A Cake Fit For Kings

Since the start of the new year, I have probably eaten 47 slices of king cake. I know, I know - high cholesterol, diabetes, cardiac arrest, yada yada yada - but I can't help myself. At least 3 times per week, sometimes twice in a single day, someone shows up at the office with a king cake. That's on top of the king cakes which are omnipresent at every birthday, wedding shower, funeral, and bris that I get invited to. How can a guy say no to a piece of king cake in celebration of circumcision?

But even though I have eaten an alarming number of slices of king cake, I honestly have not sampled the spectrum of species from that many different bakeries. Perhaps king cakes are similar to snowballs in that location plays a major role? Case in point, the above classic king cake from McKenzie's, now sold by Tastee Donuts, covered in purple, green, and gold granulated sugar While this is the king cake of my youth and always my first one of the season, it just never tastes as good as I remember.

At the opposite end from the McKenzie's classic, we have this shimmering specimen from Sucre, who started baking king cakes for the first time this year. The glaze on this cake is so stunning that you might be hesitant with your knife, but then you would be missing what's inside...

... and that would be an extremely light pastry filled with a thin layer of whipped cream cheese. I usually despise filled king cakes (too gloppy), but the minimal smear of cream cheese in this one is in perfect balance with the paper thin layers of pastry. This is probably the best king cake that I have eaten so far this year.

I'm still a sucker for Manny Randazzo's, which is better than Randazzo's Camellia City in my opinion. Haydel's makes a good king cake, but the combination of icing and granulated sugar throws me off; I prefer one or the other but not both. Antoine's is always welcome as an afternoon snack.

I still have quite a few king cakes on my list to try: Hi-Do Bakery on the wild wild Westbank, the not-so-sweet goat cheese and apple king cake from New Orleans Cake Cafe, the true classic galette des rois from La Boulangerie. So many cakes, so few inches to spare in the waistband of my suit pants. A little help, dear readers, if you wouldn't mind.

Guest Blogger: The Folk Singer

Blogger's Note - The Folk Singer has decided to throw her hat in the ring in this summer's guest blogger challenge. In order to rise to the top, she will need a strong performance after last week's post by Real Big Tally stirred up so much controversy. So she decided to bring out the big guns and address a topic which most of us (unfortunately) have too much experience with. We're talking hangover helpers, people.

As a girl who hails from the same hometown as Krystal , I have been skeptical of this so-called "Kastleburger" ever since the re-opening of Tastee/McKenzie's in Lakeview. Krystal burgers are the go-to fourth meal in Chattanooga, and in my mind, there is no substitute.

When I woke up last Saturday morning with a headache that could only be attributed to one too many glasses of champagne at a Friday night wedding, Peter's promise of buttermilk drops sounded less than appealing. So, in the interest of curing my hangover writing a review for Blackened Out, I asked Peter to pick me up a Kastleburger (or three) and a side of fries.

Some people might prefer the hair of the dog as their morning after cure, but I have always been partial to something with a bit more sustenance. There is something ever-so comforting about those greasy little two-bite burgers and the simplicity of steamed onions, mustard and pickle. The Kastleburger almost lived up to its hype. I like my square-mini burgers with cheese, but I want to taste the cheese if it's there. The french fries were perfect, and after I'd finished my breakfast, suddenly Peter's leftover buttermilk drops weren't looking so bad after all. So I ate those too, decided that a three hour nap was in order, and went happily back to bed.

Bottom line: They may have been my first three Kastleburgers, but unless I can convince Peter to make a run to Krystal on Bourbon Street on Saturday morning, they definitely won't be my last.

It's no Krystal, but...

And that's worth more than a few points in this Tennessee girl's book.

NOLA Foodie Time Warp (Part 2): McKenzie's

Blogger's Note - This is Part 2 of our series on the recent return of two iconoclastic New Orleans eateries. For Part 1 on the reopening of the original Bud's Broiler click here.

I have a confession to make. I grew up exactly one block from the McKenzie's Ice Cream and Donut Shoppe in the 900 block of Harrison Avenue in Lakeview. From time to time, unbeknownst to my parents, in the mid-afternoon I would slyly walk down the garbage alley to McKenzie's, trade three quarters for two buttermilk drops, and eat them on the walk back home.

Phew. I have been holding that one in for a long time. I feel much better now.

I swear. The rumor of the reopening of the McKenzie's on Harrison has been part of Lakeview folklore since the store closed in 2001. Yes, I know that there are several Tastee locations in the GNO area that serve the McKenzie's specialties. But the closing of the McKenzie's on Harrison was a huge blow to Lakeview. And the reopening was an even much more needed pick-me-up - especially post-K. Last week, that day finally came.

As I waited in a long line (just like I did at Bud's), the above sign taunted me so much that I almost knocked over the dozen or so St. Dominic girls standing in front of me. I stopped just short of telling myself, "OK, I think I can take on all of them at once in the case that they get the last of the turtles." (if Buttermilkdrop Norris wants turtles, he gets turtles.) Finally I made it to the counter, placed my order, and hurried home like a crack addict that wanted to hide his latest score from his fellow junkies. And there it was:

Behold in all it's glory: the buttermilk drop. The Folk Singer - a newbie to these treats - described it as "a donut stick on steroids." Works for me.

Marve at the turtle. I don't know what evil genius figured out how to fit so much chocolate on top of such a tiny cookie, but I would like to thank him.

The new Tastee/McKenzie's also serves basic grits and eggs breakfasts and "Krystal" (or "White Castle") style burgers at lunch. I hope they stay around for a long, long time.