Hotcake Bakes

Mobile Food Night

Scoops and M.J.

After taking Sebastian to a cool Good Magazine event at  Mercado La Paloma, we were desperate for a little sweet.  So we ventured to a spot that we’ve had on our list for ages: Scoops – the famous ice cream place that has been known to serve nicotine ice cream. It was almost closing when we arrived at 9:45 p.m. and many of the flavors that most interested me were gone (caramel malt would have been my pick).  Sebastian was very happy that they had one scoop left of M&Ms ice cream and after tasting many options (brown bread, chocolate Guinness) I selected a vegan coffee hazelnut  (non dairy = good for my tummy).  They have a little tray of different sprinkles (I still call them jimmies)  that you can throw on your ice cream for free – a definite plus in my book.   SB’s was the best, but even my dairy-free ice cream was great.  We would definitely go back, but earlier next time.  The cool thing about Scoops is you never know what you’ll get.  As David said, “throw a little cream and sugar together, and anything will taste good”.   Couldn’t have said it better myself. 

Before heading home we made one stop at Hollywood Blvd to see for ourselves the Michael Jackson mania.  With Sebastian on David’s shoulders we walked through the crowds blasting “Billy Jean” and “Thriller” and got to witness just a little bit of history. R.I.P.  M.J. 

Hawaiian Shave Ice Anyone?

See the above?  It looks like a conch shell, but guess what?  It’s not. It’s white chocolate disguised as a shell thanks to the Four Seasons Maui (we were there for a  Daily Candy story).  Awesome.  Okay, so we went to Hawaii and we had a blast, but what we did not have was a Hawaiian shave ice.  We are bad parents.  Luckily, a few blocks from our house in Del Rey is Rutt’s Café, an authentic Hawaiian café where we have eaten big fattening breakfasts before.  I promised Sebastian that this summer, we’ll ride our bikes over there and taste a real Hawaiian shave ice. It’s not Maui, but it will have to do. On that note, I recently read an article that our fave ice cream spot, Milk, will be serving up some super special shave ice only on weekends.  Tamarind-chili shave ice anyone?  Not authentic, but we look forward to comparing the two!

Platine Bakery

 Sebastian and I made our first Sweet Safari of the summer. We headed up Washington Boulevard about 10 minutes east from our house to Platine Bakery in Culver City.  They have been baking up cookies for Hollywood types but they just opened a storefront. When I heard the chef was from the French Laundry, well, how could I resist? All Sebastian needed to hear was "Cookies!" 

The shop is on a sketchy stretch in Culver City and it's more chic than the surrounding shops (like the gun shop) on this Washington Blvd strip across from the Best Buy mall. I had just read that the bakery was making ice cream sandwich cookies (a current summer trend) so I thought we should try one right away. Sebastian was thrilled. When he heard you can create your own sandwich he said, "this is the best place eh-ver."   

Sebastian chose to sandwich his ice cream with one chocolate chip cookie and one "signature cookie" (oatmeal, raisin, chocolate chip). He chose caramel ice cream (yum).  The ice cream is from Milk in West Hollywood.  The cookies are fairly petit so the sandwich was not overwhelming - really the perfect size for a 6 year-old.  But he found room to try some other cookies, too.  We bought an assortment from a selection that changes daily.   

The stand-out was this thing they made with three tiny pancakes in o.j. emulsion with bacon candy on top. Basically it was like eating a breakfast of delicious mini pancakes and bacon with maple syrup poured all over everything. Not really a cookie, but quite an experience. Oh, and they serve La Mill coffee which they do in a french press.  All in all, a fun little stop.  Don't bother with their chocolate chip (I'll bake you some for free if you ask).  Cookies were ridiculously expensive but try something unique there and you won't be disappointed!