bites were eye pleasers and mouth pleasers!

    Cupcake Display from “Cake, Hope & Love”

  • Signature Confections– What can you say about chocolate that sometimes takes 3 days to make?  Unique flavors such as Crown Royal, Khalua, Raspberry Guiness, Chai Tea, and Earl Grey Tea.  The painted pieces of chocolate belong in an art museum if they weren’t so tasty.
  • Two Bears Chocolates – They featured homemade caramels dipped in Boston Stoker’s Highlander Grogg Coffee.  the Big Ragu said it was the best flavored caramel he has ever eaten.  We loved the local twist on taste!
  • Winans Fine Chocolate– Some of the best turtle bark in the world.  We found ourselves overstaying our welcome at the sample dish.

Special thanks to The new Austin Landing Kroger for sponsoring the event.  Other sponsors included Tim Horton’s who provided coffee, while Aquafina supplied free bottled water.

All of the desserts were scrumptious, and with each vendor having numerous desserts.   There were over 100 sweet treats to choose from, and we got our taste buds on almost every delicacy.  Your Food Adventurers had some favorites that stood out from the pack.
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The handpainted Candies from “Signature Confections” were nothing short of amazing

In our humble opinion, here were our picks:
Food Adventure’s Top 5 Favorite Items:
1) The Hazelnut Pistachio Cupcakes from Baked.  We ate way too many of these !
2) White Chocolate Ginger Pistachio Sea Salt Toffee   from Sweet Nothings.  This incredible treat may be purchased at 2nd Street Market and Ghostlight Coffee
3) The Ice Cream Cupcakes from Sweet by Kristy
4) The Hand Painted Chocolates from Signature Confections
5) Red Velvet Pops from RSVP Sweet Treats
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The Big Ragu’s Top 5 Favorite Items:
1) Highlander Grogg Coffee Caramels from Two Bears Chocolates
2) The Baked Apple Strudel with carmel sauce from Longhorn Steakhouse and Chef Bob Medlin
3) Chocolate Carmel Nut Bars from Sweet Eats Bake Shop
4) The Mini-Pecan Pies from Homemade by Heather
5) Hand Pulled Peanut Brittle from Dee Dee’s

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Highlander Grogg Caramels from “Two Bears Chocolates”

As the festival ended, we were stuffed with confections.  We had starved ourselves the whole day in anticipation for the event, and now we were going to sleep well.  From meeting local culinary masters to tasting their masterpieces, The Sweet Treats Festival was a full blown Food Adventure.  From the rich tastes to the sugar rush, the 3 hour event gave everyone more than enough time to get a feel for the desserts of the Dayton area.
In the end, sweet tooths were satisfied and blood glucose levels were raised.  The festival attendees were introduced to many local bakers and chefs for the first time.  From Hazelnut Pistachio Cupcakes to Chocolate Covered Fruit, this first ever Sweet Treats Festival seems to have a promising future for years to come.
Did you get a chance to visit the Sweet Treats Festival ?  If so, please comment below and tell us your favorite treats!  Also, make sure you browse through the nearly 50 photos below.  The view is simply divine…
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