Carnivale's complete holiday dessert menu

If it were ever appropriate to describe a place as “sexy,” Carnivale could be compared to the likes of the glamorous Angelina Jolie or perhaps a modern day Marylin Monroe. Yes, if Carnivale were a woman, she would surely be a Hollywood It Girl. And recently, she’s gotten a sweet makeover with a brand new holiday dessert menu, crafted by Executive Chef Mark Mendez.

Carnivale’s complete holiday dessert menu:
Tres leches: Blueberry tres leches cake, blueberry jam, blueberry syrup, basil cream, $7

Flan: Cuban coffee flan, white chocolate cream with Partida reposado tequila, caramel corn, $5

Carnivale ice cream cake: Mango, guava and pistachio ice cream, chocolate ganache, pineapple, raspberry and mint sauces, $8

Brownie: Chocolate brownie, dulce de leche ice cream, $6

Pineapple split: Coconut, chocolate and pineapple ice cream, hot fudge, buñuelos, maraschino cherries, $7

Churros: Spanish fried doughnuts, chocolate and dulce de leche sauces, $6

This article was first published on Examiner.com

Sticky toffee pudding at Fiddlehead Cafe

Recently, my fiance treated me to dinner at Fiddlhead Cafe-- his favorite Lincoln Square spot. The place had been on my list of must-eats for a while, and had I known I was missing out on one of the sweetest desserts on Chicago's North Side, it would have taken top priority.

After cooing over a bowl of steamed mussels with chorizo, veggies, wild rice and saffron broth ($11) and a cheese plate with one of my hard-to-find favorites from Yarra Valley Dairy, Australia ($3.50-$27) we probably should’ve called it quits. But, rare are the times that I dine out and skip dessert—one glance at a sugar-fueled menu usually does me in, and the list at Fiddlehead Café was no exception.

Choosing between the restaurant’s chocolate-fudge ganache cake, Tahitian vanilla bean crème brulee, apple-rum-caramel tart and tres leches cake was quite possibly the most difficult decision my guy and I have made together. Seriously, finding our apartment and choosing our wedding location was easier than settling on one of Fiddlhead’s desserts.

Bearing in mind that this was one of his favorite frequented spots, I agreed to his recommendation of the homemade sticky toffee pudding with Guinness ice cream ($7). When I tasted the Irish-inspired treat, I remembered that it was our discriminating palates that initially brought us together. I was falling in love again, but this time it was with Fiddlhead’s seductively sweet dessert menu.

This article was first published on Examiner.com
Photo: Fiddlehead Cafe's sticky toffee pudding, Stacy Warden.

Save room for dessert

All right folks, it's clearly been a while since my last post. But before you get all accusatory, let me provide you with a sugar-fueled link to some of my latest sweet discoveries. These were all written for Examiner.com and there's plenty more to come.

If you're more into instant gratification (this is America, right?) you can get quick updates on my Examiner articles by subscribing (it's super easy, just click 'subscribe' below any of my Examiner posts). And I promise you won't get any nasty spam notifying you about the latest trends in Viagra or discounts on breast implants. Just a lovely little email each time I write something new.

In the meantime, go enjoy some of these local Chicago treats!