Sugar & Spice: 7 Drinks & Dessert Dates
Men love simple dates and women love chocolate. Bring on a drinks and dessert date and we have a match made in dating heaven. Whether you’re looking to test the waters with an abbreviated sugary night out, or you want to extend a fantastic dinner date, but don’t want to bar hop, make plans to consume some bevvies and treats at one of these seven Atlanta sweet spots.
Cafe Intermezzo: Yeah, you know the drill—killer desserts. Any restaurant that employs dessert tour guides is a sweets place worth reckoning with and Café Intermezzo does not disappoint. As for drinks, Intermezzo’s “beverage book” includes more than 100 options from liquor to beer to coffee to tea to wine. You’re guaranteed to find a drink (or a dozen) to quench your thirst. You know what else? The dim-lighted café is hella romantic.
1845 Peachtree Road, Brookwood, (404) 355-0411
4505 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, (770) 396-1344
www.cafeintermezzo.com
Murphy’s Restaurant: A restaurant with a built-in bakery and wine shop? What could be better? Nestled in the heart of Virginia Highland, Murphy’s boasts an impressive collection of wines along with mouthwatering desserts. Linger after dinner as you enjoy Plum Cobbler, made with Friar plums, almond crumble and house made vanilla ice cream or sample the TOLLHOUSE PIE (white & dark chocolate, walnuts,oreo crust and vanilla ice cream). Sip on Bourbon Mint Lemonade(johnny drum, house made lemonade) or the Strawberry Jalpeno-tini (sauza, strawberry sorbet, jalapeño syrup). Not satisfied? Try Murphy’s Beers of the South or a Specialty Coffee drink.
997 Virginia Avenue Northeast
(404) 872-0904, www.murphysvh.com
JCT. Kitchen and Bar: The upstairs bar at JCT is the perfect spot to grab a drink and dessert while listening to live acoustic music (Fridays & Saturdays). Select a unique blend from the specialty cocktail menu such as JCTea made with Ice-tea infused gin, grand marnier, lemon, and orange bitters, or Mull it Over—hot spiced cider, Schonauer Apfel Liqueur, and rye whiskey. What I love so much about JCT are the made-from-scratch, southern desserts. I mean, can a date really be that bad when funnel cakes and peach fried pies are involved?
1198 Howell Mill Road
(404) 355-2252, www.jctkitchen.com
Abattoir: Another one of my Westside favs. The bartenders here rock. Seriously. It’s so fun to pony up to the bar and nosh on cinnamon sugar doughnuts while sipping on a glass of Winkle Special Reserve Bourbon from the restaurant’s after dinner drinks menu (yes, there’s a section on the menu dedicated to just that.) I don’t even drink bourbon and I thought this stuff was 100% delish.
1170 Howell Mill Road
404.892.3335, www.starprovisions.com
Holeman & Finch Public House: Speaking of rock star bartenders, I love grabbing a drink at H&F. The best part is you don’t even need to worry about what to order. The bartenders are talented enough to concoct the perfect blend based on your liquor or mix preferences. Ask them to whip up something delicious and then kick it ol’ school with a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich (chocolate chip ice cream and salted caramel) or a Coke Float (peanut-sorghum swirl ice cream).
2277 Peachtree Road, Suite B
(404) 948-1175, www.holeman-finch.com
Chocolate Pink Café: Open until 7 p.m. during the week and until 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Chocolate Pink’s Pastry Café can throw you into a sugar coma in a matter of minutes with individual desserts and tarts, cakes, cupcakes, cookies and brownies. Take your pick from among such delights as Petunia Mousse Cake (brown sugar bananas, chocolate buttermilk cake, nutella ganache, hazelnut mousse, and joconde border…for real!), Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes (peanut butter cake, concorde grape jelly filling, and crunchy peanut butter cream), and Raspberry Cheesecake Mousseline (yellow genoise sponge cake, raspberry marmalade, white chocolate cheesecake mousseline, and fresh raspberries) while you sip illy espresso coffee or tea forte whole leaf teas and cozy up to your date.
905 Juniper Street NE, Unit 108
(404) 745-9292, www.chocolatepinkcafe.com
Cakes & Ale: It starts with “Cakes” and ends with a vanilla butter crunch éclair dripping in bittersweet chocolate glaze. Yes, please. Accompanying a short, but robust dessert list that also includes a brown butter tart with Cynthia’s wild blackberries, apricot sorbet and mascarpone cream, Cakes & Ale serves up specialty cocktails like the Dappled Apple made with Apple jack, apple juice, allspice dram, and balsamic vinegar and The Shrew, a mix of Tequila, canton, lime, campari, and nutmeg. Satisfy your sweet and tangy cravings all in one place.
254 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur
(404) 377-7994, www.cakesandalerestaurant.com
Photo: Cakes and Ale
